Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 13:49     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We thank our lucky stars our kid attends UVA.


We feel the same way about VT.


Here we are hoping our kid chooses VT, but is leaning towards a large Midwest flagship. They at least matched VA in-state tuition.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 13:47     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

“What does he do, Clarice? What is the first and principal thing he does, what need does he serve by killing? He covets. How do we begin to covet? We begin by coveting what we see every day.”

Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 13:01     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:We thank our lucky stars our kid attends UVA.


We feel the same way about VT.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 13:01     Subject: Re:What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A degree from UVA is Ivy-league because UVA is one of the original Public Ivies.

Public Ivies offer the same standard of education as the Ivies, in a public school environment and at a public school cost. These schools are more than just non-Ivies — they're some of the best schools you can attend in the world today.

Just search "best public universities in USA" and you'll find UVA.


Ivy is an athletic league.

There are no public “Ivies.” There are no little “Ivies.” Use of these terms is a symptom of insecurity.


+1
Louder for the twits in the back. People are laughing behind their backs when they hear them refer to their kids' school as "Public Ivies, Little Ivies," etc.



Public Ivy has been a term used by college counselors since 1985. See Wikipedia. Get a grip and stop heckling ; you look like idiots.


"See Wikipedia"???? Bwahaha!


+1
In any other instance on this website, someone actually using Wikipedia as a source would be laughed at mercilessly. But the PP just can’t grasp how silly they look by clutching onto this outdated and absurd moniker. The more they post about it, the more I’m cringing on their behalf.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:56     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:Is OP real? It’s not that hard to understand, especially UVA. UVA is an elite school at a bargain price for families who do not qualify for financial aid at private schools. Add in its historical significance, school spirit, sports, area alumni, weather, and proximity to home and it’s an obvious choice for many.

W&M is similarly an excellent school at a great price relative to similar privates. W&M has many of the same additional benefits as UVA, save the sports, but add smaller class size.

I’d ask OP which colleges they would recommend that offer the same education for the same price with no financial or merit aid. When I run my finger down the USNWR list, I don’t find one.


Are you talking sports spirit or sports in general? W&M has D1 athletics. They have a D1 football team and D1 basketball. And unlike UVA, you don't need to attend other sporting events to earn "points" in order to get into the basketball games. Yes, the revenue sports at UVA have more student support than the same sports at W&M. But if you are a football fan or basketball fan, you can easily sit in the front row at W&M games.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:47     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

We thank our lucky stars our kid attends UVA.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:45     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:W&M is older than several Ivys - founded in 1693, I think.

UVa says founded 1819, but I think classes did not start that year.

VT is much newer, created explicitly to be the land-grant university.


UVA was built by enslaved people. What about W&M (possibly) and VT (maybe too new?)
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:40     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is OP real? It’s not that hard to understand, especially UVA. UVA is an elite school at a bargain price for families who do not qualify for financial aid at private schools. Add in its historical significance, school spirit, sports, area alumni, weather, and proximity to home and it’s an obvious choice for many.

W&M is similarly an excellent school at a great price relative to similar privates. W&M has many of the same additional benefits as UVA, save the sports, but add smaller class size.

I’d ask OP which colleges they would recommend that offer the same education for the same price with no financial or merit aid. When I run my finger down the USNWR list, I don’t find one.


OP is clearly a bitter troll. She is feigning ignorance just to troll Virginia parents.

Seems to be working.


I agree.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:34     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Because they are outstanding schools that are offered at in state tuition rates. I wish Maryland had schools like w&m and vt.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 08:24     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:Is OP real? It’s not that hard to understand, especially UVA. UVA is an elite school at a bargain price for families who do not qualify for financial aid at private schools. Add in its historical significance, school spirit, sports, area alumni, weather, and proximity to home and it’s an obvious choice for many.

W&M is similarly an excellent school at a great price relative to similar privates. W&M has many of the same additional benefits as UVA, save the sports, but add smaller class size.

I’d ask OP which colleges they would recommend that offer the same education for the same price with no financial or merit aid. When I run my finger down the USNWR list, I don’t find one.


OP is clearly a bitter troll. She is feigning ignorance just to troll Virginia parents.

