Washington and Lee University Top Questions

It is a small place where teachers and students bond amazingly, I love it!

To me, the best thing about Washington & Lee is the small school atmosphere. After two years at the University, I know most of the students in some capacity, and the student body is to me a second family. While the size of the school suits me well, the small town can be boring at times. Lexington is not the most exciting city around. However, on the other hand there is no shortage of fun at Washington & Lee, as there are frequently parties, almost all of which are completely open for any member of the community to attend. The fraternity system helps in this regard, but it can also be somewhat divisive. At W&L, your social life is very limited if you do not belong to a Greek organization, mostly because almost everyone in the school is a member of a fraternity or sorority.

Best thing: small classes and getting to know professors - undergrads have opportunities to become friends with their professors, do research that grad students would monopolize at a big university, and get killer recommendation letters Size: just right! The small number of students allows you to meet people from all different backgrounds and majors. My friends at big state schools just hang out with people from their own concentration or dorm hall. I have friends from every department on campus. How do people react when I tell them I go to "Dubyuhnell"?: If they've heard of the school, they're really impressed. It has a great reputation in the South and is the most selective school in VA. College town: definitely - there are tons of cute boutiques and great restaurants in town. Not as many bars as you'd expect, though, and no clubs. One thing I'd change (also a frequent student complaint): Gender relations. Greek students are required to eat lunch and Monday (chapter) dinners at their chapter house. Since participation in Greek life is so high, this means that the two genders don't mix much outside of class, frat parties, and mixers. As a result, almost nobody "dates." A few religious students are already engaged, and the rest of the student body just does casual hookups on the weekends. If you are interested in dating, it is very hard to meet a like-minded person. As a girl, I also find that it's hard to get guys to view me as anything other than a potential hookup. I've even heard girls complaining, "My boyfriend won't hang out with me when he's sober." Since I don't approve of casual sex, I haven't had a single boyfriend during my four years here, and it's really frustrating.

Though most people haven't heard of W&L, it's actually a hidden gem. The surrounding town, Lexington, Va., is absolutely gorgeous, but it gets a little stifling when there's no way to get out of it. The campus is a good size, and there are always plenty of places to hang out. The honor system rules.

The student body needs serious adjusting. Too many of them are, for lack of a better term, bad apples. Their fathers typically went to school here and they think that they're very entitled as a result. There are a lot of good people going here, but they are almost always eclipsed by the small percent of every class that are over-entitled, arrogant pricks. The admissions office would do W&L the greatest favor possible if they refused to accept legacy students for a decade.

The faculty is incredibly competent, the administration oftentimes less so. "Competence" really doesn't even begin to describe the quality of the faculty, however. They are exceptionally intelligent in their fields, lucid in their lectures, and helpful/accommodating almost to a fault when students have questions or problems. I have been to professors homes for dinner or other events multiple times, and often spend half an hour or more time chatting with a professor in their office when I only intended to ask a quick question. The small size of the school is a huge plus. The student/faculty ratio approaching 10:1. The attention and availability of professors is an incredible asset unmatched at other institutions.

There are good and bad things about the size of Washington and Lee and the fact that everyone seems to know everyone. On the positive side, you are rarely anywhere on campus without friend or a familiar face and you get a lot of one on one attention from the professors, but on the down side there does tend to be a lot of gossip after almost every weekend. People who have heard of Washington and Lee tend to be lawyers and doctors or people from the south, and they are almost always really impressed, sometimes though they just say, "Oh you must be having a lot of fun." I spend most of my time on Campus in the sorority house studying and spending time with friends. The town of Lexington is tiny but it can also be fun that way. There is a little community run rive in theater not far away and a few good restaurants, but most of us spend the weekends at campus parties or functions. I have been a bit disappointed with the administration of Washington and Lee, they sometimes seem more concerned with the reputation of the school than the students. I think that for such a small school there is a lot of school pride, especially at the first football game of the year when we all get dressed up in our Sunday dresses and khakis and support the team. The alumni are also really really passionate about the school and constantly talk about wishing they could come back.

