Sorry for the silly question. I applied from abroad and was admitted as a transfer student. Since I am not able to visit the campus in person and I have never been to the US before, I can only see the ranking and comments on the internet.
One thing makes me really worried: the ranking of W&M on the US news has been keeping flopping since the 1980s, from 28# to 34#. So I would like to ask two questions here:
- In your opinion, what other colleges are on the same level of W&M?
- On average, what level of graduate schools can W&M student get in?
Thank you so much!
There’s no reason to be worried about those rankings. W&M dropping six spots in 30+ years in US News and World Reports means next to nothing; it is still nearly unanimously ranked as a top-5 public college in America, side-by-side with schools like UVA, UNC, and Michigan. Forbes ranked W&M as the #3 public school, not including military academies (not that individual rankings mean all that much anyway).
As far as graduate schools, it really depends on how well you do here. I’m not an expert on this topic, but my guess is that if you have a really high GPA you’ll be able to look at very high-level grad programs. But if you blow it off and don’t do well you’ll have trouble getting into grad school, regardless of how highly regarded your undergrad college is.
Good luck!
William & Mary is a top-notch institution for undergrad, particularly because you have the opportunity to form close relationships with professors while having multiple opportunities for undergraduate research. It strikes a nice balance in between the two. I would not pay much heed to the U.S. news rankings. Part of the reason why they change so much is because U.S. News changes its methodology frequently to mix it up and keep the rankings “fresh.” William & Mary has not declined, if anything it has only gotten better. Additionally graduate schools don’t really pay attention to those rankings, they recognize a quality institution when they see it.
Your admission to graduate school though will largely be dependent on the work and experience you have during your undergraduate career. A name alone will not be able to make up for poor grades, whether you are at William & Mary or at Harvard. The answer to your question varies so much depending on grad program that you should probably focus on finding a strong program for what you are interested in studying and making contact with the advisers of that program. Having a strong mentor is beneficial when understanding the ins-and-outs of the graduate programs. When looking at your portfolio, they will be looking at the whole picture. Opportunities at William & Mary may help you get there, but you will have to put in the effort yourself.
I would not pay too much attention to US News rankings, though I can empathize with your anxiety regarding the school’s rank. US News’ rankings favor private schools that focus heavily on research. William & Mary is a public university and is not a research university to the scale of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc… Instead, we are consistently ranked top 3 in the country for teaching (usually competing with Princeton and Dartmouth, if that quells any fears), which I think it is admirable for a university that has a smaller endowment than every school it competes with. Because we are a small public university, our name brand will not be as commonly known as other schools, but W&M without a doubt competes with schools like UVa for students. Personally, I chose it over the University of Michigan, UVa and NYU, as I think it is the strongest undergraduate institution.
Thank you so much for all of your response. I decide to attend WM this fall! I believe I will lead a good life there.
Another quick question: does W&M provide class ranking on my transcript? Thank you!!!
Congratulations on your choice! To my knowledge, William & Mary does not provide class rankings on your transcript nor does it name a valedictorian during graduation. I think the idea is that by getting into William & Mary, you have already proven yourself to be smart and talented so that there is no need to further separate people with a particular ranking. Plus W&M wants to encourage people to take classes from a variety of disciplines and to challenge themselves, to which a ranking would only detract. by focusing on grades.
William & Mary does regularly acknowledge people through latin honors, departmental honors, specific scholarships, the dean’s list, and it honors societies. Phi Beta Kappa, the most prestigious honors society, was founded at William & Mary and it is a big deal if you get in. Other than that, William & Mary does provide context for whoever is looking at the transcript by showing the average GPA and the percentage of each letter grade given out so employers and graduate schools will recognize it is a rigorous institution.