University of Mary Washington Top Questions

I have really enjoyed my time at UMW and it has been a great college experience. I enjoyed living in Fredericksburg for the past few years, and I will miss the strong sense of community at this school. I hope in the future that UMW maintains its small size to preserve the 'small campus' feel. I would encourage any student coming here to get involved in the community. Volunteering is something that can bring you closer to the town you live in, show you a world outside of the 'college bubble', and it can help you meet other like-minded service oriented people. Really, in my experience, all the students at UMW are kind, helpful people. You will never find a person lost on campus who can't find ten different people willing to give them directions or even go the extra step and walk them to their destination. Even though, like all colleges, there are groups of people that tend to stick together, most people have at least one friend in all these different groups. People in the same major tend to be friends, but many of my closest friends are not in my major and have nothing to do with my field of study. I would hope to see some more school pride in the future, and maybe one day even a football team. Basically, the college experience is what you make of it but University of Mary Washington can help you make it great.

I love Mary Washington. The size was perfect for me: a little over 4,000 students at a public institution in a great neighborhood. I felt right at home. My professors were always fantastic, and the school was small enough that they were all willing to help you out. You never felt like "just a number" at UMW, and I am so grateful for that. I spent the majority of my time with friends, studying, performing on my campus improv comedy team, and giving tours of the campus to prospective students. Needless to say, i was pretty involved. I really only have two complaints about this school: there isn't a lot of school "pride" (I think this is because we don't have a football team) and there isn't a whole lot in the way of parking opportunities. Other than that, the food is good, we are always expanding, and the administration is really open about talking to students. Fredericksburg downtown is cute, quaint, and actually has a decent amount of bar options for students who are 21+.

The best thing about the school for me is the small size. It does remind me of high school where every one seems to know everything about each other, but for me seeing people on campus that are in my classes is comforting. There are enough students to make great friends but not too big where I am overwhelmed. I know that there is a lot of push lately to make our school bigger and attract more students; however, I feel that if our school grows any larger that it will lose its small school feel. I feel like this is UMW's greatest attribute. I hope that we keep this size and do not expand to become a college when every student is simply a number. I love the small classes you usually get at UMW. The biggest class I had was about sixty for an intro class. That was a HUGE class for me! If I had to sit in an auditorium with about three hundred kids I would probably fail the class. I like being able to ask professors questions and getting to know some of them. I am usually not in my room much because I have a job and am involved on campus. Mary Washington provides a lot of opportunities to get involved and take leadership roles. I respect the school administration, but like I mentioned up top they are trying to expand the school. Because they are pushing to advertise UMW more and get our name out, I am not too fond of them because I am nervous they will take away UMW's small school environment. Our dorms are very old and sometimes this may turn people off. I live in a dorm that was probably built around the mid-1900s. Although it's very old, I love it. I love having so much history behind our school. We have a lot of rituals and events that have been passed down through the years that we still are involved in. Although no school is perfect, I have to say UMW is as good as it's going to get. I love the campus. It's beautiful. The scenery is relaxing and in the fall it's even more gorgeous. The food of course is not going to be the best, but it's bearable. You learn what you like and don't like.

There is a lack of school pride, which is one thing I would change. We have no football team so homecoming revolves around the third division soccer team. I like that whereever I go on campus I know people, I'm never in a place where I see all unfamiliar faces. But sometimes, you don't want to see anyone you know and that is impossible. The size is awkward for one night stand hookups because you are bound to see the person on campus the next day and look the other way. Our school is also very white. There is a lack of diversity, and if you see a minority, they stand out because it is rare. I wish more people recognized the intensity of the academics, unfortunately most people have never heard of the damn school. The dorms are hit or miss which sucks, I got the party dorm last year but this year im in an isolated dorm at the bottom of a mountain-of-a-hill. The biggest controversy was our President getting fired for being caught under the influence while driving TWICE... in the SAME DAY. Yea, our President pregames harder than we party, we like to say.

UMW is great because it is very close to Washington DC, because Fredericksburg has a lot of fun bars, and because it has a beautiful campus. I think the administration has a lot of red tape, which makes it hard to get certain things done. There is some school pride, but the lack of fraternities and a football team kind of limits this. Our basketball teams have been doing very well though, which has helped the athletics department a lot. If I could change one thing I would add at least one more academic building -- even though most classes are small (capped at about 20-25 students) they tend to be cramped because the number of academic rooms has not been increasing at the same rate the student body has.

