University of Mary Washington Top Questions

UMW is a small school, with a very pretty campus, and some other good qualities. Central Park is located only a few miles from school and houses every store or restaurant you could ever want. It's not a "college town" and the college is actually pretty cut off from the surrounding community (not by walls, but just through lack of interaction). Academically it is very tough, though its name does not carry much weight outside of Virginia. There is not much school pride to speak of and no football team, or other big sport team to rally around (though basketball is pretty popular). Its biggest fault is the administration who are incompetent to say the least.

UMW is a pretty small school, so you'll get to know the people on campus (not necessarily by name, but you'll get to know the faces). I like that, I like knowing the people around me and not getting lost in the masses. Some people say that because the school's so small, there's never really anything to do on campus or on the weekends, but that's just not true. We have so many clubs and so many activities - you just need to try to get involved. Also - there's drinking, trust me. We're not a party school, but that doesn't mean we don't know how to have a good time.

I love almost everything about the school. Its good academically, athletically, socially etc. The one problem: THE FOOD IS ABSOLUTELY DREADFUL. Our cafeteria serves a good meal, over THREE rooms mind you, maybe once a week. That includes breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The food sucks. Our cafe, (the nest) isnt much better. The food is very expensive and the price is not indicative of quality. Not to mention the employees in there are all lazy and slow.

If you want a small school with personal interaction and attention from professors come here. Its a close community and its easy to get involved. There isn't offical greek life so take that into consideration, I enjoyed not having it. Classes are very high caliber, I'm getting a better quality education than my friends at bigger universities. I know all my professors and they know me. Classes are small and personal. The administration is improving and the general direction of the school is very positive. If you want to go into teaching, business, political science, historic preservation, or many of the better programs its hard to do better than UMW.

UMW is a great place to go to school. The school has only one problem -- the administration. The way the administration treats the students is disgusting. People -- like at the registrar, career services, bookstore, places like that -- are often rude and unhelpful. And EVERY semester my father (who paid for my education) received a bill for tuition that he had already paid. It was a real hassle, too, because then he'd have to call in to speak with someone which was difficult cause he lives overseas and it's expensive to call the US. And every time they'd just be like, "Oh, my bad" and barely apologize. The administration needs to respect the students a lot more. Before graduation, they painted over the temporary walls that line campus walk in front of Lee Hall. So rude! That is the work of students. Students use the wall as a forum, as a platform for issues they want to promote. To paint over it right when people are coming to see the school is so insulting. The administration completely patronizes the students. Treats us like children. And it's pretty ridiculous that UMW still has the zero tolerance policy on marijuana. A TON of UMW students smoke pot and every year, kids are kicked out for it. It's so sad -- college is a time of experimentation and learning. It is preposterous to think college kids won't try a little weed. It's just crazy to kick them out for pot, but then watch so many students act like freakish drunken idiots around town. Maybe MW should watch out a little more for its drunks and worry a lot less about its mellow, non-problem-causing, non-destructive potheads. But other than the administration, UMW is a wonderful place. The campus is GORGEOUS -- the most beautiful I've ever seen -- and the town of Fredericksburg has a lot to offer -- restaurants, coffee shops, thrift stores, boutiques, antiques, bars, live music, among other things. And there are a lot of cool people at MW and in Fredericksburg. I have met some of the most interesting, intelligent, passionate, fun, and considerate people at MW.

When I tell people I go to UMW, they take a minute to remember which one it is, and then say "Oh, that's a good school." It may be on the smaller side, which is just the right size for me, but it is known for being a good school. The town of Fredericksburg is so cute! But most shops only stay open during the day which is unfortunate. However, there are a few really good restaurants and shops downtown that are always open and VERY welcoming to students! I wouldn't say we have the most school spirit, but I think that has a lot to do with the size of our sports teams. But I think our facilities are on the brink of getting a lot bigger with the new convocation center plans and all of our sports are really fun to go watch. The Homecoming soccer game/weekend is huge! I guess I at least have a lot of school pride:)

UMW is an insanely beautiful campus with a student life administration dedicated to making college life as fun as possible in spite of the half-antique shop/half-crack house town in which it is located. If you don't have a car, or know someone with a car, you'll be stuck on campus for the most part because the bus service is incredibly slow and full of very sketch townsfolk. If you get acquainted with the Office of Student Activities, you can organize events so that you'd never need to leave campus anyway.

