<p>My son has gotten into many schools, which is a good thing, I know. But now he is confused! He has narrowed this difficult choice to Mary Washington and Susquehanna. Can any of you comment on the pros and cons of either or both? Although the cost is an obvious difference, he will get a substantial merit scholarship at Susquehanna and fortunately finances are not a major concern. He has LD and has spoken to disability services offices at both schools, and feels comfortable working with both. He has worked very hard in HS and I would like to think that he can go somewhere to be a big fish in a small pond, and where he has time to get some balance in his life. He is a serious student but he also needs to spend time exploring things outside the classroom My impression is that the academics at Susquehanna are less intense than at Mary Washington, but I could be wrong. Please can you who have students at Mary Washington comment~! Thanks so much</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations to your son! I don’t know a thing about Susquehanna but have a D at UMW. Another mom and I have been pretty open about our frustrations with UMW. Admissions, billing, housing…all of them have frustrated one or both of us. Slow to respond, not responding at all, or incomplete or rude responses are the norm. BUT a new president has just been appointed after several years of very poor leadership. Things may turn around quickly.</p>
<p>The good part for D has been the classes, and that’s what she’s there for anyway. Excellent professors who truly are interested in teaching. They seem very interested in their students (or my D anyway) and she has received lots of positive feedback and encouragement from them. </p>
<p>The campus is beautiful, the town/area is nice, and there are lots of things to do nearby. </p>
<p>The only other negative I’d want to point out is housing, but that may be fixed by the time your son would have to worry. Students must sign a contract for housing to enter the housing lottery but if they run out of rooms they are not allowed out of the contract. This year about 50 (I heard) students were housed off campus in a hotel and transported to and from the campus. This would not be freshmen, and they are renovating some dorms so there may be adequate housing by the time your son would be a sophomore.</p>
<p>Good luck with the decision.</p>
<p>I’ll second zoeydoggie on the housing problem. This year, they ran out of campus housing two days before the end of housing selection. I don’t know how many students are homeless, but my S is one of them. The hotel isn’t even an option because it went into foreclosure.</p>
<p>My S likes it there and wants to stay, but I have a sneaking suspicion it’s mostly due to tennis and ping pong, not classes. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Susquehanna is a very good school. It’s much smaller than UMW, so there’s a better chance of being the big fish in a small pond. UMW is okay, but I really wish my S had chosen Juniata instead.</p>
<p>vamomof3-what does your son want to major in? You could compare the two programs and that might help make the decision. </p>
<p>D is majoring in philosophy and loves it. As in lives and breathes it and talks about it to me. I try to act enthusiastic! She was doing so well in a calculus class that the professor asked her what her major was. When she started glowing about philosophy he asked if she had thought about double majoring with math. Ooooh! Great idea! Guess what? She loooooves math too! That kind of thing is the strength of UMW to me. Who doesn’t love that kind of stuff?</p>
<p>Due to lower-than-expected numbers of students signing up for campus housing contracts for the upcoming school year, plans for the fall include closing Mason and Randolph Residence Halls for renovation. </p>
<p>I read that in The Bullet this morning. What? Maybe S will get a dorm room after all?</p>
<p>They announced the closings before housing selection started. If they ran out of housing two days early with lower-than-expected numbers of students signing up for campus housing, can you imagine how many homeless students there would be if they’d gotten the expected amount of contracts?</p>
<p>I don’t know what their normal attrition rate is over the summer, but thanks to the RA deciding after housing selection was over that he wanted a single after all, S is dead last on the waiting list. :mad:</p>
<p>Would it be possible for him to be first in line for freshman housing?</p>
<p>Stevensmama and Zoeydoggie, Thank you both for your input. Son decided on UMW vs Susquehanna (and many other options) We sent in acceptance today: last minute. He felt most comfortable at UMW vs other schools, partly I think because his older siblings are at UVa and so its what he thinks a college looks like, etc.
I think he will be fine although reading all these comments from you both makes me nervous.
Hope the new president is going to eliminate some of the negatives you both discuss.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you and your son! Feel free to check back here or ask questions. Stevensmama knows a lot about life at UMW with a son. D’s biggest issues have been crazy roommate situations. Does your son know anyone there?</p>
<p>The new president has already started cleaning house and has made some good hires, so things are looking up. </p>
<p>Has your son decided on a tentative major or dorm? S really liked Jefferson. It doesn’t have air conditioning, but it has a ping pong table. Priorities, you know! :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Let me know if your son has any questions about classes or professors. [url=<a href=“http://Ratemyprofessors.com%5DRateMyProfessors.com%5B/url”>http://Ratemyprofessors.com]RateMyProfessors.com[/url</a>] and [url=<a href=“http://myedu.com%5DMyEdu.com%5B/url”>http://myedu.com]MyEdu.com[/url</a>] are also very good sources of information.</p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>i went to mary wash and their are some problems as mentioned but experiences that bad are not the norm, i promise. my girlfriend had a housing contract issue (though she and I both never had problems getting housing, particularly boys its no problem) but was able to get out of it. they have some dead weight people in some offices, but usually a 2nd phone call gets the job done. If the student stays on top of their business issues are avoided. They are opening the giant new dorm complex in the fall. Also off campus housing is very affordable if you get fed up with the living situation (a lot of student stay on though and my friends never had issues) My roommate freshmen year worked with disability services and they were always very accomodating. The big fish in a small pond is a great fit at UMW, its not too small and you get all the access you want. every school has its drawbacks (ie most freshmen dont get their top 5 class choices when they register etc, but its like that everywhere). I thought the in-process at UMW was tricky but so was my transfer to UVA (and they were far less personal about it). Loved my time at UMW and your S will too, i return to campus frequently to visit friends and my gf and have a pretty good feel for campus even two years removed</p>