Surprisingly, 3 of the 4 people from my child's high school class who went to Mary Washington were male.
I'd say (and this is a very broad generalization) that many of the guys who choose UMW are non-jock, non-frat types. I'd describe them as the "sweet kids". So there's less of a hookup culture than you might think.
My kid liked CNU a lot too. Both are good schools that attract similar students and there's no need to disparage either. I'd choose based on intended major more than buildings or male-female ratio.
Oh, and to the person who asked about musical theater, UMW does offer a musical theater minor and one musical theater production per year. But I wouldn't say it's a strength of the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was just accepted. UMW had been at the top of her list (above CNU) for several reasons; pretty and older campus (CNU looked like a spanking new Hollywood set), more liberal student body, better supports. But now she’s very hesitant because she heard half the student body goes home on the weekends and the place can feel like a tomb on Friday and Saturday nights. She’s not a huge partier but wants some fun and a real sense of community. Now she’s leaning against UMW. Also a concern that gender imbalance can lead to a hook-up culture, because the guys hold all the cards.

I have a son at UMW and he says it does NOT clear out on weekends, that lots of clubs/groups meet on Friday nights and the weekends. (There are parties but that isn't his scene.) Does not feel like a unique specimen as a male there. Some of these old stereotypes don't play out. At any VA school that's within a couple of hours of home, there will be students who go home to boy/girlfriends, etc. Mine never wanted to come home.

Overall we have been very pleased with UMW. It is a good fit for many different types of students. They have done a really nice job with Covid response too. If someone is looking for frat culture and football, then no, obviously!

+1
And just about every school these days has more women than men. Personally, I think UMW needs to do a better job showing the male students in their marketing materials. I can’t figure out why they don’t. I graduated from there and never felt there was a lack of guys. Certainly, they didn’t “hold all the cards,” as the PP claims. I had several long term relationships during my four years. It’s a terrific college.

I think it's an issue with a lot of colleges. DS decided against applying to W&M for a few reasons but it certainly didn't help that every single person we engaged with in admissions on two different visits was female. There were certainly plenty of guys around as we walked around campus but I do think it made it harder to see himself there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was just accepted. UMW had been at the top of her list (above CNU) for several reasons; pretty and older campus (CNU looked like a spanking new Hollywood set), more liberal student body, better supports. But now she’s very hesitant because she heard half the student body goes home on the weekends and the place can feel like a tomb on Friday and Saturday nights. She’s not a huge partier but wants some fun and a real sense of community. Now she’s leaning against UMW. Also a concern that gender imbalance can lead to a hook-up culture, because the guys hold all the cards.

I have a son at UMW and he says it does NOT clear out on weekends, that lots of clubs/groups meet on Friday nights and the weekends. (There are parties but that isn't his scene.) Does not feel like a unique specimen as a male there. Some of these old stereotypes don't play out. At any VA school that's within a couple of hours of home, there will be students who go home to boy/girlfriends, etc. Mine never wanted to come home.

Overall we have been very pleased with UMW. It is a good fit for many different types of students. They have done a really nice job with Covid response too. If someone is looking for frat culture and football, then no, obviously!

+1
And just about every school these days has more women than men. Personally, I think UMW needs to do a better job showing the male students in their marketing materials. I can’t figure out why they don’t. I graduated from there and never felt there was a lack of guys. Certainly, they didn’t “hold all the cards,” as the PP claims. I had several long term relationships during my four years. It’s a terrific college.

CNU has no Virginia soul. It’s an aging McMansion. UMW, W&M, Longwood are the Virginia public LAC’s with soul.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The pecking order thing is ridiculous. All the state schools are very different in size, culture, focus, etc. I wouldn't suggest anyone apply to any of them blind, and that includes UVA. No more than the Ivies or Big 10 are all equivalent!

Exactly this. But DCUM is ratings-obsessed, so you might as well be shouting into the wind.

Yes, this. I went to one of the other VA schools people are claiming is higher ranked and that's just silly.

It's great that we have so many nice options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was just accepted. UMW had been at the top of her list (above CNU) for several reasons; pretty and older campus (CNU looked like a spanking new Hollywood set), more liberal student body, better supports. But now she’s very hesitant because she heard half the student body goes home on the weekends and the place can feel like a tomb on Friday and Saturday nights. She’s not a huge partier but wants some fun and a real sense of community. Now she’s leaning against UMW. Also a concern that gender imbalance can lead to a hook-up culture, because the guys hold all the cards.

I have a son at UMW and he says it does NOT clear out on weekends, that lots of clubs/groups meet on Friday nights and the weekends. (There are parties but that isn't his scene.) Does not feel like a unique specimen as a male there. Some of these old stereotypes don't play out. At any VA school that's within a couple of hours of home, there will be students who go home to boy/girlfriends, etc. Mine never wanted to come home.

