Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the Saturday evening AmTrak from Williamsburg (1 block from campus) to Alexandria (AKA, the Hogworts Express), the Conductor announced a welcome home the 450 W& M students they were dropping off. Kids also came home Friday evening, Sat am, and there were two trains Sunday. And, of course, some kids drove and some were picked up.

Contrast this with 35 kids a year from MoCo.

Huh?

It is a funny allegory meant to demonstrate the difficulty of applying from Md, I think. I didn’t want to point out those on the train were from any graduating year, grad school, law school etc. I am guessing the 35 is an extrapolated number of enrolled freshmen based on the 66 MD members of last year’s freshmen class. Apples to oranges, but I like hearing about the kids on the train home for the holidays

I’m, the UVA students take that train too

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the Saturday evening AmTrak from Williamsburg (1 block from campus) to Alexandria (AKA, the Hogworts Express), the Conductor announced a welcome home the 450 W& M students they were dropping off. Kids also came home Friday evening, Sat am, and there were two trains Sunday. And, of course, some kids drove and some were picked up.

Contrast this with 35 kids a year from MoCo.

What makes you think that there weren't MoCo kids getting off in Alexandria too? I live in MoCo and it's pretty much 50-50 to me on whether I'd prefer to do a train pick up at Union Station vs Alexandria....

One Tribe!

I think that part was only meant to show the difference and thus competitiveness for OOS kids. So, kudos to your kid I have not skin in this game, being from SE VA and I almost wishing I could be part of this Hogwarts tradition of seeing all those WM kids pouring out of the train

Yeah. I grumble about the crowd. But f you haven’t seen your kid in a couple months, it’s pretty great to see hundreds of kids pouring out of the train talking and laughing with each other and hugging their parents. It’s the moment when it feels like Christmas or Thanksgiving has arrived. We usually get my other kid from the airport. His school is also great and he loves it. But Dulles definitely does not inspire the same happiness and excitement.

DP. Oh, I disagree! I love meeting people - and especially my college kids - at Dulles. So exciting, every single time. One of my kids goes to VT and they have several buses that come up from Blacksburg to Dulles. Same vibe - kids pouring out, everyone hugging, parents eagerly waiting. It's so great when the college kids come home, regardless.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are readings things into my post I did not say, nor think. Nowhere did I claim their 'the most' or 'the only".
Of course there are polite kids at hundreds of other schools too (would be silly to claim differently) , but can't one be happy and share a positive event?

Not everything is a competition in life.

+1

+1. I appreciated your post. My DC applied ED to William & Mary and I enjoyed reading about the polite kids at the school.

Me too. It was a cute story. Some folks just like to be mad.

DP, but the Hogworts Express is a feel good NOVA- WM tradition— and it’s one that I looks forward to. It’s unusual to have a large number of kids all coming home to the same station via railroad in 2023– but man does it beat sitting on 95 to Williamsburg and back. There are hundreds of parents waiting eagerly for the train to arrive so they can see their kid. Then hundreds of kids pouring off the train, still talking with friends and roomates they had travelled with. Lots of hugging. Families reunited for the holidays. It a great way to start a break or holiday. And yes, I’m glad that my kid has kind peers— and that the kids represent the school well.

I have to agree it’s hard to see what about this antidote about an informal WM/ NOVA tradition pisses some people off. Of course other schools have kids who are kind and polite. And of course other schools have feel good traditiona, formal and informal. But, this thread is about WM.

FYI - there are TONS of VCU, ODU, CNU and NSU kids on that train as well.

NP. I can’t even believe I’m weighing in on this, but ODU and NSU kids would not get on the train in Williamsburg. The trains that leave Norfolk are not the same ones that go through W’burg. But I’m sure their students are very polite, too. Ok, carry on.

Yes, they are. And PP was taking about them getting off the train in ALX, not on (see “crying parents”).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the Saturday evening AmTrak from Williamsburg (1 block from campus) to Alexandria (AKA, the Hogworts Express), the Conductor announced a welcome home the 450 W& M students they were dropping off. Kids also came home Friday evening, Sat am, and there were two trains Sunday. And, of course, some kids drove and some were picked up.

Contrast this with 35 kids a year from MoCo.

What makes you think that there weren't MoCo kids getting off in Alexandria too? I live in MoCo and it's pretty much 50-50 to me on whether I'd prefer to do a train pick up at Union Station vs Alexandria....

One Tribe!

