College of William and Mary Top Questions

I would change the ability to get into classes. Most teachers in big lecture classes are willing to let you in, but other than that it's difficult. I love the size of W&M: it's small enough to see people you know a lot but big enough to see people you don't know too. I'm from out of state, so a lot of people my own age don't know the school, but a lot of parents I know do and respond well. The school's administration is really starting to crack down on Greek life which is annoying because they didn't do anything particularly wrong and there really hasn't been a problem. They just really don't want kids drinking underage, but with the stress that comes with getting good grades at the college, students need an outlet and they're taking it away. If you want a crazy party school, this is not the school for you. Overall though I LOVE W&M and most of my friends do too, but a lot of them complain about the administration but love the people who go there.

The College of William & Mary is a great place to be for achievement-oriented students who want to enjoy a peaceful college life and get an excellent education. It has a beautiful green campus, safe environment and great faculty. The small size of the school translates into the professors having more time for students and more opportunities to receive answers for individual questions. The W&M faculty as well as staff is known for being friendly and this is truly so. The location of the school in a small college town (Williamsburg) which has a large number of retired community means that it is a quiet place and has limited entertainment options. The W&M students are sports-friendly and many of them exercise regularly, however the school itself does not have strong athletic teams. Overall, it is a great school with a recognized name to receive education at.

I don't love this school; I'm hopefully transferring after this year. It's a good size, has a pretty good reputation, and great professors. The administration is horrid, especially the President. The school is more conservative than I am comfortable with despite the widespread belief that it is "very liberal". We pay our workers crappy salaries. There is no social life besides Greek life or pretentious hipster parties. My overall opinion? Ughhhhhh.

I applied to W&M thinking everyone here was going to be an intellectual, nerdy, but cool and down to earth person, but in reality it is really diverse. There are so many different types of people here, and yet, everyone gets along great and is respects one another. We may differ in our interests and passions, but our love for W&M and overall respect for others makes it a great place to learn about the world and yourself.

In all fairness, I'll admit that I'm not an average W&M student. I skipped most of orientation freshmen year, and moved off campus sophomore year. Early on, I found the environment to be ludicrously moralistic and laughably upbeat, but I suppose for most starry-eyed freshmen that's the sort of atmosphere to be desired. If you can keep a straight-face through orientation (better yet, a smiling one!), W&M might be the place for you. A lot of people say freshman year feels like summer camp. In many ways, that hits the nail on the head. On my hall, at least, few people drank and smoking cigarettes made you outcast. Caught by an RA with alcohol in my dorm room at one point, I was cycled through an impressive series of meetings and lectures, culminating with my sitting on the floor of my RA's room as he opined, "I don't get it...if you're thirsty, just have a glass of water." Yes, I'm serious. Now, my experience may not be exemplary, but it did happen. I focus on freshman year here because I expect that most people reading this are prospective students. Once I moved off-campus, the picture became much rosier.

The best thing about W&M is that it is what you make it. The community is really tight, and you can always find something to do. If you want to go out on a Tuesday, there are things going on. If you want to go study, there are tons of people in the library. If you want to join a club, odds are there is what you're looking for.

The William & Mary community is passionate. Whatever their interest - volleyball, early American history, painting, global public health, or ultimate frisbee - William & Mary students (and professors) pursue it passionately. As a campus, one thing that we are universally passionate about is public service. Each year, students here log thousands of hours of service, from volunteering at local schools to spending their breaks in other countries doing medical work. Many describe our school as having a "culture of service," and I think this is accurate. While not everyone is involved in service, such a large and vocal portion of the student body is that it's hard to miss the passion for service that pervades it. William & Mary students are super-involved anyway, with most people spreading themselves thin in multiple student organizations (of which there are over 400 on a campus of fewer than 6,000 undergraduates), but the extracurriculars to which I have seen the most commitment are service-oriented. The best thing about my school is the passion that students have for their interests and activities and that professors have about teaching. Although William & Mary churns out important research each year and can boast faculty at the forefront of their fields, professors here are most interested in teaching undergraduates. This means that not only do undergrads have the attention and care of their professors, but also that there are plenty of opportunities to get involved as an undergrad in ground-breaking research in any department. Another great thing is our physical campus. While Williamsburg certainly isn't New York City, the town has a rich history that gives it a unique flavor. Where else can you jog down a street past reconstructed colonial buildings and people dressed in early American attire? Our campus is rendered in the same colonial architectural style, and there are times when I am overwhelmed by its sheer beauty. It's also generally a very safe place, and I feel secure walking around by myself at any time of the day or night. The physical environment has contributed much to my comfort at William & Mary. The biggest controversy that recently occured was the Board of Visitor's decision not to renew the contract of our president, Gene R. Nichol. The entire school shut down for two days in protest of a decision that many saw as politically motivated (Nichol had stirred up plenty of controversy in his 2-year tenure at William & Mary, much of which surrounded his attempts to make the school more diverse and inclusive). Although most of the students, faculty, and William & Mary community stand in opposition to the Board's decision and are disappointed to see such a talented and visionary man leave, the reaction of our community is testament to the unity and pride that we have in our school. Many students staged protests and tirelessly wrote letters to the Board and to local news sources, voicing their discontent, and professors held teach-ins to discuss the events. But the important lesson of this incident is that no administrative decision can remove our unity or passion for our school, nor can it dampen the sentiments of inclusion and progressiveness that Nichol inspired.

William and Mary is smaller, which means that it is easier to get to know your professors and there is a real sense of community. There are lots of activities going on all the time and I spend most of the time on campus or within walking distance.

The best thing about W&M is its sense of tradition and history. In the colonial capital of Virginia, W&M has a beautiful campus as old as the colonies themselves. One gets a sense of pride when they walk on Old Campus, see the Wren Building, and traverse Downtown Colonial Williamsburg. Tradition is a big part of campus life. The Triathlon is a time honored event in which students jump the wall at the governors mansion and complete the maze, streak the Sunken Garden, and swim in the Crim Del. Nearly every student completes these by senior year, and I have yet to meet a student who hasn't done at least one portion. Blowout, in which students, and sometimes professors, bring alcohol to the last day of classes, is perhaps the ost looked forward to event of the year. Other cool things include taking a class in the Wren Building, the Yule Log Ceremony, and the Primal Scream.

The best thing about William and Mary is the opportunities you get here that are so unique. It's magical, actually; even the most timid person, as long as they have an interest in something, has a chance to pursue that interest in truly exciting ways. I came here because when I visited on Admitted Students' Day, there was this extremely quiet girl who got up to speak at a session on research opportunities. We could hardly hear her, and she didn't seem like an obvious choice as a speaker who was supposed to be convincing us to attend William and Mary. Then she told this story about emailing a professor about trying to get into a class that was full, and in response getting an offer to spend the summer doing research with him. This was amazing. She was clearly not the most aggressive or cutthroat of people, but here, she didn't have to be in order to have an absolutely amazing experience, and one that fit her interests perfectly. She ended up getting published with this professor-- all because of one tentative, and unrelated, email. So I decided to come here because I wanted to be able to tell a story like this. And this summer, I will be going to Kenya for six weeks to go on an archaeological dig. For free. I am able to do this because a professor I had in the fall suggested some names of people to contact. One email later, I was offered a ticket to Nairobi. I didn't have to beat out tons of my also well-qualified classmates, or brag endlessly and uncomfortably about myself, and this is the kind of thing I've only heard about happening at William and Mary.