<p>Hi, I just sent in my deposit for William and Mary, but I'm having my doubts. It has always been my number one choice, but I am skeptical about campus life. I am really glad that the environment is intellectually enhancing, but with such a work load how much time is there to have fun and hang out with friends? Also, what is there to do on the campus and near the campus (I'm not talking ec's, just hanging out)? </p>
<p>One last question: I've heard New Town is awesome, can anyone tell me what it's like?</p>
<p>You are making a big decision on which college to attend. It is natural to have some reservations. After all, it is where you will spend the next 4 years of your life.</p>
<p>There is plenty of time to hang out with friends. Remember, in college you will only be in class for 3-5 hours a day. If you take 3 classes MWF and 2 classes TR, that is 3 hours of class each day. So, even if you do 5 hours of work outside of class each day (which is way more than I usually did), that still leaves you all evening to hang out, and the weekends.</p>
<p>In my experience, the work load is not that bad, but the expectations are high. A’s are well earned.</p>
<p>What is there to do? go-carts, mini golf, new town, the new shopping place on Richmond Road, outlet mall, Yorktown beach, Colonial Williamsburg / Merchant Square, Canoeing/Kayaking on the lake, Sno to Go is popular… </p>
<p>Many people find it very possible to lead a balanced life at WM. Of course there are also some who stress too much and forget to have some fun. But many, many people are very involved in organizations, exercising, and making sure they do some things off campus once in a while. College, like any other level of academia, is a game that you learn how to play. Some people get it right away and it takes others a semester or two before they figure it out. Once you begin to figure out the game, you’ll realize that there is some reading material you can just glance through and other material you actually have to spend some time on (and that stuff you are naturally interested in you will spend more time reading anyway). In my time at WM, it seemed like the workload was similar to peaks and valleys. You are either hit with it all at once (ex. midterms, mid-term papers, presentations, end of semester papers, final exams) or things just revolve around making sure you go to class, take notes, and understand the material. In terms of difficulty, one thing some people aren’t prepared for is the level of precision professors will be expecting of you. Knowing the basics will not be enough to get an A, A-, or even a B+ sometimes. You also learn to play to your strengths. I happened to be very interested in History and one of my greatest strengths is writing, so I majored in History and achieved almost all A’s and A-'s in those courses. It really comes down to time management and once you understand what is expected of you it will be much clearer when you can hang out etc. The academics aren’t a walk in a park, but they also aren’t all-consuming unless you let them be. You’ll be fine as long as you stay positive and disciplined. The third floor of the library is where you want to go if you need complete quiet - I only went there when I had term papers to do… nothing like stocking up on starbucks coffee and making your way through the stacks to find primary and secondary sources like a mad man! (don’t let this scare you though - remember, peaks and valleys!).
New Town - pretty cool place, has a new movie theatre, billiards (corner pocket), stores, restaurants, ice-cream, barnes and noble, panera bread co., lots of different stuff. I used to hang out at the corner pocket alot. A good place to go if you just feel like taking a break from campus.