I think the size of Mary Wash is perfect - it's small enough that you can get to know people, and class sizes are great, but large enough that you can still walk down campus and see people that you don't know.

I think the best thing about UMW is the people. The students, professors, staff-- you name it, they're pretty amazing. I also think its size is perfect. I was constantly meeting new people, but yet I wasn't just a number in the classroom. With the size of the school, you can establish personal relationships with the professors, and I think that's how I learned as much as I did. They're absolutely brilliant and extremely helpful. There is a considerable amount of school pride at UMW-- but that doesn't necessarily always translate into sporting event attendance. I think well above the majority of students have pride that they go to UMW-- I judge that by the amount of UMW "stuff" people wear-- and it's a good amount. Fredericksburg isn't a college town in my estimation. I think it's a medium sized town that does love our school, though. It's a fun place, small enough to where it's not overwhelming but big enough that there are things to do. And, I'm going to steal an answer from one of my fellow classmates in what I'd change about UMW: it's a Pepsi school, and I'd much rather it be a Coke school. As for an experience I'd always remember, I just can't narrow it down to one. There were far too memorable moments, but I can list a few: Devil/Goat Day, Junior Ring Week, Basketball Games, Grad Ball...

I personally think that the best thing about UMW is its size. I love the atmosphere created by a small school, and that is exactly what UMW has to offer. Every time you walk down campus you will see someone you know, whether it be a classmate or professor. A lot of people think that UMW is an all-girls school, but believe me, it's not! There are more girls on campus, which should be even more of an incentive for guys to come! If I could change one thing about UMW, it would be to offer minors. UMW is one of the few schools I know of that does not offer minors.

best thing about umw: the community, and knowing people on campus giving the family feeling, but still meeting new people every day. one thing i'd change: the housing selection. the lottery SUCKS. size? just right. leaning towards the small side if youre used to living in a big city or large highschool. small little town seemingly unaffected by the outside world. biggest recent controversy: Bring our president back! lol Kegger at Frawley's! school pride? needs to be more. Anything unusual? A lot of buildings are old, so there are a lot of stories about certain buildings being haunted. one experience I'll always remember: its tradition to swim in the fountain, but campus police don't like that :) frequent student complaints: too small of a campus with nothing going on. (not true...if you know where to look, but a complaint nonetheless). complaint #2: odd smells around Seacobeck and the Nest...not to mention Seacobeck's food..although its getting better.

Number one, the campus is absolutely beautiful. It is one of the main reasons I chose to go to Mary Wash. It's just the right size, you can walk to all your classes, it's very green, lots of really nice landscaping, big lawns, fountains, and a pretty campus walk running through the center of campus. Not only are the buildings very nice-looking with the red brick and white columns, but there is an architectural consistency which is very admirable when you compare to other schools that may have beautiful old buildings but when they build new ones they are boring and ugly and look nothing like the historic buildings around them. The dorms are nice and while they are built in the same style on the outside (all buildings on campus built in the same style, academic, adminstrative or dormitory), they vary a lot on the inside, which is fun when "dorm-shopping" for dorms for the next school year. The school also offers apartment housing for juniors and seniors, these are great, I lived there for one year and while you're still close to campus, it feels like you're living in a real off-campus apartment, which is cool. The size in my opinion is great, it's not a tiny school, but the class sizes are small, the professor knows who you are, you feel comfortable asking for help. People are often impressed when I tell them I go to UMW because most likely they are aware of its excellent academic standards, sometimes they've been to the campus and know of its beauty, or they appreciate the historic background of the town of Fredericksburg. Downtown is very picturesque, lots of fun, quirky stores, cool coffee shops, taverns, bars, it's also close to the Rappahanock river, where you can go swimming when it's warm. People sometimes complain that there are no chain food restaurants or eateries on campus and while that could be nice, if you own a car or know someone who does, it doesn't really matter too much. The food on campus is alright, depending on your tastes. The standard fast food cuisine is prominent, such as burgers, burritos, pizzas, there are also deli style sandwiches and a salad bar so there are actually a bunch of options. Seacobeck, the large three-roomed campus cafeteria with each room serving different cuisines is great value for your meal plan as it's all-you-can-eat buffet style. The Saturday and Sunday brunches are great.