Anonymous wrote:AC issue. Yes you need doctors excuse but “seasonal allergies” will do. Not hard to buy a unit for green and gold and the school maintenance installs it. So no rogue AC units

It is not as easy as buying one and asking facilities to install. https://www.wm.edu/offices/deanofstudents/services/studentaccessibilityservices/students/ac-requests/index.php

My daughter has allergies and was denied. If you are caught with an unapproved a/c you can get fined and it will be confiscated. They check. And because the wiring is so old in some of the buildings, they can tell when an unapproved unit is installed. Trust me, if kids could just buy one and install it, they would. It is downright unpleasant Aug-mid-october.

AC issue. Yes you need doctors excuse but “seasonal allergies” will do. Not hard to buy a unit for green and gold and the school maintenance installs it. So no rogue AC units

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks everyone for such useful specific descriptions. Food/dorms seem to be a common complaint for W&M. This was one campus where we didn't eat at the dining services during a visit (ate at the Cheese Shop though...). Fortunately, that didn't seem to be a huge factor in school choice for DS (surprisingly because he really loves food--but I think he's just inexperienced enough to be happy with the variety and amount of food available on any college campus--the opportunity to choose what to eat without having to cook it and the wide variety of drinks and desserts).

Maybe I'm just old, but when I was looking at colleges back in the early 90s, the quality of education is what I was interested in. Food wasn't even a factor.

OP here, thanks everyone for such useful specific descriptions. Food/dorms seem to be a common complaint for W&M. This was one campus where we didn't eat at the dining services during a visit (ate at the Cheese Shop though...). Fortunately, that didn't seem to be a huge factor in school choice for DS (surprisingly because he really loves food--but I think he's just inexperienced enough to be happy with the variety and amount of food available on any college campus--the opportunity to choose what to eat without having to cook it and the wide variety of drinks and desserts).

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Anonymous wrote:My son is a freshman at W&M; we live in NoVa and he went to a private school. He had a good ACT score but middling grades... we were surprised he got in.

Do you mind me asking his scores and GPA?

His private school does not use a 4.0 scale, it was a 100 point scale. He had an 85 average, and a 33 ACT. He was also a varsity athlete and eagle scout

Thank you. Impressive kid.

I have heard W&M likes Eagle Scouts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is a freshman at W&M; we live in NoVa and he went to a private school. He had a good ACT score but middling grades... we were surprised he got in.

Do you mind me asking his scores and GPA?

His private school does not use a 4.0 scale, it was a 100 point scale. He had an 85 average, and a 33 ACT. He was also a varsity athlete and eagle scout

Thank you. Impressive kid.

Anonymous wrote:I am one of the PPs whose kid is a freshman at WM (he also lives in GGV; I wonder if he knows the other PP's son...!)

THe worst part is, as she said, lack of A/C. It is also INCREDIBLY small. There are no closets, so they bring in a wardrobe of sorts, that holds literally 8 hangers. The beds have to be lofted or bunked, as otherwise there is not enough space for the desks and beds. And contrary to another PP, the school does NOT let you "just buy an a/c". You have to get a medical exemption, which they are very strict about. If you have a rogue a/c.

Food is worse than other institutional food I've had... I'm not expecting gourmet, but it should be free of mold, fresh, and appetizing to a certain extent. There are plenty of veg/vegan/gluten free options, though. The school needs to bring it up to the standards of the other state schools; I hear VT has great food.

Neither of these complaints is insurmountable.... the school is a great fit for my kid and next year he will be in a fraternity house (on campus) and will have a/c, plenty of space, and a real closet - lol!

Fairly recent W&M grad here, and this is very accurate. Sometimes people would find unsavory things in their dining hall food and post it online. But I've seen this at every school, TBH, from privates to publics.

The dorms at W&M are old and small. I had a VERY small closet in my room, a single, and even that wasn't very much. There are definitely issues with mold and similar things in dorms; I know lots of people who had pretty bad dermatological / allergy problems as a result that magically "cleared up" after graduation. The newer dorms, like Jamestown, are quite nice and are options for upperclassmen.

The school is great if you want individualized attention from professors and are looking at grad school. You make your own fun, through Greek life and various clubs, as there is very little to do on campus/in the surrounding are (I think UVA is better in that respect). I enjoyed my time there, and the advice I'd give your son is to think about the people he likes at each campus. Which group does he feel more comfortable around? Who does he think he'll be friends with, and where does he feel that he "fits in" better?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is a freshman at W&M; we live in NoVa and he went to a private school. He had a good ACT score but middling grades... we were surprised he got in.

Do you mind me asking his scores and GPA?

His private school does not use a 4.0 scale, it was a 100 point scale. He had an 85 average, and a 33 ACT. He was also a varsity athlete and eagle scout

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Anonymous wrote:The primary W&M experience for NoVa kids is learning that W&M doesn’t want NoVa applicants, and instead exists for the revenue provided by out of state applicants who support applicants from the southern and western parts of the state.

