<p>nearing the end of the college decision period and i stilll have some questions. how "southern" is w&m? would i feel out of my element as a steadfast midwesterner? also, how diverse is w&m? on paper and in person, it appears to be a large number of upper middle class white children.</p>
<p>petty questions, but i'm torn. i have the "feel" at w&m, but i have way more reservations than with northwestern, my other choice.</p>
<p>IMHO, diversity is a non-issue at W&M regardless of what your personal “difference” is. Based on your question, I am not sure whether your concern is southern vs. midwestern, economic “class”, or whiteness. It has been a looonnnggg time since I attended W&M and none of these were a concern then and after attending the admitted students day this weekend I still see no reason for concern. W&M is not the Ole Miss of the early 60’s if that is your fear.</p>
<p>Hopefully, someone actually attending now will answer.</p>
<p>Here’s the official line: [William</a> & Mary - We’re Diverse](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/admission/whoiswm/werediverse/index.php]William”>http://www.wm.edu/admission/whoiswm/werediverse/index.php)</p>
<p>i guess my concern is dually the southern vs. midwestern feel and the lack of racial diversity, not so much in the financial sense.</p>
<p>You may want to read one of the latest stories on the web site: [William</a> & Mary - William & Mary admits diverse class for 2014](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2010/college-of-william-and-mary-admits-diverse-class-for-2014.php]William”>William & Mary admits diverse class for 2014 | William & Mary)</p>
<p>radicalistic,
We attended the Admitted Students Day on Saturday with our son. We are also from the midwest and not totally comfortable with the " Confederacy" thing, which is one of the reasons we wanted to spent time in Williamsburg. </p>
<p>My observations from the visit: not very southern, but also not all that diverse. Yes, we saw African-Americans and Asians, but most of the prospective freshman present on Saturday were white.</p>
<p>And honestly, having toured over 30 campuses with 2 different sons, I think that’s just the way it is at most colleges, including Northwestern.</p>
<p>BTW, we all liked the school.</p>
<p>They admitted students from 45 different countries. </p>
<p>Sure, there will be a lot of white students. White girls is W&M’s biggest demographic. There isn’t much you can do about that.</p>
<p>But it’s not some “southern” school by any standard. You don’t really get that feel at all. If it was, I wouldn’t be going there.</p>
<p>BTW, “upper middle class” is more so at UVA than W&M from what I’ve heard.</p>
<p>Look beyond skin color here. How were the students dressed? Although it is unpopular on this site to use the word, quirky, think of it. Not all the kids are dressed in A&F. Lots of athletes on campus. Lots of proverbial nerds. And punk rock. Throw in a few preps, gays, whatever. That is the essential part of what makes WM special and unique.</p>
<p>radicalistic, I do not know if you have been influenced by recent news to form your concerns. Virginia’s current Governor (Bob McDonnell) and Attorney General (Ken Cuccinelli) have done their best to present the state in the worst possible light. Rest assured that their actions do not in any way represent W&M as a whole.</p>
<p>W&M does not feel southern at all… more like a northeast school with warmer weather</p>
<p>IMO, obviously.</p>
<p>And… all good schools have a lot of upper-middle class white kids. That’s the way it goes.</p>
<p>Okay, someone has to tell me what it is to feel “southern.”</p>
<p>“Not comfortable with the Confederacy thing.”? What an outrageously ignorant thing to say. Have some people lost their minds? Has PC turned their minds to mush to spew such nonsense? As a Virginian, take your OOS dollars elsewhere.</p>
<p>Ummm, overreaction much?
The poster was obviously referencing the negative stereotypes associated with “remembering the Confederacy”. There is a reason people were upset with McDonnell’s historical revisionism. </p>
<p>That said, I do believe that W&M has parts of the culture of a ‘stereotypical’ southern school - the good parts. People are always helpful (as evidenced by the incredible focus on the community and service), polite (almost everyone holds open doors for the strangers behind them), friendly, and welcoming (cookouts at professor’s homes are relatively common). I also feel that the school is also accepting and understanding of other views (Homecoming Queen was a transgender student) without being too in your face nor discriminatory on anyone.</p>
<p>Frankly most students here are upper middle class white kids. A lot of them from Northern Virginia. The majority of the student body is very accepting of people regardless of race/gender/sexual orientation/etc. The one exception is the Fraternity culture, which tends to be misogynistic and homophobic. It’s not as bad as UVA and there are definitely frats with openly gay brothers, but it can get on your nerves.</p>
<p>^You’ll find that wherever you go. Something you can’t really escape from completely.</p>
<p>Yeah, lots of NoVA kids, but that’s true at UVA and other major VA colleges too.</p>
<p>I’m from the midwest as well and don’t detect any overwhelming southern feel.</p>
<p>What type of thing would make for a “southern feel”?</p>
<p>I also found that quite amusing. Seems like this comes up on both the UVA and W&M boards. I agree that it is probably related to the Governors proclamation. As a side bar, some years ago I was looking at moving to Wisconsin. I can’t tell you how many school officials told us how progressive and difficult their schools would be compared to “those southern schools” like we were from some third world country. They told us we would probably have a hard time keeping up. It was quite a hoot especially given the fact that the reason I did not move were not as good as the one we were in at the time (IMO). I guess it is not unlike someone thinking that they will be mugged immediately after arriving in New York City.</p>
<p>So “southern feel” seems to be a phrase connoting bigotry, racism, backwardness, and ignorance? Those things are certainly not limited to the South, and I don’t understand the use of a geographic term to describe any attitude, positive or negative. Southerners will be [are] offended, the same way a Midwesterner would be if someone were to describe evidence of those negative characteristics as a “Midwestern feel.” </p>
<p>I’m torn between advising that the posters with the “southern feel” concerns go to William and Mary in order to expand their horizons or that they stay in the Midwest where they seem more comfortable! (Let me clarify that I understand wanting to be in an atmosphere of openness and acceptance – I object only to the classification of closed-mindedness as a southern trait.)</p>
<p>Interesting… I can come up with a few classes of “southern feel”</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Flinty’s definition: “connoting bigotry, racism, backwardness, and ignorance”. This was basically what I was trying to covey with my “Ole Miss of the 60’s” comment.</p></li>
<li><p>Southern Aristocracy: Think “Southern Gentlemen”, Good Ole Boys, mint juleps, blue blood, “my great great grand daddy fought in the War of Northern Aggression” , and hoop skirts.</p></li>
<li><p>Redneck: The nicest people in the world. Will go out of the way to help family or a friend. Not always the most “educated” (but often are) and always very intelligent. One can learn a lot from a Redneck if he takes the time to listen. I aspire to be a Redneck one day.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The three classes are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I do not know which of these cause the OP the most consternation. One will probably find some combination thereof at W&M, but will find that at any college and it will certainly not be a majority. If you do not like that scene, then avoid it, but I do highly recommend hanging out with as many Rednecks as possible if you want a real education.</p>
<p>Flinty and GSharp: Well said! I find it more than ironic that those obsessed with “diversity” are the least tolerant of and are openly dismissive of the “Southern feel.”</p>
<p>Another observation: with the US News rankings heavily influenced by the Peer Assessment score, most Southern schools would undoubtedly move up several slots without this subjective aspect. Tulane is a great example.</p>