William & Mary was one of my son’s reach schools. He’s happy to have been accepted, for sure!
The question is whether he’d be a happier human at the University of Iowa. You know how the admissions people say, “you can make a big school small, but you can’t make a small school big…” I also recently read a disparaging post from a WM grad who was very unhappy at WM saying that the professors and student study load made it impossible to get good grades for grad school applications. Poster also felt the school involvement and pride was a sham produced by admissions. My son is visiting Iowa in a week to get a feel. He is an optimistic, happy, smart guy looking for a good fit. Feedback?
http://www.gradeinflation.com/ shows W&M has been above average for grade inflation over the last 40 years so I’m not sure I agree with the post from the WM grad. Iowa actually has lower grades per the data but that could be due to the openness of access at a state school.
Thank you!
I will look at the site.
What does he plan to study ? Any significant difference in cost of attendance ? Career plans ? Graduate school ?
Has he visited W&M?
You will find unhappy students from every college and the key is how relevant the critique is for your son.
Ime, W&M is a bit of a ‘fit’ school: it suits you or it doesn’t. W&M definitely has a hard-working ethos, and a lot of the students that I have known there have been very involved in the school in quieter ways than you see at re-visit day. I have known rather a lot of W&M students in recent years, and it made it to the final 2 for one of my college kids (who, after watching the experience of her cousin and some older friends, and following the re-visit day, decided that there was too much school spirit-y stuff for her- it’s all in the eye of the beholder!). A couple of the least sorority-type girls that I have known there joined a sorority - because of it’s heavy focus on community service; a number of other students were heavily involved with admissions and fundraising for the school, and quite a lot of them volunteered to do student interviews over the summer (and took that responsibility very seriously). The most effusive ‘pride’ from a student that I know was part of the model un team that won a global award after going to Indonesia (or similar- forget exactly) for the finals.
If at all possible have your son visit both places and see what his visceral response is- and trust it.
Iowa City is a wonderful classic college town…lively downtown section across the street from campus. Students seem to love the school. Excellent academics in many fields. Hilly campus on both sides of a river. Very underrated university.
I know several current W&M students, one in my family, and know the school very well. Lots of students love it. To me, stress is really an individual phenomenon. All colleges/universities are places where students might be stressed, that is true at W&M and at Iowa. I know some students are stressed at W&M, and many are not. The student in my family works hard, is doing great academically, is competitive and ambitious, and feels almost no stress. Does your son have a personality where he’ll feel stress? If so, he might very well feel it both places. Counseling will be available at both schools if that is helpful for him to manage any stress he is feeling.
I don’t know Iowa very well, though I was there briefly last year. It’s obviously an excellent state flagship, with lots of top-notch research, and it seemed to me like a nice campus.
Of course, I’m a W&M homer. Great places (restaurants, delis, bars, coffee shops, shops, etc.) for students immediately adjacent to a very beautiful campus. I like to say Greek life is big enough of a thing if a students is interested and very easy to ignore if they are not. It’s a part of the school’s social life, but not a dominant one. Also top-notch academics, and, yes, research, with abundant opportunities for undergrads. The one in my family started working in a lab where important, newsworthy research was being done in their first semester and was a senior student in a lab by their sophomore year. But take what you read that raised concerns, and what I write, and what others write, and take that into your conversations with your son, and what is important to him, and how he’ll respond, and what’s important to him. I’ll just add that the weather in Williamsburg is pretty darn nice. Probably hot the first couple of weeks, then very nice, with mild winters, with a few cold snaps and usually one or two snowfalls, and a nice spring. Students are gone before the summer heat. I think there was snow on the ground for 3-4 days this winter.
Good luck!
I’m not sure you can make a big school small or a small school big. The advantage of a big school is, with more people, you may have more groups to explore. The advantage of a smaller school is if it is a good fit, the whole school can feel like a second home.
Perhaps it is somehow influenced by admissions, but William & Mary has the highest alumni giving rate of all national public universities, ranks tops in Princeton Review for “Happiest Students”, and has one of the highest four year graduation rates for public universities.
If he can visit both, he’ll probably get a good sense for fit because they are quite different in size and location.
Hi all!
I really appreciated your feedback.
He just got back from visiting Iowa and is clearly in love. I hoped the visit would bring him clarity one way or another.
He briefly questioned the" prestige factor", but most everyone he’s talked to agrees that prestige can be an empty pursuit. It actually gives me faith in humankind!
Hi! I’m a current senior trying to decide where I’m going, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I live in Iowa and wanted to comment because it’s exciting when people acknowledge my home state! We get forgotten a lot. As far as the prestige factor goes, Iowa is very respected in the state and the region. Iowa can definitely get him wherever he wants to go. This is anecdotal evidence, but my mock trial coach just graduated from Iowa and he’s attending Harvard law school next year. If your son loves Iowa, he’ll have a great experience there. Go hawks!
My daughter and I had a similar reaction to U of Iowa. Love love loved it and returned for another visit senior year. They just seemed to do everything right and the town, students, and pre-med opportunities were great.Such happy alums and students. She ended up in San Diego after an accepted students’ visit in April, but Iowa was at the top of 12 acceptances until the bitter end. Surf and sun won out in the end (we are Chicagoans!) but I do think people tend to underestimate U of Iowa. Seems like the classic state flagship experience with less stress than most.
Can’t go wrong with either school, but gotta love those Hawkeyes! And we visited on a day when our umbrellas blew inside out in 40 degree weather. Charm still came through.
Iowa City is my favorite college town. Very progressive and LGBTQ-friendly, yet it still retains that down-to-earth quality. There is something indefinable about UIowa and IC. Great coffee shops, places to eat, book stores. A very cultured town with a strong and obvious connection to literature and writing. I guess that the only downside is that UIowa is typically in the top ten for party schools, but what flagship isn’t party-crazy? Nice to hear that the OP’s child is going with fit, not prestige.
Anybody who doubts U of Iowa, just do an interner search for James Van Allen.