<p>I think the point made by my coworker is that, if you live in Minneapolis, LA, Seattle, etc, people won't really be impressed overly by the fact that you went to W&M, UVA, or South Carolina. They may have heard that W&M and UVA are great schools, but it won't be a big deal to them if you went there.</p>
<p>I dunno....I went to Santa Barbara my Jr. year and was on a wine tour wearing a W&M shirt and it drew a few comments from a group out there on a business outing. My gf and I live in WI, and her superiors and a few co-workers were apparently impressed by her degree from W&M.</p>
<p>I think it all depends on who you talk to. I mean, there are people in VA that know W&M is a school, but don't really know much else.</p>
<p>True, true. I get a blank stare sometimes when I say I went to W&M, and I live in Chesapeake! </p>
<p>I don't think people know whether to say, "congratulations!", or ,"I am so sorry!"</p>
<p>LOL</p>
<p>I can tell you that I have seen more than a handful of job offers / internships in the DC market come through the career center here that are specifically looking for a W&M student / grad, and I don't really look at career center stuff at all (which is probably a mistake on my part).</p>
<p>I doubt the same could be said for USC.</p>
<p>The people who do the hiring know about schools that they need to know about. W&M is on that list.</p>
<p>W&M is one of the best public universities in the US, and it has an intimate environment. If your son likes the big school environment, maybe S.Car. is fine, but in the long run, I think W&M's reputation still outweighs an honors college at South Carolina.</p>
<p>ghostofsnappy, I think there are people in VA who don't know much about W&M because of a combination of:</p>
<ol>
<li>Lack of big-time sports, much less a good rep in them, especially in basketball and football (This is why VT is considered VA's 2nd best school by some crazy folks, in the boonies, prob. the same folks who don't know what W&M is beyond its name)</li>
<li>Small size (small schools in general have smaller reps. Our lack of a med school and engineering school make us less visible in this regard)</li>
<li>The name implies that we are a private school (we're named after the British monarchs at the time, and Rev. James Blair founded us... Just imagine how Blair and Mr. Jefferson would react if they saw the College today! Yes we were private, until 1888 or 1908?, depending on the source.)</li>
</ol>
<p>I totally agree that W&M has a much better reputation than USC. But once you have been out for 5 years, it is, "what can you do?", not "where did you go to school?"</p>
<p>I do think my S would pick W&M in a heartbeat if he was 100% sure of his major, but he is worried because there is no engineering school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I do think my S would pick W&M in a heartbeat if he was 100% sure of his major
[/quote]
Well,that is why I would choose William and Mary, because it is more of a LAC type school and all of the departments will be good.<br>
However, the real reason I would choose it is because you will just have a better college experience at a school like that. Also, any decision that is based on money will be a poor one.</p>
<p>Agree wilmington! Except there is no engineering program! It is fairly easy to start in computer engineering, and switch to CS, but very difficult the other way around.</p>
<p>I do agree that if he has no desire or intention of engineering, then W&M is probably his better choice.</p>
<p>I believe this is the first you mentioned engineering... if he's thinking about that, he should take that into account. W&M does have a couple 3+2 engineering programs, but I don't know if he would be interested in those. I know I personally wouldn't have been interested in any 3+2 programs for any major.</p>
<p>Yeah, he threw the engineering out last night, said it was remote though. I am starting to really favor W&M, but I need to let him decide.</p>
<p>what do you mean any decision based on money is a poor one. what were you referring to</p>
<p>I think they were referring to the fact that my S can go to USC Honors College for about 20,000-24000 cheaper than going to W&M. I think they were saying we should disregard the money and make the decision on the merits of the two schools.</p>
<p>I agree to some extent, but 20,000 is a lot of money. It could help my s buy his first house.</p>
<p>It depends how much you like the school. I love the school I am at and received almost no aid save a couple thousand dollar grant/lots of loans. I am a freshman and have already taken loans. I could have gone to a local school for almost nothing or to my reputable state University for less than half the price of my school. But you know what? The money is not worth it to me. Sure, I could have a nicer car and more financial flexibility and I wouldn't have to work 2-3 jobs over the summer. But there is no way I would be as happy as I am now. Sure 20,000 dollars is a lot of money, but it is all relative. USC is a good school, but William and Mary is one of the top 5 or so public schools in the nation and has much more prestige/greater reputation. If you want to look at it on a financial standpoint, you are investing in a degree. The William and Mary community is undoubtedly smaller and closer, and alumni are probably more willing to go out of their way for you. Perhaps the fact that your son could have a W&M degree would get him hired for a job.</p>