I think that part was only meant to show the difference and thus competitiveness for OOS kids. So, kudos to your kid I have not skin in this game, being from SE VA and I almost wishing I could be part of this Hogwarts tradition of seeing all those WM kids pouring out of the train

Yeah. I grumble about the crowd. But f you haven’t seen your kid in a couple months, it’s pretty great to see hundreds of kids pouring out of the train talking and laughing with each other and hugging their parents. It’s the moment when it feels like Christmas or Thanksgiving has arrived. We usually get my other kid from the airport. His school is also great and he loves it. But Dulles definitely does not inspire the same happiness and excitement.

Anonymous wrote:Does an MCPS/W cluster boy with a 4.0/4.7 GPA and 1570 SAT, good but not amazing ECs and no other hooks have a chance of getting in RD at William and Mary?
Thanks.

My W school 2020 had 1580 and 3.95 UW/4.7 weighted and was accepted RD, no merit money. He decided to attend UMD honors with 1/2 BK.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the Saturday evening AmTrak from Williamsburg (1 block from campus) to Alexandria (AKA, the Hogworts Express), the Conductor announced a welcome home the 450 W& M students they were dropping off. Kids also came home Friday evening, Sat am, and there were two trains Sunday. And, of course, some kids drove and some were picked up.

Contrast this with 35 kids a year from MoCo.

What makes you think that there weren't MoCo kids getting off in Alexandria too? I live in MoCo and it's pretty much 50-50 to me on whether I'd prefer to do a train pick up at Union Station vs Alexandria....

Why wouldn’t they get off in New Carrllton?

+1. The parking situation at Alexandria isn’t great on a normal day. It’s an absolute zoo when the WM train comes in. DD has friends that metro out a couple of stops. We usually park a 1/2 mile away and walk t meet her. Why would you subject yourself to that when there is a closer station without hundred of parents trying to find parking and claim their kid?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the Saturday evening AmTrak from Williamsburg (1 block from campus) to Alexandria (AKA, the Hogworts Express), the Conductor announced a welcome home the 450 W& M students they were dropping off. Kids also came home Friday evening, Sat am, and there were two trains Sunday. And, of course, some kids drove and some were picked up.

Contrast this with 35 kids a year from MoCo.

What makes you think that there weren't MoCo kids getting off in Alexandria too? I live in MoCo and it's pretty much 50-50 to me on whether I'd prefer to do a train pick up at Union Station vs Alexandria....

One Tribe!

I think that part was only meant to show the difference and thus competitiveness for OOS kids. So, kudos to your kid I have not skin in this game, being from SE VA and I almost wishing I could be part of this Hogwarts tradition of seeing all those WM kids pouring out of the train

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the Saturday evening AmTrak from Williamsburg (1 block from campus) to Alexandria (AKA, the Hogworts Express), the Conductor announced a welcome home the 450 W& M students they were dropping off. Kids also came home Friday evening, Sat am, and there were two trains Sunday. And, of course, some kids drove and some were picked up.

Contrast this with 35 kids a year from MoCo.

What makes you think that there weren't MoCo kids getting off in Alexandria too? I live in MoCo and it's pretty much 50-50 to me on whether I'd prefer to do a train pick up at Union Station vs Alexandria....

Why wouldn’t they get off in New Carrllton?

Anonymous wrote:On the Saturday evening AmTrak from Williamsburg (1 block from campus) to Alexandria (AKA, the Hogworts Express), the Conductor announced a welcome home the 450 W& M students they were dropping off. Kids also came home Friday evening, Sat am, and there were two trains Sunday. And, of course, some kids drove and some were picked up.

Contrast this with 35 kids a year from MoCo.

What makes you think that there weren't MoCo kids getting off in Alexandria too? I live in MoCo and it's pretty much 50-50 to me on whether I'd prefer to do a train pick up at Union Station vs Alexandria....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are readings things into my post I did not say, nor think. Nowhere did I claim their 'the most' or 'the only".
Of course there are polite kids at hundreds of other schools too (would be silly to claim differently) , but can't one be happy and share a positive event?

Not everything is a competition in life.

+1

+1. I appreciated your post. My DC applied ED to William & Mary and I enjoyed reading about the polite kids at the school.

Me too. It was a cute story. Some folks just like to be mad.

DP, but the Hogworts Express is a feel good NOVA- WM tradition— and it’s one that I looks forward to. It’s unusual to have a large number of kids all coming home to the same station via railroad in 2023– but man does it beat sitting on 95 to Williamsburg and back. There are hundreds of parents waiting eagerly for the train to arrive so they can see their kid. Then hundreds of kids pouring off the train, still talking with friends and roomates they had travelled with. Lots of hugging. Families reunited for the holidays. It a great way to start a break or holiday. And yes, I’m glad that my kid has kind peers— and that the kids represent the school well.

