University of Mary Washington Top Questions

I think Mary Wash's small school-size is extremely beneficial. You tend to keep close ties w/ those roommates and friends you meet within your first year here throughout college. The school is small enough where you will run into people that you know already and can strike up a conversation at any time, but large enough where you will meet new students when you sign up for a new class. The small size becomes advantageous when you decide your major and get to meet your professors. Class sizes start becoming smaller and you develop good relationships with your teachers, which is helpful when you need tutoring or applying to graduate schools/jobs.

I love UMW! It is a beautiful school, not too big, not too small. It is located in a wonderful town that is very accomidating. I have not had any issues with the school.

no one knows about umw, which is a dissapointment the town of fredericksburg is a very dead town absolutely nothing to do

The best thing about UMW is the people you will meet. Mostly everyone is down to earth, kind, and considerate. We all respect each other. It's not too "prepy" like UVA, everyone is just being themselves. There are no TAs so professors are helpful and take an interest in their students (unless you're in a large, gen. ed. class). There's a lot to do on campus, you just have to look for it. Join clubs, meet as many people you can - it is possible to know almost everyone on campus. Get involved in activities, even if they're sponsored by a group that you're not a part of.

Best things about umw - beautiful campus, awesome student professor interaction and generally great professors, generally nice student body, small size makes it feel more cozy and comfortable Worst things - the food. Also the internet is really slow and there is no wireless (apparantly they are fixing it though), the diversity is terrible, everybody is white, the dorms are shit (and freshmen get stuck in temporary triples sometimes, which means they have to have 3 people in a double room), the stupid students, the small size can make it feel kinda like highschool and if you ever want to avoid somebody (thankfully this is rare) its impossible, the shitty school newspaper, Finally, the PARTIES SUCK!!! The parties are the worst, mary wash doesn't have frats except for one, so the parties are at the sports houses (rugby, soccer, baseball) along with other random people who have parties. They only have beer almost every time, they are crowded as shit, the girls are either really good looking and tight or really slutty (and ugly), and they get broken up alot. other thoughts: when I say I go to umw, people are either like Whaaaat? or they look down at me. fredericksburg is shit, there is nothing there, but the river is nice we have spent alot of time there the administration is terrible, they spend money on the worst things. school pride is nil

I love the size of Mary Wash- with 4,000 undergrads, you see familiar faces almost everywhere you go, but its not like everyone knows everybody else. You can definitely meet new people all the time. As an out of state student, I have to pay higher tuition and fees than students from Virginia, but UMW is still a great deal compared to the cost of private schools near me, in New England. Schools like Boston College charge almost $50,000 for one year, while I get just as good of an education for half of the cost! Guess the joke's on them.

The best thing about UMW is the sense of community. Since it is a small school, when you walk on campus, you'll more than likely know more people that you don't. This is great because you always see your friends and everyone is very friendly. Unless you like to disappear in crowds, you'll feel right at home at UMW. One thing I'd change about UMW is the course offerings. Although a good variety of courses are offered, when I look at the courses offered at schools such as UVA, there seem to be far more mind-expanding and unique classes offered, instead of general educational topics. UMW is small, but it is just right for me and most everyone I know, even people who had considered going to larger schools, are very happy with it. When I tell people that I go to Mary Washington, most people don't know where it is, and often confuse it with Mary Baldwin, a big mistake, as they are nothing alike. The old town section of Fredericksburg definitely has the feel of a college town, but the city in no way depends on the University to function. The administration has received a great deal of criticism lately with the scandal with Dr. Frawley, but other than his mess-ups, we have a very strong administration that strives to be personal with the students, which I feel is an important aspect of being a part of the University. The biggest recent controversy on campus was definitely President Frawley's repeated DUI's. However, to my knowledge he in no way damaged the University as a whole. There isn't the strongest sense of school pride at UMW since we don't have a football team, but nearly everyone that I have known to have gone to UMW loved it and considers the time spent there some of the best times of their life. There is nothing unusual about UMW that I can think of. An experience I will always remember is my first event as a member of Class Council my freshman year. As a member, we preserve the traditions of UMW and my event was Devil Goat Day, one of the biggest events of the year. It is a carnival-like celebration spent outside in the spring when it gets warm. Students always love to come out and play games and eat free pizza and I was proud to have planned such a big event for the student body. The most frequent student complaints are the food. UMW does not by any means have the best quality or selection of food, but you get used to it, and it only makes you look forward to home-cooked meals that much more.

Our school is the perfect size. It's not so small that you don't meet a variety of people, but it's small enough that you get proper attention from your professors, and it's nice to be able to recognize many of the people you pass on Campus Walk. I spent a lot of time in my room, because I had a fantastic dorm, but the library is very nice and the Wash Room was a good place to hang. Fredericksburg has a life of it's own, so it doesn't just die when school's out of session, but many of the stores and restaurants do close quite early, which is a pain on the weekends. It does have many convenient places to walk to. The administration is mildly obnoxious, like any school administration, but many of the individual people are very nice. The biggest recent controversy involved a comic that many perceived as racist. There was a lot of discussion in classes, and there was a community forum held one evening. There isn't a ton of school pride, probably due to our lack of a football team. Many people complain that there isn't enough to do on the weekends, but I completely disagree. There are movies every night and many school clubs have activities on the weekend. The Loft in Fredericksburg frequently has concerts. There's plenty to do if you take the time to find them. College is a place to learn. It's not there job to provide us with constant entertainment, but they usually do a pretty good job anyway.

I love the size of Mary Washington. I can see the same people on campus everyday but I still meet new people often. The class sizes are wonderful. The biggest class is probably around a 100 people and some of my classes have been no more than 20. Its a nice student/teacher atmosphere that makes me feel like I'm getting a great education. I spend most of my time in the dorms with my friends. I do wish more of the dorms were central air conditioned though, because in August, people were becoming sick from the heat. Also, the slow internet has been a hindrance the entire year, making it hard to communicate with others, much less write a paper. However, that is supposed to be fixed this coming year. The administration hasn't really impressed me. I think a lot of issues, including that of the ex president, picking of the new president, racial issues, and sex offender issues were not handled in the ideal way. However, I absolutely love the school.

Granted our school is small and in a very quiet and historically important area of Virginia, therefore we can accept the lable of being a more conservative campus in terms of typical college campuses. We don't have greek life, but it's also not needed because of our small 4,000 population. We dont have a football team, but plenty of sport teams on multiple levels (varsity, club, intermural) to join, and we dont have huge raging parties, but that's why I decided UMW would be a good fit for me. The size leads to a tight close community where all students are involved in extracurriculars and therefore everyones social circle is huge. You know at least 5 people when leaving your room, and you can bet on having friends in every class you take. It makes the transition into college a little easier when you can make friends easily. On the down side being a smaller liberal arts school we dont have as much funding as larger schools would have so it leads to only two choices for food on campus, 40 majors, limited campus jobs and a library and gym that close "early".