<p>I guess that I am just probably a little bit more romantic/more irrational than most people, but I just could not make a decision from a financial standpoint, unless I was going to put my family into a homeless shelter by going to school or something, especially when the financial burden is also on me. If your son likes William and Mary that much, the extra 20 grand will not matter to him. In the grand scheme of things you only go to college once and I think we all can agree that William and Mary will provide a much better college experience on the whole, so is your experience worth saving money? I tend to disagree.</p>
<p>Regardless of his decision as long as you go in with the right attitude you should be fine, and he is choosing from two very good programs. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hey Wilmington, thanks for sharing. As an alum, I agree with you about W&M being a great school. It really hasn't helped me financially in life to be an alum. I am a 45 year old CPA and I don't make a lot of money (between 70-75k). Probably less than someone graduating this year with a CS degree (hahahaha). I did make a lot of friends there, but haven't seen them in 15 years. After your kids start participating in sports, you tend to not go back to homecoming/football games in the fall. Wouldn't trade my W&M experience for all the world though.</p>
<p>Namtrag, </p>
<p>Judging by what you have said about your son, I feel that william and mary would be an ideal choice for him. I am a junior at the college and have found my time here to be more rewarding than any other time in my life. As a graduate of the school, I am sure you do not need to be told any further of the institution's aesthetic beauty nor its reputation. Although it is always amusing to see the expression on people's faces when they ask me which college I attend and I tell them William and Mary, the reputation which has been fostered by the college cannot adequately explain the impression that is made upon the individuals who make the decision to attend here. Your misgivings about your son attending wm are warranted. I would be lying if I told you classes here are a walk in the park. You cannot get by here without studying or attending class (unless your happen to be an absolute genius). Unlike other schools, most classes here hand out "blue books" for exams. Instead of multiple choice, fill in the blank, or true/false, one must know his subject matter and prove that he knows it by writing an essay or two on one segment of the entire range of information he has studied. Granted, students at other institutions would tremble at the thought of this examination method. Term papers are graded meticulously. Do not be discouraged by this. I have managed to earn a 3.67 gpa through hard work and determination. After observing the transition of HS Seniors to college, I can tell you flat out that biggest determining factor of whether they will succeed is their maturity. Your son sounds like someone who is responsible and prepared to make his classes a priority if he comes here. If this is the case, he is ready to attend William and Mary. It is to my understanding that you are concerned over the issue of his major. First of all, most kids change their idea of what major they wish to pursue once, if not two times during their undergraduate education. I initially wanted to major in Journalism until I realized History was what I wanted to major in. Now, I am preparing for the LSAT and plan on attending law school after my senior year. If you had told me I would plan on attending law school four years ago, I would not have taken you seriously. The fact of the matter is that once in college, your son will be exposed to areas he never was in high school. If he is in fact interested in Math, I have a friend who is a mathematics major and is very impressed by that department here. At WM, the professors are first class. It is hard to find such distinguished professors at schools such as USC. Many are national authorities in their fields, receiving their PhD’s from the likes of Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Columbia etc. Additionally, consider the current acceptance percentages of William and Mary graduates into graduate programs. They are well above the national average. Students with at least a "B" (3.0) average enjoy an 80% to 85% acceptance rate to law school and those with a B+ (3.3) 70-75% to Med school. It is ranked 2nd amongst all public schools by the Wall Street Journal in terms of quality and cost. It is ranked 3rd in the nation by Kiplinger's list of the schools with the best values in higher education. Graduate schools recognize that at William and Mary, we do not have grade inflation. Grades here are representative of how an individual actually performed in