In an effort to get people actual answers for their questions that usually go unanswered in individual threads, I’d like to try to be a source of info!
I’m a junior at the College (double major gov/econ) and have studied at several universities such as LSE and UVa.
So, any questions you might have I’m happy to answer. I won’t hold my breath too much since so few post in this subsection, but might be of some help to a few!
Hey @LaVolpe ! Thanks for this thread! I had a question about college admissions. How exactly do they compare me from a high school that doesn’t do GPAs on 4.00 scale versus high schools that do? (Just an example)
One more question. If my parents attended college in India, would I still be considered a “First-Generatoin” student? My counselor says yes but I think not.
Thanks so much!
Hi, this thread is so helpful, thank you so much! I am seriously considering William and Mary, but i’m still hesitant.
I want to pursue a biology major with a pre-med tract, but I’m not sure if William and Mary will give me the resources I need, such as internships and undergraduate research. Do you recommend William and Mary for pre-med?
Thank you!!
To my knowledge, they have a specific system for equating things. It’s not something I’d worry about or even put any thought into.
Your counselor is wrong, no disrespect. When you fill in information about your parents you include their education history. If you list them as attaining college degrees and also indicate that you’re a first generation college student you’ll look odd.
I’ve never heard anything but good things about pre-med here. I have a few friends in it and I’ve never heard them wishing they had pursued pre-med at another university. Undergraduate research is at your own volition; I know plenty of freshman that got work in their prof’s labs. Same for internships, which, of course, your advisor/career services can help with.
My daughter got a 29 on her ACT, however, her English was 33, reading was 36 but math was 23 and pulled it all down. Her GPA weighted is 4.3 and her AP scores are 4, 5, 5 & 5. She will take 4 more AP tests this spring. She has done volunteer work for 3 yrs & founded a few clubs but that’s it for XC. What do you think her ED chance is? We’re OOS. Thank you!
While I tend to think chancing people is a lost cause, I’ll give you my general sense given that info. And just so you know, intent and goals conveyed in essays is very much the distinguishing factor between people with these types of stats. GPA’s and AP’s alone are, to universities like this, are a dime a dozen.
Those ACT scores will tie in with what she lists as her prospective major - that is to say that should she put her intended major as something math heavy it might raise eyebrows. I would doubt that it will have much, if any, impact on the application itself. I know several people here that got 33+ on all but math, getting anywhere from 18-24 on it.
General experience with SAT/ACT is that it rarely matters. I know people that got 36’s, myself included, and people that got 20’s and are at the same school. Wouldn’t worry about it. Can’t knock the AP’s, though, everyone likes to see them. Although this many years since my own graduation, I imagine they’re offered far more often. Regardless, nine AP’s is nine AP’s.
The rest of info is pretty general, doing XC’s alone is pretty moot if it doesn’t tie into something - whether it be a major or some kind of passion. Think doing MUN, Student Council, etc etc and wanting to go into the Government Department. That has far more value than “doing” XC’s. Volunteer work is always good, but tends to be best when there’s a fundamental reason - something people I’ve helped write essays ignore very often.
ED gives her a lot of help, but OOS is stil brutal at schools like W&M/UVa. I’d say her chances are very good, but the stats only open the door to the proverbial interview. Essays and other info are what’ll decide things, in my opinion.
Thank you for your opinion, I appreciate it very much. We drove up for her interview and it went well. She did the history NIHAD program last summer at W&M for 3 wks, lived in the dorms, etc, and just fell in love. A I think her essays were good, her AP English & History teachers helped her with her drafts & felt they were competitive. Her volunteer work is with the Charleston historical Society so that works with her being a history major. Her work with the Aquarium ties into teaching & education but perhaps not as well, except that she won an essay contest in order to volunteer there at age 14, instead of the usual 18, and we are hoping that 3 yrs there shows dedication. She just applied ED as it was due 11/1. Whew,stressed & nervous, she has no back up schools. Thank you again very much!
@cloudysmom I am not sure what your daughter is interested in, but going off that she was in the NIAHD program, I assume history. I would also consider checking out Gettysburg College is if she is interested in looking at going to college with a historical feel. Best of luck with applications!
Thank you, we did visit GC and she liked it but felt it was too small, her HS has 4,000 kids and GC is smaller than that. She applied ED to W& M, history major, yes. Looking for back up schools in case she doesn’t get in. She loves Chapel Hill but seems harder to get into than W& M.
@LaVolpe Thank you so much for your opinion! I will definitely keep that in mind 
Hope I’m not too late, but how is the stress level at William and Mary? I’ve heard awful rumors about the class difficulty and workload.
My daughter has applied to U Richmond and UVA, both of which she visited and liked a lot. Her GC has recently advised her to W&M, which we had initially dismissed as we have heard that the students there are overly intense and drone-like. She is looking for top academics and a good all-around US college experience. She is extremely social and a good leader (class president every year of HS) but is also very intellectual. We often describe her as “more a Northwestern type than U Chicago”.
Do you think she would be a good fit for W&M or is she likely not to find it too boring and not social enough?
Bump. Does anyone have any views on my previous post? Thanks.
Hi JackUK,
Of course I can’t possibly say for sure what your daughter’s social experience would be like at W&M or anywhere else, but as a current student I can definitely dismiss the “drone-like” student idea. Do I know students who are super intense and never want to leave the library? Sure. But I also know that the vast majority of W&M students look at that behavior and wonder “what on earth are they doing?” :-S
If your daughter is as outgoing as her high school involvement indicates, I’m sure she would easily find a great group of friends that will help make her experience amazing. Even outside of close friends, W&M people in general are just a fun bunch. Last semester I had a study group that decided to meet up after midterms, buy a ton of ice cream, and binge watch/sing-along to all the High School Musical movies.
