College of William and Mary Top Questions

The best thing about William and Mary can be summed up by three days of the year. Blowout1 Blowout2 and Campus Golf. The rest of the time it is a pretty sad place. I would change a million things about the school, the social scene is insane, there is nowhere to go to see good music (Meridian gets an A for effort but fails in size, booze, atmosphere, etc), there are only two bars worth going to, the athletes think they own the town (even though we suck at sports). Williamsburg is some sort of a college town/tourist trap/police state combination in which your best bet is to find a cool house off campus and never leave it.

The best thing about WM is that when you graduate you will never have to come back. I would change too many things to list. People react with with a token "wow you must be smart" but they are really telling themselves you must be a big nerd loser. I spend most of my time on campus in class and then immediately get off of campus. Definetly a "what college town" For a "liberal" school the administration is extremely conservative and cares nothing for its students. There could not even be school pride if we wanted it because all of our sports teams are pathetic and anyone that doesnt go to WM and watches them play cant help but laugh.

When you sign up as a William and Mary student you are giving your life, heart, soul to a family. We are a very tight family. I wish we could be a little tighter. I wish we could be a bit more sturdy against the outside attacks that occur so frequently. Our school is small but like an exclusive group. I was once at a dinner party with doctors and lawyers in Atlanta and I mentioned my affiliation with the College and received nothing but praise and admiration. People know us. We are important. I spend a lot of time in the Swem Media Center. Swem Library is an interesting place to hang out. The Greene Leafe is where we all drink. The City of Williamsburg is filled with people who are not interested in us. The administration is a large bureaucracy filled with generally nice and capable people, though not always there to help you. Our campus has been flooded with controversy lately. Over our 300+ year history we haven't spent many years without something going on all over campus. School pride we have but need more of. Students complain of lack of night life. Frankly, if you know how to party you don't need clubs.

William and Mary is demanding academically. You will actually learn and put in a fair amount of work and will probably get smarter. This is where the benefits of the college end. If you like partying, prepare to not find any, and then get hassled by the holier-than-thou big-brother gestapo police force, who are bitter old farts who think a good time is causing a problem where there is none. Enjoy seeing none of the beautiful girls that attend other colleges. If you are lucky you can convince yourself that the library is cool. By the time you are a spring-semester freshman you know everyone who is outgoing or likes to have fun, and get used to only hanging out with them. I honestly believe that Williamsburg is the most stagnant, depressing, anti-student hive of boredom in the country. Believe the stereotypes, save yourself the grief.

The best thing about William & Mary is that it isn't UVA. Other than that it has a number of problems. It is too small and there is a very limited social scene, because of the demographics of Williamsburg. My friends laugh at me when I talk about William & Mary. The school pride here is impressive, but you can't help but think the students take pride for the sake of taking pride--not because there are many things about this school that they enjoy and appreciate.

The best thing? The students are intelligent, open, and involved. You can talk to anyone if you just try a little bit. I would change the amount of power the state has in making decisions about the College. The school is the perfect size! When I tell people I go to William and Mary, they think that all I do is work. That's not true, although I do work very hard. I spend most of my time on campus at the Daily Grind. Williamsburg is not a great college town, but none of us are willing to spend money anyway, so what does it matter? The administration tries their hardest. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be reminded of our presence, though. We should work with them, not against them. The unusual thing about William and Mary is, well, everything. There are not too many small elite southern public liberal arts schools! I will always remember seeing the student movements after President Nichol's contract wasn't renewed. We are very active when we want to be, and much more reasonable than many people give us credit for. Don't piss us off - we won't take it sitting down! The most frequent student complaints have to do with nightlife and other students. To that I say: get off your ass and do something about it! Go find your own fun. Do what you love and you'll find people who love it too!

William and Mary's size is just right, large enough so that I meet new people constantly but small enough so that I will, without fail, run into a least a few people I know on campus on my way to class. I much prefer this size university to a larger one, I've studied at a university with 20,000+ students and you only "run into" people you know once in a blue moon. I spend most of my time on campus in the library, gym or on Old Campus--if you want a true residential college experience, William and Mary can offer it (especially if you take liberal arts classes instead of sciences). Old Campus is the most beautiful part of campus with trees lining red brick academic buildings , anchored by the Sunken Gardens in the center and flanked by the Christopher Wren building, where classes are still held. The new rec center is going to be a huge selling point in the admission office's prospective student literature..and for good reason! The new Rec Sports center has tons of equipment, is pleasing to the eye and a much needed upgrade to the William and Mary campus--people love it. The general student opinion of the administration has really declined recently, especially with the removal of our president Gene Nichol. He had the overwhelming support of students and staff, but his contract as president was not renewed after the Wren Cross controversy, which greatly upset most William and Mary students.