In terms what there is to do on the campus and near the campus… there are alot of little food places/coffee shops etc. in the area within walking distance you can hang out at. On campus - people hang out at Lodge 1, the commons area of their dorms, sunken garden, barksdale field. Lots of events happen at lodge 1 - organizations put on stuff like riverdance type tap-dancing shows (was actually quite impressive), date auctions, music (acoustic guitar and stuff), etc. There are semi-formals/ formals during the year called “the green and gold affair” and “King and Queen”. They show movies at the Sadler Center (formerly the university center). The list goes on and on. You won’t be bored unless you want to be. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>That helped me quite a bit. Thanks so much for the information!!! A few more questions if you don’t mind:</p>
<p>I plan to go to medical school after WM – do you think that going to WM over a school like, say, VA tech will be beneficial to me? In other words, do you think going to a tougher school like WM is going to hurt the gpa enough to cancel out how much more I’m learning?</p>
<p>WM has an excellent reputation and placement to medical school is tops. VA tech, perhaps if you want to be a vet, other than that, I’d choose WM.</p>
<p>Yeah the numbers look promising, and I’m sure the environment will help me transition between high school and college life in terms of academic difficulty. </p>
<p>I forgot to ask this — but are there any facilities such as gyms or rec centers where I can play basketball, work out, etc.? If so, are they free?</p>
<p>Shoot I forgot! Another question is about the dorms? I heard they are smaller than most dorms (which are already pretty small) and pretty unbearable in the summer. Anyone have any info about the dorms?</p>
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<li>As far as med school, I’ve heard the med schools use certain point systems with your GPA, depending upon what undergrad you go to. For instance, a 3.3 at William & Mary might be the equivilent to a 3.6 at an average school. And based on a stat I’ve read, a B+ average at WM will give you a decent shot at getting accepted to med school if your MCAT’s are good. (Which is good considering from average schools you are expected to have an around an A- or A average).</li>
<li><p>The dorm rooms vary. Jamestown north and south, which you wouldn’t get to live in until after freshman year are really nice and have pretty big rooms. There are some other dorms on campus that have decent size rooms too. Compared to other schools, i’m not sure that I’d say the dorm rooms at WM are smaller on average. They are probably about the same. Part of the college experience is dealing with stuff like living in a dorm, but to be honest you will probably make a few friends with people from your dorm and have a positive experience. If you want to make sure you have air conditioning, just go to the doctor and get him to sign a form you should be able to get on the WM website or from admissions. The form says you need to have an A/C window unit, because of your allergies. It’s so much better having an A/C window unit, trust me.</p></li>
<li><p>There is a rec center equipped with free weights, nautilus, a couple basketball courts, raquetball, Climbing wall, treadmills, bikes, yoga classrooms, olympic swimming pool. It is free - you just swipe your student I.D. and use your fingerprint to get in.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Some of the newer freshman dorm buildings are air-conditioned, though most are not. M youngest d had the great luck to be placed in the newest (1960s-era!) freshman dorm complex, Dupont, which is as good as freshman housing gets - air-conditioned, comfortably-sized rooms, suite bathroom shared by 4 people, and well under a 10-minute walk to all her classes. My oldest d was in Hunt Hall, which has possibly the smallest rooms on campus, is not air-conditioned, and was a pretty good hike from everywhere she wanted to go. She had a great freshman year experience anyway, and her closest friends are still people who were in her freshman hall.</p>
<p>The Rec Center is supposed to be fairly awesome, with a climbing wall, 8-lane pool, top drawer fitness equipment, etc. It was renovated a few years ago. I think it’s free for students (or perhaps that should be “covered by some of your annual fees”).</p>
<p>If you have asthma, you’ll be placed in an air-conditioned dorm, or be allowed to put a window air conditioner in. If you don’t have asthma, try to find someone to room with who has asthma. My d did .</p>
<p>Daughter lived in Botetaurt first year…Faquier to be exact. Supposedly the worst place to live freshman year. She loved the other residents and those are her best friends now. (sophomore year) yes, you learn things like air conditioning request form your doctor completes. This year, still no AC but she has an AC unit. She loves the gym and the fact, so many people run at WM. She actually lost 20 lbs her freshman year, running and using a gym on a regular basis. I cannot say enough of the school and the benefits of my daughter…for academics and for all around benefits, she’s a better person for these two years at WM.</p>
<p>if you can, you should get a doctor note to get AC if you get a dorm that doesn’t have it. Williamsburg can get pretty hot in August / September… and again at the end of the year during exams.</p>
<p>The rec is nice, but I usually like jogging through CW better. I’m working up to a run down to Jamestown and back one day. As for A/C, when we moved in neither of my roommates (I’m in a triple) had allergies, but there was an AC unit already in the window and we were allowed to keep it.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for answering all my questions! From every student I’ve talked to, I’ve received kind, helpful, answers which leads me to believe the community is going to be great. I’m really glad I came to this website, because now I’m more excited than ever to come to William and Mary!!!</p>
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