Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is ranked in 20’s and W&M ranked in 50’s. Wouldn’t ranking matter?

No.

+1. People need to investigate the factors used in rankings to see if they are relevant to them, not blindly follow them.

Both are good schools, OP. Don’t think you can go wrong here. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:UVA is ranked in 20’s and W&M ranked in 50’s. Wouldn’t ranking matter?

only if you're into that kind of thing

Anonymous wrote:UVA is ranked in 20’s and W&M ranked in 50’s. Wouldn’t ranking matter?

No.

My daughter wanted to combine art with CS and unfortunately there were no digital arts classes of any kind available. She wanted to make it work - but there wasn't anything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only thing that bothers me about W&M is that it doesn't seem to have a strong comp sci program and it seems like the schools that are shooting up in the rankings have a decent investment in this area. Otherwise, it is a beautiful campus. I have heard that juniors and seniors do not necessarily get on-campus housing, but freshmen and sophormore are guaranteed.

It's investing heavily in it at the moment - the Computer Science department and some others are moving into a new separate school in Fall 2025

This. WM is making big investments in CS and related subjects. And as a hiring manager, my experience is that CS students at W&M or UVa have visibly better written/verbal communications skills than at some other “higher ranked” CS schools, while their CS technical capabilities are more than sufficient. Those communications skills - combined with more than adequate tech skills - translate into better upwards mobility in my workplace and many other workplaces. I find the USNWR or other rankings do not correlate well with actual job skills - job success is much more about the student’s diligence, their total package of CS skills, and which specific CS electives they took.

If he really likes W&M more, go W&M. Fit is important. Rankings aren’t everything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a physics major, he should go to the school that will give him the most and best opportunities for undergrad research in his area(s) of interest. He should read professor bios to find out about their research. He should also consider reaching out to those who interest him the most about potential research opportunities.

--STEM PhD

Thank you. I think that research interests/bios, UVA might win. But my guess is that in actual research opportunities once in college, it wouldn't? As a rule, do you think big university or LAC for undergrad?

Personally, I don't think there is a rule. He should talk to the physics faculty at both schools and understand the dynamic. Some departments specialize in one or two areas of physics, neither of which may be something that interest your son. Some only have "undergrad" research, which is really just nonsense and not real research experience. Some departments are full of dinosaurs who are past prime and who aren't actively doing research. Some have lots of faculty who don't want to mentor undergrads.

You want to find a school with engaged physics faculty who do research in topics that interest him and who are open to mentoring undergrads. Go to open houses and talk to faculty. Talk to grad students. Talk to current undergrads. Ask about grad placement and opportunities for real research experience. Don't go off of rules of thumb.

IME most kids who think they want to be physics majors change their minds in college so while this isn’t bad advice for the kid who is 100% committed to physics I’d keep in mind that the reality is different for most kids.

It's totally fair to vet backup departments/majors too. Go and talk to students and faculty about opportunities to do research, co-ops or otherwise get practical experiences. Kick the tires. You're going to spend 6-figures and 4 years at this school. Don't just go off of reputation, random input from a website or rules of thumb, much of which is decades out of date.

Anonymous wrote:My kid has the wonderful problem of having been accepted to both. He is also in at a couple of great SLACs and, with those, the question is obviously, are they worth the extra money vs a pretty similar experience at W&M. (Likely not, but he'll go to all admitted student days).

As far as "fit" goes, to me, it is pretty obvious that W&M is a better fit. He doesn't care about the Greek scene and isn't especially drawn to the big sports scene. He is a sports fan and athletic, so that might change, but more than that he is very driven, intellectual, and (I expect) more of an intense small group of friends than big partier type. But, the way he looks at it, the social fit is low on the priority list. He's really just thinking what will be better for grad school or jobs after. Likely physics major.

Any advice?

My DS is thriving at W&M, but he is not a physics major. He has a couple of close friends at UVA, and those friendships are thriving, too. I agree with your son; whatever's best for his long-term career goals. He will do fine with either choice. Great problem to have!

I’m definitely in the camp of not going off rank but going off the vibe. Take your child there and feel the difference. It’s going to be different. Which one does he see himself fitting in better and having 4 years at?

Anonymous wrote:As a physics major, he should go to the school that will give him the most and best opportunities for undergrad research in his area(s) of interest. He should read professor bios to find out about their research. He should also consider reaching out to those who interest him the most about potential research opportunities.

