Anonymous
05/26/2025 12:35
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
My son is in state and got into W&M last year. It was his most expensive option at around $40k. Dayton, a similar size and private school came in at under $20k.
He didn't choose either one 🤷
He didn't choose either one 🤷
Anonymous
05/26/2025 12:30
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
I haven’t seen anyone mention U of Rochester. Private with good merit. My high stats niece had a great experience & merit there. Feel like it’s similarish to W&M though maybe more STEM focused.
Also agree with looking at Elon. Handful of high stats kids headed there from my kid’s NC high school this year for their fellows or honors programs. All got good merit & some chose it over higher ranked schools including W&M, Case, UNC Chapel Hill, etc.
Also agree with looking at Elon. Handful of high stats kids headed there from my kid’s NC high school this year for their fellows or honors programs. All got good merit & some chose it over higher ranked schools including W&M, Case, UNC Chapel Hill, etc.
Anonymous
05/25/2025 01:38
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Yes W&M is unique. This is why honor colleges at bigger flagships exist.
Anonymous
05/24/2025 14:36
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:DD loves W&M. She’s OOS and full pay. What are similarly-sized universities that are also public? All the lists of best mid-sized colleges and universities she’s found are dominated by privates. If someone is competitive for W&M, what are comparable mid-sized privates that offer merit, bringing the cost closer to OOS W&M. Not sure yet if she wants to study STEM (biology) or humanities (history or public policy).
You won't likely get merit from comparable privates to W&M. You typically have to go a tier down to get merit.
Anonymous
05/24/2025 13:29
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP, I’m sorry people can’t stay on task.
I posted about Fiske earlier; just wanted to follow up with a bit more data.
I don’t have great tools to sort based on cost; you’ll need to check NPCs for that. But here’s a more complete list of Fiske’s five-star (for academics) schools between 2,000 and 10,000 students (my personal definition of mid-size is 4,000-9,000), but I figure this gives you some more options):
Barnard College
Brown University
Carleton College
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
William & Mary
Williams College
Yale University
If you get a copy of Fiske you can also expand down to the 4.5 star tier (still extremely strong academically; there’s nothing infallible about Fiske’s cutoffs, either) and pick up about a dozen more midsize schools, including WashU and St. Andrews.
As you look at costs and admit rates, you’ll likely see that William & Mary is the most accessible school on that list. It’s a shame there aren’t more like it.
Other than size, I sincerely hope you aren’t actually lumping W&M in with those other schools. I mean, come on.
Fiske seems to think there's a commonality. Are you an expert?
A size commonality. Please provide your link.
As noted by the PP, the Fiske Guide gives all of the schools listed 5 stars for academics. So yes, Fiske lumps W&M with those schools academically.
Anonymous
05/24/2025 12:19
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:High Point fits the bill
Oh Dear Lord, no! Anyone considering W&M should not be looking at HPU.
Why not? Since WM fell in USNWR it’s hard to assess new peers. Maybe Elon.
W&M is an established national university with a reputable academic record. HPU is a questionable regional university focused on “life skills,” and currently under an accreditation warning.
VT is ranked better now in case you weren’t aware. Maybe JMU is WM’s peer in-state.
It's not.
Anonymous
05/24/2025 12:16
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:Privates at ~7000 undergrads that offer merit:
AI says Wesleyan, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Fordham, Case Western
Wes has 3,000 undergrads so AI is way off here.
Anonymous
05/23/2025 22:21
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
I wish more states had public options like William and Mary. VA residents are very lucky. For most people, the public options are usually the state flagship or a lesser-known regional public that’s not at the same level academically as W & M.
Anonymous
05/23/2025 21:56
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP, I’m sorry people can’t stay on task.
I posted about Fiske earlier; just wanted to follow up with a bit more data.