I have to agree it’s hard to see what about this antidote about an informal WM/ NOVA tradition pisses some people off. Of course other schools have kids who are kind and polite. And of course other schools have feel good traditiona, formal and informal. But, this thread is about WM.

FYI - there are TONS of VCU, ODU, CNU and NSU kids on that train as well.

NP. I can’t even believe I’m weighing in on this, but ODU and NSU kids would not get on the train in Williamsburg. The trains that leave Norfolk are not the same ones that go through W’burg. But I’m sure their students are very polite, too. Ok, carry on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are readings things into my post I did not say, nor think. Nowhere did I claim their 'the most' or 'the only".
Of course there are polite kids at hundreds of other schools too (would be silly to claim differently) , but can't one be happy and share a positive event?

Not everything is a competition in life.

+1

+1. I appreciated your post. My DC applied ED to William & Mary and I enjoyed reading about the polite kids at the school.

Me too. It was a cute story. Some folks just like to be mad.

DP, but the Hogworts Express is a feel good NOVA- WM tradition— and it’s one that I looks forward to. It’s unusual to have a large number of kids all coming home to the same station via railroad in 2023– but man does it beat sitting on 95 to Williamsburg and back. There are hundreds of parents waiting eagerly for the train to arrive so they can see their kid. Then hundreds of kids pouring off the train, still talking with friends and roomates they had travelled with. Lots of hugging. Families reunited for the holidays. It a great way to start a break or holiday. And yes, I’m glad that my kid has kind peers— and that the kids represent the school well.

I have to agree it’s hard to see what about this antidote about an informal WM/ NOVA tradition pisses some people off. Of course other schools have kids who are kind and polite. And of course other schools have feel good traditiona, formal and informal. But, this thread is about WM.

FYI - there are TONS of VCU, ODU, CNU and NSU kids on that train as well.

Presumably AmTrak knows that on that Saturday evening 450 kids using the student fare got on in Williamsburg and off in ALX. And, of course, some also got off at other VA stations and at Union Station. DD was on the train and said some kids got on from VCU, but she didn’t see ODU, CNU or NSU. They may have had a different holiday schedule for Thanksgiving this year. Plus, DD has several friends at CNU, and none use the train. The WM train to NOVA is such a thing because 95 is so awful and the kids can easily walk to the AmTrak station.

But yes, I’m sure the ODU, NSU, etc. kids are nice and well mannered and make a good impression too. It’s just weird to get defensive and act like anyone is a complement to the students of one college is intended to be a slight to all the other state schools. It like when you tell your six year old that they drew a nice picture and your 5 year old immediately chimes in with “well what about my picture? Is it pretty to? Is it prettier than hers? Which picture do you like better?”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are readings things into my post I did not say, nor think. Nowhere did I claim their 'the most' or 'the only".
Of course there are polite kids at hundreds of other schools too (would be silly to claim differently) , but can't one be happy and share a positive event?

Not everything is a competition in life.

+1

+1. I appreciated your post. My DC applied ED to William & Mary and I enjoyed reading about the polite kids at the school.

Me too. It was a cute story. Some folks just like to be mad.

DP, but the Hogworts Express is a feel good NOVA- WM tradition— and it’s one that I looks forward to. It’s unusual to have a large number of kids all coming home to the same station via railroad in 2023– but man does it beat sitting on 95 to Williamsburg and back. There are hundreds of parents waiting eagerly for the train to arrive so they can see their kid. Then hundreds of kids pouring off the train, still talking with friends and roomates they had travelled with. Lots of hugging. Families reunited for the holidays. It a great way to start a break or holiday. And yes, I’m glad that my kid has kind peers— and that the kids represent the school well.

I have to agree it’s hard to see what about this antidote about an informal WM/ NOVA tradition pisses some people off. Of course other schools have kids who are kind and polite. And of course other schools have feel good traditiona, formal and informal. But, this thread is about WM.

FYI - there are TONS of VCU, ODU, CNU and NSU kids on that train as well.

Anonymous wrote:When does interest tracking begin? For example, our sophomore has taken a few tours when we were visiting somewhere. Once their email is in the system, does that mean the tracking has begun?

Yes. Should stick as long as you use the same email to apply.

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of WM traditions, their Yule Log ceremony is a really nice one. It’s live-streamed on 12/17 here: https://www.wm.edu/sites/yulelog/

Parents whose kids get in ED should watch the livestream with the newest member of the Tribe. It’s a nice way to celebrate their good news. My kid got in ED and tuned in and was so excited that next year, she would participate.

Our DD decided to stay 3 additional days there after finals to participate CW also has lots of going on this month.

When does interest tracking begin? For example, our sophomore has taken a few tours when we were visiting somewhere. Once their email is in the system, does that mean the tracking has begun?