<p>I heard that it's really tough to get accepted to william and mary and once you're there, it's really tough. in fact, i heard that some of the professors don't like to give A's to freshman. this is all HEARSAY... not trying to scare anyone (just trying to start conversation). but has anyone else heard the same or different?</p>
<p>i have also heard such things. infact, my AP biology teacher graduated from there and said it was hell; he hated it because all everyone did was study, and in some classes the professor would tell everyone flat out that he was only giving out so many As and Bs and that they would have to fight for them. This is why w&m is not my first pick, heh.</p>
<p>my chem class 1st semester was curved... which is all good right? yea, until your exam grades get curved DOWN.</p>
<p>Don't worry, graduate schools know that WM academics are hard, and they dont' hand out top grades like many other schools do.</p>
<p>so Soccerguy, what do you like about w + m? it seems to be really tough academically and boring socially.. why'd you decide to go there?</p>
<p>i applied RD and am just looking for an insider's view. thanks!</p>
<p>I know my name might be funny, but its b/c i was gonna go to UVA but ended up going to W&M in any case, I really don't think W&M is that hard, I mean, yes, its college, but since its a small school, most of your classes won't be lecture classes, unless you're pre-med (bio and chem are lectures) and teachers really care about you and try to help you out with the grades as much as possible. For example, i took creative writing last semester with only 5 people in the class, i am far from creative, but i still managed to get an A. The social life revolves around the frats, I'd say and the occasional parties at different sport houses (soccer house, sailing house, rugby house), some people throw parties in off-campus and that's always fun. Just think that its kind of an advantage that there aren't parties everyday because you would love focus and not go to class (very common at JMU and those party schools)</p>
<p>i have to say, there are very few gut classes at W&M (human sexuality, human geography, and comp sci 131 are the only ones i can think of). and the professors all seem to skew toward being old-school - you won't get an A just because you're bright and articulate; everyone else is, too, so you have to do the work to separate yourself. W&M's reputation for resisting grade inflation seems to be deserved, and while everyone says that grad schools know about this and cut you some slack when reading your application, i've never heard a grad admissions counselor say anything about it explicitly. </p>
<p>that said, it's possible to get As, and they're satisfying because you know you've earned them. it's tough, but i think it's a pretty good system. you know exactly where you stand relative to your classmates, not like other schools where a third of the class graduates PBK (which is really hard to get at W&M).</p>
<p>I've been a student at both UVA and W&M. Workload is about the same at both schools (moderate). W&M doesn't give as many A's but it's not impossible to get A's by any means. Go to class and do your work. It's not rocket science.</p>
<p>scoot698, well, I chose WM because I'm instate, and you can't beat it for the price. The campus is one of the nicest in the country. The people are very friendly and down to earth, there's not really many stuck up people at all.</p>
<p>If you want to go out on the weekends, frats, sports houses, and off campus houses/apartments are generally where it's at. The school does sponsor other 'sober' activities. If you can have a good time hanging out with people, then you might be better off than if you have to be intoxicated to have fun. But I see both kinds of people here, and they seem to enjoy themselves.</p>
<p>It is very possible to get A's, but they are not thrown around. You can think WM isn't hard, but it is harder to get higher grades at WM than at almost any other school. I think the most important thing, that UVAKID mentioned, is that the professors care about you. They are willing to put in time to help you out. The only time US News rated dedication to undergrad teaching (1995), WM was ranked #1 in the country.</p>
<p>hxhsux, I think a good stat for the appreciation of WM undergrad curriculum is that something ridiculous like 80% of students who want to go to med school get into their 1st choice school. 80% of them don't have a 3.7 or 3.5.</p>
<p>soccerguy - where did you get that medical school stat? not to be a contrarian or anything, but i'd be curious to see the rest of the criteria (what schools are first choices for w&m grads, what their median gpas are, etc).</p>