Way too small, I am transferring becuase there was too much drama. Not many people have heard of UMW and when i tell them I go to Mary Washington they ask "ohh, is that that all girls school... Mary Baldwin?" not a lot of school pride and definitely not a big college town.

The size is just right. The campus is almost entirely enclosed within 4 streets, which makes it a very pleasant place to be. With no thru streets, you never have to watch for traffic, or be slowed down by it, trying to get to class. The campus is amazingly beautiful. It's incredibly wooded, with trees everywhere. I ahve severe allergies, but surprisingly, I'm fairly alright on that here. Fredericksburg is a town with a college in it, but is increasingly becoming a college town. That period of transition (albeit slow) is a very fun time, because everyone knows about the school (the locals), is connected to it, is impacted by it, but their lives don't revolve around it

-The best thing about UMW is the campus, in my opinion. In addition to the many acres of beautiful buildings and lawns, UMW has some awesome professors, and also a great weekend social life. -If I could change one thing about UMW, it would be to have Greek life instated at the school. Although it seems contradictory to my previous answer, it would provide a nice social addition for students who don't affiliate themselves with sports teams (who typically throw parties etc.) -UMW is the perfect size for me. Around 4500 people is plenty for me, and although you see many familiar faces around, there's always someone to meet everywhere you turn. -I get mixed reactions when I tell someone that I goto UMW. At home in NJ, many people don't recognize the name, but those that do are well aware of its high academic merit and the level of education provided there. Around the VA area, UMW is much more well known, and I am always proud to announce where I go. With the reputation it has in the VA area, I can see why so many kids from in-state attend here. I can recall one kid at a party at Catholic University in DC asking me where I went, and when I responded "University of Mary Washington" he was blown away. "Wow that schools hard as hell to get into, I didn't get in there, man!" Things like that are great little morale boosters when discussing UMW. -Most of my time is spent on campus. I'd say thats a pretty big consensus for most students, including those who live off-campus. UMW has done a great job making the atmosphere extremely student oriented, with hundreds of activities going on all the time. With so much going on it's not a "pain" to stay on campus, on the contrary, it's very enjoyable. I love going out to Ball Circle on campus walk and throwing a frisbee or football around with my buddies, and it's an added bonus that there are tons of girls (~70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the school) that are always out there. -College town: yes, but not in every traditional sense. If you picture the gigantic Fraternity houses lining the streets like seen in the movies, UMW may be a slight disappointment. But, Mary Washington's surrounding area is very college oriented. I catch myself smiling sometimes when I'm off campus and I see beer can's in the street, or garbage piles of bottles outside houses on trash day. Fredericksburg has a small town feel to it definitely, but it surely has a strong college sentiment around it. The downtown streets are lined with "UMW" banners on all the light posts, and everyone knows that if you look around college age, that you're a student at the school; which has a great respect in the community, for obvious reasons. -The biggest recent controversy on campus was an incident involving a "racist" student in one of the halls. The student left a sign with a pro-slavery slogan on it in one of the hall's fridges. Many students responded strongly against the situation, making sure that UMW wasn't perceived as a campus full of racists. Another notable event was the recent push by many students to have marijuana moved to a 3-strike policy, versus the current one-strike policy. -UMW has extreme pride, but not exactly like a Virginia Tech or Penn State style school has. Students like myself are extremely proud of their school, but I think it stems more as a pride overall, not just for a football team, or similar notable trait. I would bet that in any given week, every student wears at least one shirt or other piece of UMW insignia apparel, showing that we are proud of UMW and all that it stands for. -I don't think there is anything unusual about UMW. I think that term implies negativity, where as the differences at UMW just make it better than other schools that its students applied to. -One experience I'll always remember was homecoming Freshman year. I think this was when I really fell in love with my school. My friend who goes to Rutgers came down to visit, and we both had the times of our lives. Keeping with past school tradition, "Kegs and Eggs" started at 9am on Saturday, followed by a seemingly mandatory attendance to the men's lacrosse game, and men's rugby games. After that, an exodus of kids moved to a 10 keg party that lasted into the early hours of the morning. Sunday morning rolled around, and by noon the festivities continued with parties at every student house around campus.