I don’t have great tools to sort based on cost; you’ll need to check NPCs for that. But here’s a more complete list of Fiske’s five-star (for academics) schools between 2,000 and 10,000 students (my personal definition of mid-size is 4,000-9,000), but I figure this gives you some more options):
Barnard College
Brown University
Carleton College
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
William & Mary
Williams College
Yale University
If you get a copy of Fiske you can also expand down to the 4.5 star tier (still extremely strong academically; there’s nothing infallible about Fiske’s cutoffs, either) and pick up about a dozen more midsize schools, including WashU and St. Andrews.
As you look at costs and admit rates, you’ll likely see that William & Mary is the most accessible school on that list. It’s a shame there aren’t more like it.
Other than size, I sincerely hope you aren’t actually lumping W&M in with those other schools. I mean, come on.
Fiske seems to think there's a commonality. Are you an expert?
A size commonality. Please provide your link.
Anonymous
05/23/2025 14:27
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP, I’m sorry people can’t stay on task.
I posted about Fiske earlier; just wanted to follow up with a bit more data.
I don’t have great tools to sort based on cost; you’ll need to check NPCs for that. But here’s a more complete list of Fiske’s five-star (for academics) schools between 2,000 and 10,000 students (my personal definition of mid-size is 4,000-9,000), but I figure this gives you some more options):
Barnard College
Brown University
Carleton College
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
William & Mary
Williams College
Yale University
If you get a copy of Fiske you can also expand down to the 4.5 star tier (still extremely strong academically; there’s nothing infallible about Fiske’s cutoffs, either) and pick up about a dozen more midsize schools, including WashU and St. Andrews.
As you look at costs and admit rates, you’ll likely see that William & Mary is the most accessible school on that list. It’s a shame there aren’t more like it.
Other than size, I sincerely hope you aren’t actually lumping W&M in with those other schools. I mean, come on.
Fiske seems to think there's a commonality. Are you an expert?
Anonymous
05/23/2025 14:24
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:We considered UVM and URI as smaller state schools. Both give great merit to kids from this area and have lovely campuses.
I think URI is an interesting possibility worth considering. Not exactly the same profile as W&M but could be a nice option that checks some of your boxes. It’s a solid public university. 14,000 undergrads so double the size as W&M, but still more mid-size than many others being mentioned.
Anonymous
05/23/2025 14:21
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:We considered UVM and URI as smaller state schools. Both give great merit to kids from this area and have lovely campuses.
+1
Great options.
Anonymous
05/23/2025 14:20
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:OP, I’m sorry people can’t stay on task.
I posted about Fiske earlier; just wanted to follow up with a bit more data.
I don’t have great tools to sort based on cost; you’ll need to check NPCs for that. But here’s a more complete list of Fiske’s five-star (for academics) schools between 2,000 and 10,000 students (my personal definition of mid-size is 4,000-9,000), but I figure this gives you some more options):
Barnard College
Brown University
Carleton College
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
William & Mary
Williams College
Yale University
If you get a copy of Fiske you can also expand down to the 4.5 star tier (still extremely strong academically; there’s nothing infallible about Fiske’s cutoffs, either) and pick up about a dozen more midsize schools, including WashU and St. Andrews.
As you look at costs and admit rates, you’ll likely see that William & Mary is the most accessible school on that list. It’s a shame there aren’t more like it.
Other than size, I sincerely hope you aren’t actually lumping W&M in with those other schools. I mean, come on.
Anonymous
05/23/2025 14:18
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:High Point fits the bill
Oh Dear Lord, no! Anyone considering W&M should not be looking at HPU.
Why not? Since WM fell in USNWR it’s hard to assess new peers. Maybe Elon.
W&M is an established national university with a reputable academic record. HPU is a questionable regional university focused on “life skills,” and currently under an accreditation warning.
VT is ranked better now in case you weren’t aware. Maybe JMU is WM’s peer in-state.
VT is a good school but isn’t what OP is looking for. You can stand down.
DP. I’m wondering if you have any idea how you come across? I’ll just leave that right there.
Anonymous
05/23/2025 14:12
Subject: Mid-Sized Public Universities
Haven’t been there, but Lehigh is worth considering. I know they give good merit.