Of course, academics are super important here and during finals even the most fun students turn into robots. But overall I would say that W&M is a truly well-rounded school that values students’ sanity and social life in addition to academic success.
Hope that helps!
@JackUK Personally I have found social life to be very enriching here at W&M. There is a strong emphasis on community, especially among freshman year. There are a huge range of clubs and activities to take part in, many of which have their own social activities. There are things ranging from canoe battleship, comedy shows, mountaintop hikes, NERF battles, concerts, slam poetry, intramurals, petting zoos, classic W&M traditions, parties, and much much more. Williamsburg is not NYC or Boston, so if she is looking for that, the environment may not be for her. But I have found that the strong emphasis on community and the compassionate, creative, and driven individuals that William & Mary draws has made my college experience very enjoyable.
It is very easy to make friends and the people here are some of the most friendly people I have ever met. She will find many intellectual people here at William & Mary, as it is very easy to strike up a conversation from anything from philosophy to new scientific discoveries.
People here are academically driven, but you will find that same individual being a leader in many different clubs and will likely run into that same person at a night out or spending time relaxing with friends. The environment is more collaborative rather than competitive, and I don’t think I have met anyone that I would describe as a “drone.” OK maybe one person, but the point is they are not in the majority and people know how to have a good time.
Stress is generally very high for everyone, so it comes down to how you manage it. Most don’t do overly well even in the highest level classes. But that also comes down to terrible management of time (class of 12 for our seminar - final class in a major - we started our thesis work like 6-7 days before the 35pg thesis was due and that was the most important, final class. Take of that what you will).
Class difficulty is a pain because many classes are hard purely because the professor wants them to be hard. The content will then, somehow, be painfully easy. I’ve had this several times and it’s pretty infuriating. Even moreso because professors will peddle some “oh my gosh your B- was the highest grade in the class!! Congrats!” We have this idiotic narrative that “people” know about the grading and adjust accordingly. Really though, no one cares that you got a 2.7(B-) from W&M they care that you got a 2.7. Shoots our students in the foot while professors high five themselves (and you) as if their grading is doing anything but ruining your graduate school prospects.
I have many problems with the way we grade/deal with that here, but it’s a moot point.
Not to be a downer for the other W&M folks here, but UVa is what she would likely want. For however much fun there is to be had at W&M, it is a profoundly boring place. UVa has always been my favorite place to be (Yale and LSE follow closely) because there’s an infinite amount of things to do. W&M and Williamsburg in general is pretty much a box with just a few things to do. Almost no one goes to sporting events of any kind - unless there’s an especially big one or it’s homecoming.
Overly intense is kind of a stretch because most adapt well and are extremely un-intense. Stress levels are really always high, but its how you handle that more than anything. Regardless, I’d heavily advise going to UVa (although if you let on about her desired major this would likely change depending on program). I’ve always hated UR and its atmosphere, but that’s with minimal time and not having actually studied there.
I’d recommend that she apply to Vanderbilt or Yale, though. Again, don’t have enough to know much and your question seems primarily social; to which I would again just say…UVa.
^ Thanks. My daughter will definitely major in a humanities subject, probably history. She did not apply to W&M in the end, due to the issues that have been raised here (nutty grading and boring social life). We eliminated Vandy early on for two reasons 1) it is too hard to get to from the UK and 2) we have a rule to avoid any red states, which eliminates Tennessee.
Why come to the US at all then? I’ve studied at LSE/Cambridge and would gladly have stayed there or, for LSE, will pursue graduate school there. Either way, avoiding red states seems a very strange way to go. Avoiding a super red district I could get, but any state can have pockets of either. Whatever the case, I’m sure she’ll be fine.
That said, w&m would have definitely (imo) been better for humanities. Especially history, not that uva is bad for them.
Best of luck though
What do you like about the campus? When my family went for the information session and tour, it was over fall break and there weren’t any students available for touring. It was a bit disorienting, as the paper guide wasn’t that clear and there was lots of lawn work and construction going on.
Also, do you know anything about the joint degree program with St. Andrews?I would most likely major in Film Studies or English if I took it. What does it take to get accepted? Are students allowed to do other study abroad trips while in the program? I also don’t live in VA, but my family can get in state rates for VA because my dad works for the state. I couldn’t find any clear answer on whether or not the program would require full tuition or if state rates would apply for the two years at W&M.
Gonna take a stab at this one.
@purplesparky The campus is beautiful, there are many scenic places like the Crim Dell or Matoka where you can go canoeing or see concerts (not shown during the tour). The new science center and the business school are great, but I personally like the hidden tucked corners like the English buildings that have giant murals or the art museum which hosted never before seen DaVinci paintings freshman year. Sunken Gardens is also great for playing frisbee or just chilling and reading books. I used to have a dock that leads straight to the lake behind my dorm freshman year, which was my favorite place to hang out.
I would definitely recommend visiting while school was in session or during admitted students day. They offer an overnight option then. Also the offer William & Mary Mondays where you get can get lunch with students throughout the year. And of course there are forums like CC where you can ask questions.
I was admitted to the WAMSta program, but ultimate chose not to go because I did not want to spend two years away from campus. I was accepted to the most selective group, international relations. But from my impressions it is a rather self-selected group and you just have to have an excellent essay alongside your good grades and whatnot. They definitely read the essays and when I was admitted, I received a handwritten note referencing a joke I made in my essay.
You are allowed to do study abroad trips, but as I understand it only during the summers because doing two years at each university already leaves you on a stringent timeline of courses you have to complete while at each university. If you are instate, you should be able to get the instate tuition rates during your two years at William & Mary, which should be comparable to your two years at St. Andrews, however St. Andrews is slightly more expensive.