--STEM PhD

My physics major son is having amazing research opportunities at W&M. Their grad school placements are also strong. I don’t have experience with UVA

Anonymous wrote:As a physics major, he should go to the school that will give him the most and best opportunities for undergrad research in his area(s) of interest. He should read professor bios to find out about their research. He should also consider reaching out to those who interest him the most about potential research opportunities.

--STEM PhD

This. If your DC was interested in a less challenging liberal arts major, either school would be just fine. But I'm assuming that by choosing physics (a very challenging major), your DS is serious about STEM and may be contemplating grad school in physics. In that case, your DC should choose the school that offers the strongest physics program with research opportunities in his areas of interest. My DD's bf is an undergrad physics major at UVA and has had a number of teaching and research positions as an undergrad both during the school year and summer break. He feels very challenged by the program and seems to like it (although he did say there are a few bad profs). Here is info about the UVA physics program. It appears that they graduate about 50 physics undergrads a year, so that should give you a sense of the size of the department. You can compare it to the size of the WM one. https://www.phys.virginia.edu/Education/Programs/MajorBrochure/default.pdf

Regarding Greek life and emphasis on sports, it is possible to complete avoid both of these things--as my DD has--and still have a great experience. DD has zero interest in either and most of her friends are not in Greek life. She is very happy there and has an eclectic and solid set of friends. There are all kinds of kids at UVA and most find their people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a physics major, he should go to the school that will give him the most and best opportunities for undergrad research in his area(s) of interest. He should read professor bios to find out about their research. He should also consider reaching out to those who interest him the most about potential research opportunities.

--STEM PhD

Thank you. I think that research interests/bios, UVA might win. But my guess is that in actual research opportunities once in college, it wouldn't? As a rule, do you think big university or LAC for undergrad?

Personally, I don't think there is a rule. He should talk to the physics faculty at both schools and understand the dynamic. Some departments specialize in one or two areas of physics, neither of which may be something that interest your son. Some only have "undergrad" research, which is really just nonsense and not real research experience. Some departments are full of dinosaurs who are past prime and who aren't actively doing research. Some have lots of faculty who don't want to mentor undergrads.

You want to find a school with engaged physics faculty who do research in topics that interest him and who are open to mentoring undergrads. Go to open houses and talk to faculty. Talk to grad students. Talk to current undergrads. Ask about grad placement and opportunities for real research experience. Don't go off of rules of thumb.

IME most kids who think they want to be physics majors change their minds in college so while this isn’t bad advice for the kid who is 100% committed to physics I’d keep in mind that the reality is different for most kids.

Is it much harder than expected? Why do kids change their minds?

I think some of it's that it's harder than expected, I think some of it is that kids just find other things more interesting/physics less interesting at the level that is required. No HS class (even an advanced HS class) is going to give you exposure to what it's like to really major in physics and become a physics grad student.

Keep an open mind and visit with W&M physics faculty. For the size school, they have a good number of physics professors nicely distributed across various specialties. There’s also a good number of undergraduate students majoring in physics and a healthy GRADUATE department and post-docs. There are great opportunities for research and even an opportunity to complete an honors thesis. You should definitely ask where kids are headed for graduate school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is ranked in 20’s and W&M ranked in 50’s. Wouldn’t ranking matter?

Reputation matters not raw ranking (this is why NEU hasn't become more "prestigious"). Both have really good reputations.

Trying to sneak NEU into a UVA / W&M discussion. NEU's "reputation" is just fine, thank you.

The point being that ranking/acceptance rate does not supercede historical reputation, but the fact that you're being so defensive makes my point for me

Calling out your gratuitous pettiness isn't being defensive. Let a thread breathe with UVA and W&M. There are many other threads for your trolling.

It's not pettiness, I brought up a school as an example. Could have also said Tulane or many others.

DP here. No, you and yours do this often. You have a mental illness.

OP, this really is a YMMV situation.

As you describe your DC, W&M would be a better choice (SLAC discussion aside).

We faced this same choice for our DC this year. We felt W&M was good academically but didn't fit well with DC. DC really did not like the vibe of the place, but liked UVA and will go there. Until we saw the schools in person (we did overnights) we couldn't appreciate the differences.

Good luck to you. You and your DC will make the right choice.