Seems to be working.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 07:58     Subject: Re:What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:1. All these schools are much harder to get into, and therefore much more prestigious, than they were in the 90s. Yes, even Wake Forest.
2. Lots of people agree with you, which is why there is still a large college-going population in MD/DC.
3. Many posters from NoVa moved there specifically to have UVA as a backup plan. Then they discovered just how hard it is to get in to UVA from NoVa. They are incredibly defensive about the whole situation. They’re not persuasive but they are persistent.


Many students this year have earned acceptance at U. of Michigan and UNC, but were denied admission to UVA.


Comedy and delusional.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 07:45     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Is OP real? It’s not that hard to understand, especially UVA. UVA is an elite school at a bargain price for families who do not qualify for financial aid at private schools. Add in its historical significance, school spirit, sports, area alumni, weather, and proximity to home and it’s an obvious choice for many.

W&M is similarly an excellent school at a great price relative to similar privates. W&M has many of the same additional benefits as UVA, save the sports, but add smaller class size.

I’d ask OP which colleges they would recommend that offer the same education for the same price with no financial or merit aid. When I run my finger down the USNWR list, I don’t find one.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 07:32     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:W&M is older than several Ivys - founded in 1693, I think.

UVa says founded 1819, but I think classes did not start that year.

VT is much newer, created explicitly to be the land-grant university.


W&M is the second oldest school in the country!


Oldest university.


No, Harvard is the oldest, 1636



Wrong.

Harvard University, founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Originally established as "New College" to train Puritan clergy, it was later renamed for its first benefactor, John Harvard.

Key Details About Early American Higher Education:
Oldest Institution: Harvard University (1636).
Second Oldest: The College of William & Mary (1693) in Virginia.
First Public University: The University of North Carolina, chartered in 1789 and holding its first classes in 1795.
Context: While Harvard is the oldest in what is now the U.S., the oldest university in the Americas is the University of Santo Domingo (1538) in the Dominican Republic.
Top 5 Oldest Colleges in the U.S. (by founding year):
Harvard University (1636)
College of William & Mary (1693)
St. John's College (1696)
Yale University (1701)
University of Pennsylvania (1740)
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 07:29     Subject: What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The Ivy is an athletic league.


It is more than that now.


Or less than that now. For example, Harvard and Columbia are quickly fading, while southern universities are ascending.

Rather than the anachronistic and inaccurate sports-league moniker, the USNWR rank is commonly used, and people pay greater attention to the T10, T20, T30, etc. than “ivy.”


I love this poster. You are hilarious. You're right, you're right. Clemson and Tennessee's admissions rate have gone down to the 40% which is unheard of at the same time that Harvard's admissions rate has crept up to about 4% when it used to be 3.6% It is a real revearsal. Looks like everybody prefers sunshine and fraternities.



+1. Lol
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2026 07:22     Subject: Re:What is so special about UVA, W&M, VT!?!??

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A degree from UVA is Ivy-league because UVA is one of the original Public Ivies.

Public Ivies offer the same standard of education as the Ivies, in a public school environment and at a public school cost. These schools are more than just non-Ivies — they're some of the best schools you can attend in the world today.

Just search "best public universities in USA" and you'll find UVA.


Lol - that isn't a thing. Just click bait.


I don't like the term either because it venerates the ivy league. I wish there were a better less fawning lickspittle way to refer to the best state colleges but this is the easiest way to communicate the general message without having to educate everyone you want to talk to about this topic.


And putting them to sleep while you do so? I mean, come on. The term "little/public/whatever Ivies" is just so navel-gazing and insecure. Just the fact that you seriously think you need to "educate everyone" about it is so... sad.
DP


DP but it’s pretty clear from the ignorance in this discussion that some of you would benefit from PP educating you.


You seem to be missing the point, which is we've ALL heard of the term and know when it originated (decades and decades ago). We don't need to be lectured to about what it meant. People no longer refer to schools in this way *unless* they are terribly insecure and defensive that their kid isn't actually at an Ivy. Let it go. Using that terminology marks you as an insufferable bore.


Nope, the point was that several people had not heard of it and thought they were being clever, but were actually exposing their ignorance about a concept that has existed for decades to describe a certain type of school. Sorry. You can try to backpedal but it won’t work.


Who never heard of it? The people referencing Wikipedia?

Someone commented earlier that I never heard of it but that’s not true and I have no idea why that person said that. Not from anything I said.