Washington and Lee University Top Questions

About 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the time, these stereotypes are true.

Just like any stereotype the ones at W&L have some truth to them. Many of the students here do fit that mold pretty well. However there are many students from states all along the east coast, the College Democrats have a solid presence on campus, and racial diversity is somewhat improving. I don't want to give the wrong impression though. The majority of the people here are White and well off.

To a limited degree. Although many students at Washington and Lee do still come from the South and from wealthy families, the face of the campus is definitely changing. The new Johnson scholarship has welcomed a lot of smart and talented students from different backgrounds to our campus, but even before that, our campus was already changing. The Shepherd Program for the Study of Poverty and Human Capability plays an important role on campus. Because of the Shepherd Program, students are more committed to the community, demonstrated by student-run clubs such as the Nabors Service League and English for Speakers of Other Languages. So yes, to some extent the stereotypes are true. If you keep your mind closed, that's all you will see. However, our campus offers so much more.

Not really--students come from all over the country (and world). With the recently added Johnson scholarship, the student body is becoming more and more diverse every year.

No, students definitely come from all walks of life and have opposing views, which they are not afraid to express.

While a large number of students fit the "white, preppy, conservative, wealthy, southern" stereotype, that does not in any way mean that everyone is that way or that people who do not fit that mold are not welcome. I, personally, am not at all that way and I do not feel like an outsider. I am not ostracized because I do not fit the W&L stereotype and while some of the fashion was a bit of a shock when I first arrived, I've warmed up to it quite nicely. As for Greek life and the party scene, it is pretty dominant, but not in an intimidating way at all. More on that later though.

Sure, you have some students that fit the mold, but most students can't be pigeon-holed by the stereotypes. There are students from all over the globe, and a lot of people are from places like NJ or the DC area--not exactly super-Southern. The newly-instated Johnson Scholarship program is really increasing socioeconomic diversity on campus.

There is diversity on campus if you take time to look for it you will find it. If you only want to be friends with rich white kids you can but if you take time to become friends with everyone you will see it is a pretty diverse campus. About the way people dress it is true most of the time. Dressing nicely is not a bad thing and during finals and exams when people are really stressed they wear sweatpants and tee shirts.

Yes.

Not at all. While we are not as diverse of a school as some in terms of skin color, I think diversity means a whole lot more than that. We have kids from not only all over the country, but also from all over the world. Everyone here has their own story, thier own background. I've been exposed to so many different types of people and have had no problems with anyone. Everyone is extremely friendly, eagar to go out of their way to help you and very considerate as well.