William and Mary has an awesome atmosphere. More about that specifically in the later questions. I'd bring the stress down a little, and add a couple fun things in walking distance. School is just the right size- always meeting new people, and when you do you'll see them again. often mutual friends. People are usually impressed in state, haven't heard of it out of state. Some think it's an Ivy or a Catholic school. few know it's public!!!! One of my mom's friends said, "oh, so she didn't get into UVA?" and my mom gave her a talking-to. (i did get in, btw.) i spend a lot of time in my hall. im a freshman, so many of my friends are there. i relax in my room and study in the lounge. its easy when its all right there. we have a cute college few blocks of stores. i dont have a car, but havent heard that there's a ton to do anyways. i dont really mind, i knew what i was getting into when i chose to come here. i really dont know much about the administration, though lots of my peers at least claim extensive knowledge of their inner workings. i believe that they like the students care about the school but naturally sometimes arrive at different conclusions on what is best. i definitely like that they email us with news and updates, so it's not all the rumor chain. hmm- must have been the Gene Nichol thing! though that's largely died down over spring break. yes!!!!! not about sports exactly, but virtually everyone here loves the school : ) William and Mary is unusual- the kids are quirky and i love it. we have a private school feel with public school tuition. we have a bunch of super-gifted kids who help each other rather than compete. everyone here has talents and passions, and much of it is not academic. there is also a huge culture of community service, which is a good thing to rub off on your friends. move-in day and orientation. the upperclassmen were positively delighted to see us, and say hi whenever they saw us, and help us carry our stuff up the stairs in 90 degree weather, and answer all our questions. it was a great start to what's been a great experience. some students complain about the boring town, the tough coursework with non-inflated GPAs, and the fact that grad school pass us over (that last one may be unfounded, i don't know).

The best thing about William and Mary is the value per dollar. It is the highest ranked small, public liberal arts school in the nation so if you live in-state and you want a liberal arts education on a budget it's a no-brainer. The teachers are well qualified and the degrees are well respected. If there were one thing I could change, it'd be the lack of nightlife. The only place to drink is the delis, which is always packed and extremely loud. There's nowhere to dance, and the police hand out noise violations like candy to people who throw house parties next to old neighbors (of whom there is no shortage in Williamsburg). When I tell people I go to William and Mary the two responses I typically get are "oh you must be really smart" and "oh that's thoroughly uninteresting, I've never heard of your football team." I spend most of my time on campus either at one of the local coffee shops or doing extracurriculars. There is no shortage of student activities, from meditation club to the student hip hop organization. Williamsburg is definitely not a college town; it's run by and for old people. It's got an overwhelming amount of history though, which is great if you're a history buff. Jamestown is right next door, we have re-enactors all over the place, and the college is the second oldest in the country after Harvard. The William and Mary administration is fairly effective in terms of financial management. We have a minuscule endowment and government funding gets cut every year, yet the school continues to climb in rankings. However, they do have pretty conservative leanings and are getting stricter with drug and alcohol violations. It's not uncommon for students to be expelled for possession of marijuana. The biggest recent controversy on campus was the non-renewal of the College's president, who was tremendously popular amongst students and faculty. There were protests, strikes, sit-ins, the works. Many people believe he was not renewed because of his many liberal policies, which the conservative alumni and administration did not approve of. These questions are too numerous and the lack of word count limits makes answering them frustratingly time consuming. I'm done here.

Best thing about W & M- such a welcoming community where everyone is so friendly and everyone feels included One thing I'd change- better athletic teams Size is great- 5,000 is not too big but not too small (see familiar faces but also meet new people all the time) When I tell people that I go to W & M they usually say "Wow that's a great school!", "Wow, that's a really tough school to get into", "Williamsburg is such a nice area", "William and Mary is such a pretty campus" I spend most of my time on campus at my sorority house, in the caf, at the rec center, or in the dorm Although the people of Williamsburg aren't too fond of the college community, the town itself is a great environment with lots of restaurants and such nearby. Colonial Williamsburg is really cute and has a bunch of nice shops and places to eat. New Town and other shopping centers are within a 10 minutes drive and provide anything you could possibly be looking for. We've had some recent changes in administration so that is up in the air right now. The biggest recent controversy on campus was in regards to the President's resignation after the Board of Visitor's decision to cancel the renewal of the president's contract (explanation of situation can be found on the internet). There is a lot of Tribe Pride. The alma mater is sung at almost every event, and football and other sporting events are always packed with students. Although the feathers were removed from the logo, people can always be found sporting the feathers as well as green and gold. One experience that I will always remember was initiation into my sorority. Greek life has been a huge part of my college experience, and is for many students on campus. However, there are many that choose not to be involved in the Greek community and they still have a wonderful college experience here. The most frequent student complaints are about the restrictions on who gets cars and where cars can be parked, but that is more a problem with the Williamsburg community than the college itself.