<p>D completed her app end of Dec. and is anxiously waiting a reply. Anyone else who applied around the same and heard yet? She did call and they said she was beign considered for honors admit. She is very curious abut MW, we are from western NY and have not visited, if she is accepted will visit in April. Any info on how "northerners" fit in? How is the weekend life? Difficulty of classes?</p>
<p>Honors admit means that they will let her know before everyone else in general admit gets theirs in April. I'd say that is a good sign.</p>
<p>Beautiful campus. Northerners welcome. Weekend life--typical? Not sure on that. Difficulty of classes depends on the class and the background. PM me if you want more info and I'd be glad to be more specific.</p>
<p>My daughter also completed her application around Dec 28-29. She received her acceptance letter last week. We live in Northern Virginia so that may partially account for the earlier arrival (at least the mail delivery is probably quicker).</p>
<p>My older daughter graduated from MW about 10 years ago. She had a great experience there. There were many New Yorkers at MW as well as Northern Virginians, who I don't think your daughter would find very southern. At the same time, MW was definitely a far less diverse school -- racially and culturally -- than my daughter had every experienced. I don't have a good sense about week-end life there because my daughter tended to come home to visit her high school boyfriend (now husband) pretty much every week-end. I suspect a lot of the Northern Virginia kids may do that, but my sense is that MW has a full complement of social activities on the week-ends. They do not have a Greek system (or at least they didn't when my older daughter went there), which was a big draw for her.</p>
<p>One more quick thing ... If your daughter does receive honors acceptance she will be invited to an Honors Showcase on March 14.</p>
<p>D got acceptance packet yesterday, she is so excited. Can't wait to visit in April!</p>
<p>Congrats to your D!</p>
<p>Thanks Zoeydoggie...she was dancing around the kitchen :) We are making the road trip in April!</p>
<p>Just a few ideas of things you might want to ask at UMW. I don’t know if you have followed any of my threads so I wanted to give you a heads up.
- D received a phone pic of a naked boy. It was followed by a text: It’s Mike. We had a class together last semester. I hope I didn’t offend you. I spoke with the faculty member in charge of the judicial board and he was much more interested in the rights of the boy, should she press sexual harassment charges. I would specifically ask what their texting policies, training, orientation, etc. will cover. This faculty member and the campus police both said this has never come up. I find that hard to believe.
- This year many, many freshmen were put in temporary triples. A misnomer since they have stayed in them all year for the most part. The new president has made a new policy for next year. No freshmen will be tripled. She will accomplish that by taking two floors of an upperclass dorm and making them for freshmen. This means that this year’s freshman class, which has been tripled up all year, will be packed into even fewer rooms next year. They go by a lottery/class system, so the seniors and juniors have taken all the prime housing. Sophs get the leavings, and the ones with the worst lottery numbers will be once again “temporarily” housed in a local motel. They didn’t know when they signed their housing contracts that this was an option and they will not be released from those contracts. Between 70 and 100 students are expected to be put there. Stinks to high heaven, if you ask me. So you may want to ask if your daughter may be in a motel her sophomore year as well.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to ruin things for your visit or your daughter. I want you to make your decisions with as much info as possible.</p>
<p>my daughter and her roommate were some of the last to get a room on campus, and there were still two sessions of the “lottery” left to go. </p>
<p>I have been exasperated with the housing office on many occasions. Daughter’s RA dumped her freshmen on more than one occasion during orientation so that she could participate in her unsanctioned sorority’s activities. Daughter has never felt comfortable approaching her with housing problems. When they returned from winter break, their dorm was INFESTED with mice . One room caught 9 mice in one evening! It took several calls to housing to get someone who could address the situation.The housing office’s web site if filled with contradictory information. It makes me wonder about the administration’s commitment to housing.</p>
<p>It seems to me that students were purposely misled when they signed their housing contracts. Were students informed that motel housing was an option before they signed their contract? I wonder if the contract would stand up to a legal challenge? </p>
<p>I would not permit my daughter to live in motel housing some miles from campus. Not only is it terribly inconvenient, but how can the administration provide adequate security? It’s time for the students to become very vocal about their complaints. Perhaps picketing the new president’s inauguration would be an option.</p>
<p>Wow, this is not a good situation. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Teh college brochures always make every college look and sound perfect! We will definitely ask questions and keep this information in mind.</p>
