Emily
Not necessarily. There is much for depth in the student body than people think.
James
To a certain extent, yes--as at any competitive small school, there are lots of affluent kids, lots of preppy kids, competitive students. The Greek system is huge (despite the school's best efforts) and the party scene is popular. However, now more than ever, the student body is far from monolithic--diversity is increasing rapidly, and the "standard" W&L student--Southern or elite Northeastern prep, rich, fratty--while still there is no longer nearly as dominant.
Nico
These stereotypes are roughly 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}-80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} accurate.
Catherine
W&L students work really hard during the day, but all work is finished by 7 or 8 to take full advantage of the night. Preppy doesn't even come close to describing the amount of vera bradley, croakies, jcrew/polo outfits, rainbows, etc, that are seen on campus.
Brian
The school is predominately white but the minority population has been increasing a lot in recent years...Most students are middle-class, some poor, some uber-rich. Most people do dress preppy, but it's not required, of course. Lastly, while the majority of the population is from the South, close to half of the student body is not.
Dan
No. There are the frat guys, and sorority girls... but as far as the guys go, the frat scene really doesn't matter. I'm independent, and I'm not barred from the social scene at all... I just end up hanging out with more people. And although many of the students are white, rich, and conservative, the professors certainly aren't and there are many others who are not who add spice. It's not a monolithic university by any means.
Lauren
It is true that most of the people here are white kids who went to prep school...but I don't know if I'd call everyone "preppy". I guess we are kind of preppy, but not in a trendy way like everyone's trying to be cool. Everyone's just very laid back and just is who they are. As far as the money thing goes, a lot of people do have a lot of money, but no one parades it around. And it is true that most people, at least all of my friends, drink a lot. But what's not said is that while we do play hard, we work that hard, too, and do well in our classes.
David
The stereotypes are only accurate to the extent that one believes in them. We do have a lot of preppy kids on campus who are very smart but enjoy partying and drinking a lot, but we also have a wealth of diversity that many people overlook. I have found myself having conversations about the rise of the Maoist party in Nepal with a friend who has lived his entire life there, or been at a frat party discussing the difference between the English and German Romantics.
Anne
yeah - for the most part.