University of Mary Washington Top Questions

My classmates are very friendly and accepting.

My classmates are very friendly and eager to help.

My classmates are intelligent, friendly, and caring.

A mryiad of personalities.

There are two types of people on campus... the preps and the nerds. The majority consists of nerds/artsy people. The funny thing about Mary Washington is the normal nerds and outcasts in high schools who didn't have any friends can find a plethora of people like them, so they have the most friends on campus. The preps and sports players stick together like glue. 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of UMW students are from Northern Virginia (it seems like, at least). When I go home, I see people from my dorm in Chipotle or at the movies... that can be good, or bad. Most people are from humble backgrounds because UMW is actually the most affordable in state school. Many people are on financial aid and loans, and attend the school for financial reasons. Minorities would feel out of place, they call our school "Mostly White College..MWC" Students are politically aware, mostly liberal although the town itself is highly conservative.. I've seen groups of people dressed in Confederate attire.

The student body is without a doubt very racially homogenous. The LGBT community is fairly large (about 15{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}) and very active and accepted on campus. Most students come from middle and upper-middle class backgrounds. Students do interact between groups, but it is also common for them to form small, close groups of friends and stick to them. During the warmer months a lot of girls on campus will wear sundresses; polo shirts, skirts, t-shirts and jeans are all popular. In the winter hoodies are the norm. The political groups on campus are very active, but they do not dominate the student body in any way. Class council is also very active, and sets up a lot of fun events, bbqs, concerts, and speakers. We also have a great group on campus called GIANT, which brings in a lot of comedians and performers. This year we got Lupe Fiasco, which was really an amazing concert.

The student body at Mary Wash is not particularly diverse. However, there are few stereotypes on campus, and minority students generally fit right in. There are exceptions, of course.

So many different kinds of people at UMW. Like I mentioned before, diversity is increasing (racially speaking.) That's about the only thing that I wanted to see happen in terms of diversity. Religiously, socio-economically, etc.-- it's pretty diverse. There are tons of differently people with tons of different views, but they're all extremely accepting. I never felt as though I was going to be judged or persecuted due to my beliefs. I think that's an important aspect of a college. In terms of political activity, I'd say it's pretty politically active. It's not in your face, though. And there are definitely substantial amounts of people that support both sides. I wouldn't characterize it left, right, or center-- I'd say it's fairly equal. And even if it does lean, it never showed. For example in my political science classes the professors never disclosed their political beliefs. That's not true across all the disciplines, but it definitely was true within my department.

There is a variety of people at UMW, and for me (I'm from a small town) there are a lot more LGBT groups than I expected. Everyone interacts with everyone. I don't think any student would feel out of place here, because there are so many different types of people. At lunch there are a variety of students at every table. From my experience, there are a lot of people who are from middle class families, more so than any other socio-economic group. There are two very active political groups on campus, and everyone is very politically aware. There are always a variety of political speakers every year, and each speech is well-attended.

Very small diversity on campus. Some international students, some diversity. But primarily white middle class. Very casual attire to class.A lot of students are from Virginia, some from New Jersey. Four tables of students in dining hall: one table are the loud Rowing jocks, the other are the theatre kids who ALWAYS travel in packs, the other are odd RPG kids who wear black in the summer, and die their hair pink, along with adding random piercings, while making up the entire membership of the Renaissance Club. The fourth table are the people who can be nerdy, but also party whenever possible.