his or her class. In my opinion, the system here prepares students for any challenge they may face in life. My success here has enabled me to imagine possibilities for my future that I never would have considered had I attended another institution. Ultimately, your son needs to go where he feels happy. Before making the decision to send him to USC, consider the position I was in coming out of high school. During high school, I was an above average student (top 15% of class). However, I had not matured to the point where I made school as much of a priority as I should have. I was a soccer player who wanted to play for a division 1 program. I considered Coastal Carolina in South Carolina as it was near the beach and had a good team. As I look back, that would have been the biggest mistake of my life. Who has even heard of Coastal Carolina anyway? The coach was not willing to give me scholarship money and I was in a bind. My father didn't want to pay out of state tuition and needless to say, I was in the dumps. I did not apply to WM even though my mom was an alum. However, life was not over. I attended a junior college and decided that it was time to make the most of my academics. As you can assume, I decided to transfer to wm. I applied to the University of South Carolina and could have participated in the honors college there, but chose wm instead. At face-value your son undoubtedly is facing a difficult decision. From my perspective, it is easier than it seems. William and Mary is something that will stick with your son for the rest of his life. As a graduate of the institution, his name will be forever associated with the college of william and mary by his friends, family, and acquaintances. Beyond that - the education he gains here, the friends and professors he meets, and the experience he gains from becoming involved in an atmosphere where "community" is strongly emphasized will influence him in a way alternative schools will not. Your son has been given a unique and rare opportunity by gaining acceptance here. I am confident he can succeed at WM and believe it is an opportunity he would later regret passing up if he were to choose USC instead. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.</p>
<p>good post, Tribe1693.</p>
<p>I humbly request multiple paragraphs next time =)</p>
<p>Boy, he stirred the pot on the USC forum by posting this there too!</p>
<p>People get so defensive about their school. I think my son would be fine at either school, but he needs to go about it deliberately, attend the accepted students day at W&M, ask questions, and just determine what he wants out of college life.</p>
<p>Deep in my heart I know that W&M is probably a better fit: my S is quiet, not a big sports fan, and is quite interested in a wide variety of subjects. USC is definitely a good school, but if it weren't for the HC they have, he would not have even considered it.</p>
<p>It's his decision to make, and I think he will do just fine at either school.</p>
<p>Once he makes the decision, he needs to go on with life and never look back.</p>
<p>I have talked to several acquaintances, none of whom have ties to either S Carolina or W&M. The majority say take the USC scholarships and HC over W&M. They say it won't matter 10 years after you graduate which college you went to for undergrad, especially if you went on to grad school.</p>
<p>I am just sharing what totally unbiased people are advising. Still, I am going to let my son make up his own mind, and support him either way.</p>
<p>I believe what they say is true that W&M's name won't help him 10 years after graduation but I think the name would perhaps help him get into a grad school. On top of that, if you believe the actual quality of education would be better at W&M then that is a plus as well, the whole point of college is to learn after all. I'm not familiar with USC so I can't say anything negative about it. I'm just trying to emphasize the qualities of W&M.</p>
<p>I asked my S straight up yesterday, and he said he is pretty sure he will pick W&M. He is coming to accepted students day to help decide, and he is really looking for things which would cause him to not want to go to W&M. (As opposed to looking for things which would cause him to pick USC) Does that make sense? I can't think of a good way to say it...</p>
<p>Son has decided to come to W&M, and turn down the USC Honors College. along with $21,000 in scholarships, and instate tuition. I am happy for him, but for some strange reason which I cannot fathom, I wanted him to pick USC. My wife and both attended W&M, so you would think I would be a huge advocate of it.</p>
<p>The downside of his decision: we have just enough money saved to pay for his 4 years of tuition, room and board. He will have to work if he wants to go overseas to study languages for a semester of a summer. If he had picked USC, he basically could have had $21,000 left over for overseas study, a car, home purchase, etc.</p>
<p>Other than that, I am pretty happy that he is coming to W&M! For one thing, it is a great school. Another big positive is that he will only be 45 minutes from home.</p>