Overall we have been very pleased with UMW. It is a good fit for many different types of students. They have done a really nice job with Covid response too. If someone is looking for frat culture and football, then no, obviously!

Thank you! This is super helpful. Will tell my DD. I personally think that UMW would be a great fit for her. And the price is right. 😀 I appreciate your son’s insights.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was just accepted. UMW had been at the top of her list (above CNU) for several reasons; pretty and older campus (CNU looked like a spanking new Hollywood set), more liberal student body, better supports. But now she’s very hesitant because she heard half the student body goes home on the weekends and the place can feel like a tomb on Friday and Saturday nights. She’s not a huge partier but wants some fun and a real sense of community. Now she’s leaning against UMW. Also a concern that gender imbalance can lead to a hook-up culture, because the guys hold all the cards.

I have a son at UMW and he says it does NOT clear out on weekends, that lots of clubs/groups meet on Friday nights and the weekends. (There are parties but that isn't his scene.) Does not feel like a unique specimen as a male there. Some of these old stereotypes don't play out. At any VA school that's within a couple of hours of home, there will be students who go home to boy/girlfriends, etc. Mine never wanted to come home.

Overall we have been very pleased with UMW. It is a good fit for many different types of students. They have done a really nice job with Covid response too. If someone is looking for frat culture and football, then no, obviously!

My daughter was just accepted. UMW had been at the top of her list (above CNU) for several reasons; pretty and older campus (CNU looked like a spanking new Hollywood set), more liberal student body, better supports. But now she’s very hesitant because she heard half the student body goes home on the weekends and the place can feel like a tomb on Friday and Saturday nights. She’s not a huge partier but wants some fun and a real sense of community. Now she’s leaning against UMW. Also a concern that gender imbalance can lead to a hook-up culture, because the guys hold all the cards.

Anonymous wrote:My wife went, her major was 95% women, but some of the other majors were more of a typical balance. The facilities like the cafeteria/student center building and gym were brand new with good options. She did make friends that she keeps up with after school, and she felt better prepared that most of the other students in her grad program.

The only partying at all is either going downtown to Brock's or with some of the sports teams off-campus. The school does do a good amount of really nice student run events, and a good amount of students actually go to them, unlike my college where a couple of kids went for free food while everyone was drinking.

I also graduated from UMW and the bolded just isn’t true. There were always decent parties in the dorms on weekends, as well as in pubs in Fredericksburg.

Anonymous wrote:The pecking order thing is ridiculous. All the state schools are very different in size, culture, focus, etc. I wouldn't suggest anyone apply to any of them blind, and that includes UVA. No more than the Ivies or Big 10 are all equivalent!

The point is that, compared to many other Virginia schools, UMW is less dynamic and future looking.

Any input on the musical theater department?

If a male, if it matters.

My wife went, her major was 95% women, but some of the other majors were more of a typical balance. The facilities like the cafeteria/student center building and gym were brand new with good options. She did make friends that she keeps up with after school, and she felt better prepared that most of the other students in her grad program.

The only partying at all is either going downtown to Brock's or with some of the sports teams off-campus. The school does do a good amount of really nice student run events, and a good amount of students actually go to them, unlike my college where a couple of kids went for free food while everyone was drinking.

Daughter attends UMW and is very happy with it.
Biggest pros: small classes (her largest class had 50 kids in it), inexpensive, decent financial aid, lovely campus, good reputation for liberal arts, non-party atmosphere; close enough to DC that there are opportunities for projects, field trips and internships in the DC area. The walkable parts of Fredericksburg feel very safe, although some of the outskirts are a bit sketchy.

Biggest cons: I was somewhat disappointed by her freshman hall experience--there didn't seem to be many bonding or social activities; some of the facilities are old and in need of updating; no national reputation.

I think it's a good schools for quiet, nice kids who may not want to go too far from home. I feel like she's getting a quality SLAC education and experience at an incredible price.

Anonymous wrote:My sister went to UMW. It's a great school, but there was a big gender imbalance. Is that still the case?

It's not so much the gender imbalance itself that's the issue. It's what stems from it. I went to another school with a screwed gender ratio, and there are ramifications much more than numbers printed on a page, or less number of guys around.

Such as?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CNU has moved into the niche area that MWC has targeted.

+1

Do you mean smaller, and liberal arts-oriented? Two schools are very different (as mentioned previously - you really have to visit them all). There are big proponents of both universities and I rarely see overlap since the atmosphere/culture is so different. The tour guides (in before times, of course) at all the state schools we visited really illustrated that for my kid.

They may have different vibes, but I think CNU is going to check more of the same boxes for a number of people as MWU, and probably more than the state schools with similar stats (JMU, GMU, VCU, and VMI).