The best thing is the education and the networking possibilities. DIII sports enables you to continue to play for the love of the game and still be able to focus on academics and your social life. I think that recruitment should happen the first week of school. The current recruitment system focuses too much on money, drinking, and sexual behavior. It eats up all the time of the active brothers and sisters and then pressures incoming freshmen to be super "awesome" and do poorly in their classes (the whole reason they are at school in the first place). Off campus parties encourage reckless drunk driving, enable sexual assault, and get us in trouble with the County and the City police. We would be safer if the school would let us party on campus and have the security/RAs could monitor us instead of trying to give us strikes and send us to the hospital. My school is far too small. It has none of the majors you would want- there is barely a dance program. The art program is not developed enough. There is no marketing/advertising major. There is a business major, science majors, a journalism school, and then all of the traditional liberal arts majors. The romance languages department is phenomenal. The History, Anthropology/Sociology, and Art History departments are fantastic and the faculty are outstanding. Dean Watkins needs to go. She is a terrible Dean. She cannot understand the student body and fails to work with the culture. She is too hidebound and uneducated. Dean Futrell and Dean Dobin do their jobs well and have a better understanding of the culture and how to respond to the social problems of the school. Dean Leonard, Dean of Freshmen, is about that business, but can be lenient and really helpful. Dean Dobin struggles. President Ruscio is much better than the last joker and is putting the school on the track to becoming Davidson. He is a great guy. However, W&L is changing. It is NOT the W&L that your daddy went to, so don't expect that reality anymore. The biggest recent controversy is "the list," which I wrote with some of my friends in private and which got circulated over the GroupWise network. Currently, me and my friends are being tried for sexual misconduct, because we engaged in private speech. W&L's administration cares very little for your freedom of speech. When I started blogging about everything going on, Dean Watkins insisted that I take down my blog or I would expelled. Again, you don't have freedom of speech. Everyone is too sensitive these days- see the Bracket (the last controversy over freedom of speech). I wish people at W&L would exercise their Constitutional rights to not read things that they would find offensive and if their feelings get hurt, then they should go home and live with their mommies. I will always remember the ridiculous mixers and theme parties. I will always remember random misadventures and controversial drama. I will always remember the people who treated me with respect and who were down even when everyone acted like a fool- you can find some of these people.

The best thing about W&L is the relationship between professor and student. Every professor I've ever had on campus -- and sometimes those I haven't had, too -- all know me by name. They know where I'm from, they know where I'm going, they know my strengths and my weaknesses, my passions, my friends. I house-sit for them. I baby-sit for them. I meet them for coffee or meals to discuss life. I'll always remember -- my professor's daughter was facing chemotherapy last year. Some of the students wanted to do something nice for the family, and the word spread. We even had professors volunteering their help. We organized a huge potluck dinner at their house in her honor. The broadcast students volunteered hours interviewing her friends and family, finally piecing together a very slick film compilation of her friends' encouraging messages. I've never been prouder of my school than at that dinner -- looking around and seeing my peers initiate and collaborate so selflessly, working after-hours hand-in-hand with our professors. It's truly unlike any other school. I am exceptionally proud to be a part of this community.

Washington and Lee is a relatively small liberal arts institution that provides the perfect balance of community, rigorous academics, student athletes, talented professors and dedicated staff members. Being a part of a campus where you see familiar faces daily and have many opportunities to take part in campus activities is very comforting. Lexington Virignia is a very small town but has a lot of character. The students here definitely embrace the "country" aspects of Lexington and take advantage of its beauty. Along with respecting our college town, Washington and Lee students take great pride in being a General even after they graduate. The alumni of Washington and Lee remain in high contact and involvment with the University and constantly aim to maintain a strong and high level of school pride.