<p>It seems to be Southern Colleges Day here at CC, so I thought I would chime in. This Yankee and her daughter visited Williamsburg last month and really loved the place. W&M has its own unique character, look, and feel. D likes the strong academics and possibility of interacting with professors. It doesn't feel like a state school at all. It offers the environmental science and the strong program in Japanese that she wants (and it's not easy to find that combo).</p>
<p>Drawbacks: W&M would be mucho expensivo for us New Yawkers. Also, D is kind of liberal, and I don't know how much of a fit that would be. And the frat scene may not be to her liking. Still, it would be a nice reach for her and something different on her list. Any comments pro or con about W&M? Any experiences with OOS admissions to W&M or financial aid? I also got some good feedback in the W&M forum.</p>
<p>My oldest d graduated from W & M last year; my middle d was accepted there and considered it very seriously before choosing another school. I'm another New Yorker who loves W & M for all the reasons you've mentioned. Though it's an expensive option for OOS students, we were able to pay the full price tag, and were grateful that it was 10-15K less per year than the private schools our kids looked at.</p>
<p>I feel that W & M is appreciably more politically liberal than it is conservative. Kids on campus are politically aware and active, and there is definitely a place for everyone - my d knew kids of all stripes (and she's a liberal New Yorker herself). There's a nice mix of types on campus, probably as many quirky kids as preppy ones. What the students appear to have in common are smarts, motivation, and energy.</p>
<p>As to the frat scene - I know a bit about that, since my d's longterm boyfriend was a frat member and she was involved as a little sister. I met several of the brothers and was surprised at how atypical they seemed (trying to think of a nice way to say that they didn't seem to be the kind of guys who'd get into a frat - kinda geeky). They named a section of their house The Hall of Broken Stereotypes, which included a gay guy who couldn't dance and an Asian kid who couldn't do math. Drinking? Yes, in varying degrees. Although the frats provide much of the party scene, it's an open environment with lots of mixing between Greeks (30 percent?) and non-Greeks. Many of my d's friends weren't Greek. Most of her good friends, male and female, were from her freshman hall. They remained very close despite different majors, upperclass residence halls, or Greek status.</p>
<p>As I understand it, OOS admission gets harder every year, particularly for females from over-represented states such as New York! I take no pleasure in writing it, since my youngest d would love to be accepted there. My oldest d was extremely happy with her experience at W & M, both academically and socially. She'd say the best aspects were the quality of the faculty and the bright, active student body.</p>
<p>Macnyc: As a W&M grad and transplant from LI to VA after graduating, I have to second all that frazzled1 mentions. As to the cost, W&M is considered a phenominal LAC (even though it's technically a university) and as such is a BARGAIN even for OOS. I did freshman year at a NYS university and was astounded at the intellectual (and social) differences between the two schools. The difference in the quality of education is what is causing us to now pay an enormous sum for our first born to attend his intellectual dream school when he could have gone to W&M with our prepaid tuition plan and two scholarships. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions. Good luck!</p>