<p>How are the academics at UMW? D is interested in International Relations. Any input is appreciated. </p>
<p>How is the student body in general? Partiers? Serious students?</p>
<p>My D’s RA has left something to be desired as well. She has simply never been around, never asked questions, etc. I don’t think it’s fair to freshmen to say “Come to me with any concerns” and think they will. Stopping to check on them a couple of times would have been a good thing. When there was a real problem she was nowhere to be found and another RA had to deal with it.</p>
<p>My D’s roommate is thinking of being an IR major. The intro class is not good, so just tell your D to be aware that it should get better and not be turned off by that. My older D was an IR major at another school. Her advice is IR is a great major but remember that there are tons and tons of them out there now. She is in grad school in DC.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is a really big party school. From what I hear, yes, some students do. Others do not. D has never had her studying interrupted by obnoxious party types. She is obviously a serious student. </p>
<p>I’ve asked about the legality of the motel housing as well. The contract states that temporary housing may be assigned. I think everyone assumed that meant the same old temporary triples that so many had been given this year. No one knew they were signing on for possible off campus motel living. I wish everyone would just throw a fit. My D snagged one of the last spots in a dorm. The least desirable dorm, the top floor with no elevator and no AC. A triple/triple suite. My big fear is that when this class (2012) gets to their senior year and finally able to get the good housing, they will be told that senior housing is no longer available. It seems they are the class that will always be getting the bad deals.</p>
<p>These complaints are quite overblown in my opinion. I am a member of the class of 2012, and while many people do have concerns over the housing, it’s not a serious situation. The same thing has happened for the last nine years, and it has been evened out over the summer break. People transfer, move off campus, etc. Don’t worry about it. Campus food is a mediocre part, but really…its not that bad…its cafeteria food, and you get over it…its great some nights, not so great others. With the exception of a few colleges (VT, JMU) the college food is exceptionally average. The academics are very good in my opinion. Its a tough college, and it really is an underrated college in my opinion. I took the intro to IR class and it is very tough, but I wouldnt call it a bad class per say…just harder than a 100 level class should be. There are parties on campus and off, you just need to find them. Its not like other schools in the state which are teeming with them. The student body is varied in what they do, like you’d find at most any school. There are tons of clubs and things to do, but once again, you have to get out there and do it yourself. Finally, don’t worry too much about the RA situations…I live in Alvey (one of the fresh dorms) and I know I can talk to my RA about anything and everything I need to without fear of him telling anyone. We have grown to be friends and he knows everything about the school that I would need to know. I guess its on a case by case basis…however, all in all, I am very happy that I applied and came to Mary Washington. It has been a year which has both changed and shaped me as a person-for the better. Hope this paints a different (and hopefully better) picture. It’s not all doom and gloom, however I do truly understand the problems some people have with the administration. I mean, were all college students after all…we like to complain :)</p>
<p>Thank you for adding your positive spin. I’m glad you pointed out some first hand positives. Academically it’s strong, and that is why we send out students there in the first place. </p>
<p>I don’t think the complaints are overblown if they are happening to you. Where are you living next year? My bet is that it is not in the local motel. I’m glad you have a great RA. How would your perception be if he was never there and didn’t even know you by name? I’m sure we are seeing two extremes but both ends of the spectrum do exist.</p>
<p>I don’t think you are correct about the housing situation fixing itself over the summer. The new policy states that freshmen will not be temporarily tripled. That makes a shortage that has not been addressed before. Yes, many students may transfer and drop out, maybe even more than usual. I don’t think it will make up for the new policy.</p>
<p>I sincerely appreciate all of the discussion and info. We are from WNY, so the only info we have about UMW is from the college itself or the web. It is great to hear from those of you who are students or parents of students.</p>
<p>I hope your visit is coming soon. The trees are blooming, the grass is green, and the campus will never look better.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to sound like every moment of D’s year has been bad. Academically she loves it and socially she’s getting there. Just ask lots of questions and feel free to talk your way up the food chain. Some questions are best answered by students and some I would need to ask an administrator. And check on that mice situation for me, OK???</p>