Neat thread tho.

Ooof. Sad but probably true.

Pretty much every college wants as many applicants as they can get.

And every state school would like as many OOS as possible. More revenue.

By law, W&M (and all other public VA schools) keep a minimum of 65% of students in-state. A sizeable percentage come from NOVA.

Can you point people to where the 65% figure comes from? It isn’t in the Code of VA as far as I can find.

Sorry--I was a bit off in my initial statement. It's not actually law--but rather State Council of Higher Education in Virginia policy for the majority of public schools (a few schools like Virginia Military Institute have different policies --and two year schools aren't required to do this reporting).
Any VA public university has a statement on their in-state/out-of-state rates usually in the Common Data Sets, but in their institutional reporting and universities are required to report when yield causes a drift (e.g., more than anticipated OOS students say yes and more than anticipated in state say no) and have a plan to rectify in the following year. The percentage is for the overall undergraduate student body (so if it's 63% in a given admission year, they tilt in-state acceptances up a bit to maintain the overall 65%). You can see the statement of this policy on W&M accpeted student profile for instance: https://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/facts-figures/class-profile/index.php The general rule is around 2/3 in-state. Doctoral institutions ARE often encouraged to get to at least 25% out of state in their undergrad numberrs though as that increases revenue, reputation etc.

Most people I've known who have gone to W&M really like and appreciate the school. They aren't necessarily rah rah people, but don't confuse that with lack of support. The other schools I'd say have strong alumni support (not just for athletics) are VMI and UVA.

W&M is adding A/C to dorms as they renovate them. I think Landrum was just completed. They have a number of older dorms and a higher percentage of students on campus than most other public schools in Virginia, so it is a work in process. UVA is doing similar work as it replaces O-Hill dorms and renovates other units. Pretty much all the dorms built in Virginia prior to the 1970s did not have A/C. It was considered a luxury back then.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The primary W&M experience for NoVa kids is learning that W&M doesn’t want NoVa applicants, and instead exists for the revenue provided by out of state applicants who support applicants from the southern and western parts of the state.

Neat thread tho.

Ooof. Sad but probably true.

Pretty much every college wants as many applicants as they can get.

And every state school would like as many OOS as possible. More revenue.

By law, W&M (and all other public VA schools) keep a minimum of 65% of students in-state. A sizeable percentage come from NOVA.

Can you point people to where the 65% figure comes from? It isn’t in the Code of VA as far as I can find.

I am one of the PPs whose kid is a freshman at WM (he also lives in GGV; I wonder if he knows the other PP's son...!)

THe worst part is, as she said, lack of A/C. It is also INCREDIBLY small. There are no closets, so they bring in a wardrobe of sorts, that holds literally 8 hangers. The beds have to be lofted or bunked, as otherwise there is not enough space for the desks and beds. And contrary to another PP, the school does NOT let you "just buy an a/c". You have to get a medical exemption, which they are very strict about. If you have a rogue a/c.

Food is worse than other institutional food I've had... I'm not expecting gourmet, but it should be free of mold, fresh, and appetizing to a certain extent. There are plenty of veg/vegan/gluten free options, though. The school needs to bring it up to the standards of the other state schools; I hear VT has great food.

Neither of these complaints is insurmountable.... the school is a great fit for my kid and next year he will be in a fraternity house (on campus) and will have a/c, plenty of space, and a real closet - lol!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The primary W&M experience for NoVa kids is learning that W&M doesn’t want NoVa applicants, and instead exists for the revenue provided by out of state applicants who support applicants from the southern and western parts of the state.

Neat thread tho.

Ooof. Sad but probably true.

Pretty much every college wants as many applicants as they can get.

And every state school would like as many OOS as possible. More revenue.

By law, W&M (and all other public VA schools) keep a minimum of 65% of students in-state. A sizeable percentage come from NOVA.

And it should be pointed out that W&M is run by the Commonwealth of Virginia so doesn't have to wory about "OOS supporting in-state" That's a decision for the state governement, not W&M

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The primary W&M experience for NoVa kids is learning that W&M doesn’t want NoVa applicants, and instead exists for the revenue provided by out of state applicants who support applicants from the southern and western parts of the state.

Neat thread tho.

Ooof. Sad but probably true.

Pretty much every college wants as many applicants as they can get.

And every state school would like as many OOS as possible. More revenue.

By law, W&M (and all other public VA schools) keep a minimum of 65% of students in-state. A sizeable percentage come from NOVA.

10:58 here again. OP, getting back to your question, W&M is a phenomenal school. Your son should trust his gut. Being challenged isn't a bad thing (if the school, in fact, ends up being a lot of work for him). I'm sure he'll find his niche.