DD Interested In WL But We Request Assistance About Some Questions We have about the school

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington & Lee University
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<p>My wife and I would appreciate any assistance the board could offer. Our first D is attending school and is very interested in WL. She found the school on her own and we are not familiar with it. She wanted to apply ED but I felt we just did not know enough to make that commitment.</p>

<p>First, can anyone explain whether being part of the Greek system at WL interferes with being a science student? Are the time commitments too great? In addition, I saw some videos the school did on athletes who lived in frats and sororities. On every occasion meal time in the houses did not look great. Can anyone comment on the food in the Greek houses.</p>

<p>Second, can anyone comment on the Chemistry Dept or the pre med curriculum? My daughter believes she wants major in the Humanities but also take a fair amount of science. At some schools, we have found that the various science departments can be a bit "crusty" and frankly unhelpful to students. Any thoughts? She may want to do graduate work in science other than med and I am wondering how WL does in placing their students.</p>

<p>Third, how well does the school do with the career search?</p>

<p>Fourth, there were a number of posting of the Lexington Police picking on students. Is this still going on? Why would this occur?</p>

<p>Fifth, is there really a swimming test?</p>

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<p>W&L is one of a handful of schools that still requires a swim test. Students who do not pass take swimming as one of their four required PE courses. D was a little worried, as she is not a strong swimmer, but still managed to pass on the first try.</p>

<p>Career services has a lot of success and tremendous alumni support. A number of D’s classmates (seniors) already have multiple job offers either based on internships they did or through alumni/professor contacts. </p>

<p>D’s first-year Chem prof remains one of her very favorites. Within days he knew each student’s name, and while she was on campus this past summer as a research scholar in another dept, he took her and another student out to lunch. Am sure there are placement stats on the various dept. pages on the W&L website. </p>

<p>Greek life at W&L is very different from what D’s friends at big uni’s have experienced. One’s sorority is much less of a defining group at W&L. Most all W&L students are serious about GPA, so Greek life does not overshadow that. January rush allows first-years to get a sense of whether Greek life is for them and adjust to college in general before they have to commit. Your D will meet Greek women in classes and extracurriculars her first semester. The fact that something like 75-80% of students are Greek makes it much less exclusive.</p>

<p>D says some of the houses seem to have better food than others. Any sorority member may dine in any of the houses, so it’s quite common for girls to eat at different houses either because they like the menu or are eating with a friend who is a member of that house.</p>

<p>Have not heard of any recent police/student incidents so can’t address that. </p>

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<p>Yaupon
Thank you. Do most of the sophomores move into Greek housing? </p>

<p>Is your daughter a science major?</p>

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<p>Most do, but not all sophomores can fit in the sorority houses – most years, about 1/3 of each pledge class lives in the on-campus Woods Creek apartments. Some sororities do room draw by GPA but think others do it randomly. Other sophomores choose theme housing (e.g., Global Service House, Leadership House, Spanish House) or serve as RA’s in first-year dorms.</p>

<p>D is a double major in psych/soc. Has your D been able to visit the campus?</p>

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<p>I am fortunate to have two sons at W&L. My youngest is a first year and plans to be a Chemistry major (and pre-med). He also had an opportunity to play lacrosse at W&L, but in discussing with a faculty advisor, was told that it would be hard to balance pre-med with lacrosse with a fraternity. He plans to join a frat, and therefore chose to forgo sports, at least for this year. But I think that means one can certainly balance being a science major and Greek life.</p>

<p>My wife and I met with the Chem. Dept. chair, Professor Desjardins, during Parents Weekend last month. We were extremely impressed with him and with his department. W&L is well-known for business, and for the politics/history-type pre-law track, but its Chemistry department is top-notch, too. The woman who runs pre-med advising, Dr. Alty, is one of a small handful of educators on the advisory board that recently revised the MCAT (med school SATs). We are really glad our #2 son is there.</p>

<p>I can’t speak for the food in sororities, but for our oldest boy says there’s no contest between the food at the dining hall and the food at his frat. And the food at D-hall is pretty good, but better in my son’s house.
My Chemistry major son will be staying in Lexington this summer to do research (happy for him, sad for us). I’m not sure how easy that is to do at a large school, but it’s typical of the superior access to opportunities you get at a top small liberal arts school like W&L.</p>

<p>Career search is a major point of pride at the school. See my comment above about the value of that small liberal arts school where “everybody knows your name”. W&L has a very involved alumni network who delight in engaging recent grads.</p>

<p>We were a little concerned by the posts concerning Lexington police arresting students, but that has not even been on the radar in the time my oldest boy has been there. Not to say the comments weren’t valid at some time in the past, but it really isn’t an issue as of now.</p>

<p>Finally, yeah, swimming. It’s kind of weird, but a vestige of the old-boy gentleman network that W&L grew out of. I had the same requirement 35 years ago at the upstate NY liberal arts school I went to. I didn’t believe I would actually have to do it, and found myself swimming 4 laps of the Hamilton College pool a week before my graduation. Fortunately, I knew how to swim, and it was the easiest “course” I took there. Good luck to your daughter.</p>