<p>I graduated from UMW (loved it), and my daughter is a current upperclassman there. The housing comments are unfortunately true. We have been more disappointed with the course registration process. When D registered as a first semester freshman, she received NO guidance concerning course selection. Instead she was to read online materials, figure it out by herself, and register from home at a specific assigned time (with the promise that she could get help by phone if needed). She logged in at the exact first minute she was allowed, and all the courses she had carefully selected were already full. Sophomore year was a tad easier. Luckily she had a good housing situation, but I saw many kids struggling to fit into those tripples on move-in day. My D confirms that this year’s housing lottery was the worst yet. Off-campus private housing is almost non-existant, so be wary. The hotels they mention are terrible and not adequate. The school has changed tremendously since I was a student. Not sure I will encourage my other kids to apply except that it is close enough to home and affordable. The courses/teachers are demanding (a good education), but not many students from my northern va area consider it a first choice school. Many locals still think it is a private girls college. Almost all say it is too small, although I never really felt it was. The old town of F’burg is lovely, but becoming a bit rougher than I remember.</p>
<p>I agree with what you said about first semester registration. We were on vacation and rose early for D to pounce on those choices, only to find them full. The guidance she has received since she’s been on campus has been great. She just registered for next semester and had first and second choices that could not be had. She has learned her way around wait lists.</p>
<p>I cannot believe that the room lottery, run as it currently is, can possibly be the best way to do it. It’s simply nuts. D has a male friend who forgot (FORGOT???) to go on his assigned night. He showed up on the last night and was still able to get a decent room in the dorm that had been D’s first choice. Life at UMW is better for guys.</p>
<p>I agree that UMW is not the first choice for many of it’s students. D calls it the land of UVA and William and Mary rejects.</p>
<p>Thanks Zoeydoggie,mamzilla and trackrunner! </p>
<p>Told D about the mice…totally grossed her out. She won’t even touch a spider so I can’t imagine what she would do with mice!</p>
<p>I guess one of my first thoughts after reading about the dorms, RA, and even the sexting issue was the fact that her essay for UMW was a discussion of the honor system and how that would impact her education. I realize that the honor system is in reference to academics, but it should also carry through to relationships between RA and freshmen in their dorm, admin. and students/parent communication and honesty about dorm situations, and how issues like this sexting issue is dealt with by the college commmunity in general, especially by the “judicial board” or whatever.</p>
<p>I guess I was hoping to hear that the Honor System was really something that had an impact on the interactions on the entire college community of UMW. </p>
<p>We are still looking forward to our visit, will be there Easter Monday. I know the weather will be impressive to her…she has already asked if she will need her winter boots and all. We live north of Buffalo!</p>
<p>haven’t gotten the financial pkg yet. What is your experience with that? Did they met your aid needs?</p>
<p>We didn’t hear about financial aid for awhile either. We finally called and were told there was none. We completely don’t get it. D was an honors admission and had money from other schools. Our EFC was greater than the cost of a year at UMW, however, so they said we were not getting anything.</p>
<p>Sometimes I feel like D’s gotten a raw deal from this school from the very beginning. Call now and ask about financial aid.</p>
<p>I also went to UMW for 2 yrs back in the late 70s and have a daughter that’s a soph there now. It’s not perfect, but if you find the perfect school please let me know! Housing and registration are common issues at lots and lots of schools, not just this one. My daughter has managed to work around the class schedules to get what she needed, but she has had to be a little flexible about it. She was also tripled fresh year in a 100 yr old dorm - and they all did just fine. They were able to “de-triple” second semester. I never heard about any mice - she would freak if she thought there was one anywhere in the building, so I don’t think it’s a rampant problem. I don’t think anyone knows how the current housing situation is going to play out just yet. She has also had good luck with RAs and I haven’t heard any horror stories like the ones mentioned here…RAs are just students with a tiny bit of training who are not much older than your freshmen…some will be great at it and there are a few who won’t. I think they’re probably the exception rather than the rule. My daughter’s academic experience has been excellent so far - great professors, small classes. My younger daughter has been accepted there for next yr and I’ll be very happy if she decides to go. They did give her a merit scholarship. ( If your EFC is over the cost of attendance, you don’t get financial aid at any school…you just get to take out unsubsidized loans if you want to.) In summary…go look at the school(preferably on a day when classes are in session so you can see how the atmosphere is), talk to lots of people, ask lots of questions…and then let your student decide.</p>