College of William and Mary Top Questions

Williamsburg is a very boring town.

State politicians and wealthy doners control the campus too much. Students have no say in the running of their university.

There is very little financial aid available. As an out-of-state student, this is very frustrating, having to pay five times as much as Virginia students. I will be $76,000 in debt by the end of this year. When I get my degree in 2011, I will be deep enough in debt that I could have gone to medical school, but will only have a B.A. The way William & Mary advertizes itself is very deceptive when it comes to financial aid.

In many respects, the town-gown relationship was a pretty big disappointment to me. I came from a town where the university really defined the town, but in Williamsburg, you always kind of get the feeling that the town would just as soon not have us (the students) around. Its part retirement-community, part tourist trap; you don't really have that tight integration between town and gown that you'd find in similar places like Charlottesville, VA Durham, NC, Lexington, VA or Davidson, NC.

no environmental concern, no concert hall, not enough funding for music program

The school is very small. It's nice because I like small class sizes and running into my friends a lot and not being just a number in a lecture hall, but at the same time it gets old sometimes. Gossip travels very quickly, and although you can avoid people you don't like for a long time, you can't avoid them forever. And because it's so small, sometimes there is a limit to the number of things going on on the weekends; if there's only one party being advertised, EVERYONE is there.

The work load is extremely heavy. Sometimes it seems that your best is not good enough at all.

There is poor parking availability. The school feels slightly skewed towards the liberal side of things, professors even more so than students.

Registration is difficult for freshman, transfers, and even sophomores. You might get stuck in large lecture classes that upperclassment didn't want.

There are limited options when it comes to venues or student hangouts that are open after 2am.