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<p>Yaupon and Bellybones,</p>

<p>Thank you very much. This is our first to go away and we are nervous. I know it’s not evident. :slight_smile: Yes, my DD and her mom have visited several times. She went the first time with her mom as part of a college swing. Her first visit something hit her about the school and it cost us in the bookstore. She has been there several times and interviewed. </p>

<p>I wanted to ask you both about Greek life. I know there is no limit to the amount of time you can spend, but from talking with other parents whose kids attend other schools, sometimes it seems like the Greek life is directly in conflict with school, i.e. rushing the first week of school. Does Greek life seem manageable to both of you.</p>

<p>My DD loves science but I don’t know what she would major in. Bellybones, how does your son feel about the Pre med curriculum? A lot of schools try and weed kids out from a pre med track. What is his feeling about his science experience? Does the school try and help the kids get into Med school?</p>

<p>Thanks for addressing the police. There were a lot of posts which made it seem they were out for the kids which is the opposite of what I would expect. Can you explain the physical ed requirement? Are the kids taking gym?</p>

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<p>I can address the issue with the police. BTW, this is not just a W&L thing; I know for a fact that it occurs at UVA and other schools. At W&L, if you walk alone on a weekend night (and forget to take Travellor) between a frat and campus, you can get charged by a Lexington cop for MIP or minor-in-possession (of alcohol). No probable cause required (it’s your word against theirs). You will get a breathalyzer, and if you have .00001, you will get charged. You will have to pay a fine and do some community service. About 50 kids per year get caught.</p>

<p>Is it a pain-in-the-a**? Yes. Should the school do something about it? Probably. Is it a reason not to go to W&L? Absolutely not. It is a very small thing in the big picture, and if you remember to always take the bus, it’s a non-issue. Small town cops with nothing better to do.</p>

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<p>Xwords59</p>

<p>What is the Travellor? Forgive my ignorance. Also, is this Freshmen who get caught? The posts I read indicated they had even gone after some alumni who were walking back towards campus. You would think the local police would actually have a protective attitude. Has it gotten worse?</p>

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<p>Traveller is the Safe Ride program at W&L. <a href=“Traveller Safe Ride Program : Washington and Lee University”>Traveller Safe Ride Program : Washington and Lee University;

<p>Named after General Lee’s horse. :)</p>

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<p>@eldestgoing, I feel that if students didn’t find Greek life manageable at W&L, it wouldn’t attract so many of them. By the time your D is back on campus for the beginning of the winter term, she’ll have had a full term of coursework, and she’ll have received her first college report card. She’ll know if she can add something else to her plate.</p>

<p>D spends significantly more time on her other EC’s than on her sorority. Beyond the weekly chapter meeting (about an hour), there are occasional philanthropy commitments, but she’d be doing community service of some kind anyway. She is expected to participate in some of the informal fall “rush dates”, which basically means she meets a few potential new members for coffee or ice cream and gets to know them before the January formal recruitment period begins. I don’t know that all sororities at W&L do this, but she has enjoyed it and has not found it onerous (who doesn’t love an excuse to go have ice cream??). I think D would describe it as an enjoyable part of her W&L experience, but she’s not spending weekends decorating coolers for a date function or crafting elaborate gifts for her sorority “little sister” like some of her high school friends at big SEC schools do. </p>

<p>The PE requirement can be filled by four classes your D selects from offerings ranging from weight training to golf to yoga – shouldn’t be hard to find choices that are enjoyable or at least tolerable. </p>

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<p>All,</p>

<p>Thank you so much for the information. My DD seems to become more excited about W&L each day. I have one other question. Does the school W&L’s size provide much academic support? For example, if someone feels they need help with writing, Chemistry or Calculus? </p>

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<p>D benefitted from the services of peer tutors for Chem and Calculus at no charge to us. Math Center is open weeknights for homework help, and there is a Writing Center as well. In fact, some profs will require students to make an appointment there to discuss papers they are writing. Profs themselves have been very generous with their time outside of class and scheduled office hours. The icing on the cake was when D’s choir director (who had been a physics major as an undergrad) heard her say she was struggling in Chem and offered his help! </p>

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<p>My son is very happy with the school as a pre-med, but it’s very early in the process. I think a very sizable percentage of the class comes in planning pre-med (like, maybe 1/4 to 1/3). Eventually, about 20-30 students (<10% of the class) will apply to Med School. I wouldn’t say the College weeds them out. More like, natural selection. Pre-med is hard and it’s not for everybody.
For those who can persist, W&L does a tremendous job of supporting and preparing them. </p>

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<p>Yaupon and Bellybones, </p>

<p>If you don’t mind, I sent each of you a different PM about a few other questions.</p>

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<p>Hi, My daughter is at W&L and in a sorority. I think most of the questions have been answered quite well, but feel free to PM me if you want an additional perspective.</p>