<p>I'm considering applying to William & Mary and the University of Mary Washington, but I was wondering how stereotypically "Southern" (ie. conservative, preppy, etc.) they are. I'm from Michigan, am liberal, and am not particularly preppy or anything like that, so would I fit in at all? I want to go to a school where not everybody is exactly the same as me, but I don't really like the descriptions that I've read of some other southern schools (nothing against people who like them, but the fit isn't right for me). Thanks.</p>
<p>I am from PA and I visited William and Mary. It's in a great place (Williamsburg) that is rich in culture. I wouldn't say it's preppy per se, maybe more so than some stereotypically crunchy northern LACs. Washington and Lee is thought to be the preppy-type school in VA. W & M also gets a lot of diversity in people, but keep in mind about 2/3 are in-state. W & M is not my first choice, but it has a similar feel as some of my first-tier choices (school like Dartmouth, surrounding area like Cornell, more urban though)</p>
<p>william and mary i would believe would be preppy, as UVA is, but both schools should be liberal. mary washington used to be an all-girls school so i would assume it would be more liberal.</p>
<p>virginia schools are mixed cause southern VA is MUCH more conservative than northern virginia, which is quite liberal.</p>
<p>They're not really too southern. Mary Washington is in Fredericksburg and not too far away from DC. William and Mary is in southern Virginia but is not the sterotypical southern school. It's also filled with tons of kids from Northern Virginia. Northern Virginia is not at all southern and is just outside of DC. There are preppy kids everywhere so don't let that deter you.</p>
<p>Hi, I'm going to W&M in the fall. </p>
<p>From what I've heard it's really not that Southern. A LOT of the students are from Northern Virginia (which, unlike the rest of Virginia, is liberal and not "Southern") and most of the out of state students are from Northeastern states (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, etc.). I've only toured the campus once, but the general vibe I picked up from the majority of students was definitely not preppy. I did see some preps, but they didn't seem to constitute a very large portion of the student body.</p>
<p>Hope I helped. :)</p>
<p>Also, sorry, I don't know very much about Mary Washington.</p>
<p>I have friends and family who go to or have gone to both schools, so I think I can break it down:
W&M: Liberal, as most LACs are apt to be, but still more conservative that the norm. So only slightly liberal
Mary Washington: Quite liberal, as DanE said, it used to be all-girls, and is the more liberal of the two.</p>
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william and mary i would believe would be preppy, as UVA is but both schools should be liberal.
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<p>At my high school, UVA is stereotyped as the preppier school. After visiting both campuses it really did seem that UVA was, indeed, much preppier. </p>
<p>Both campuses probably have about the same breakdown of political views, I'd guess.</p>
<p>EDIT: When I said "Both campuses," I was talking about UVA and W&M. Not UMW and W&M.</p>
<p>I live in NOVA, and have visited both of these colleges:</p>
<p>First off, northern VA is VERY VERY different from the rest (by northern, I mean north of Fredericksburg and further east than Winchester) IMO, it's actually quite ghetto....</p>
<p>Not to knock any particular groups of people, but we have a very large hispanic/african american population, so diversity is not an issue :)</p>
<p>I think both schools have their preppy sides, but in general have a very complete mix of ideologies/races/religions/etc.</p>
<p>And to clear up about VA geography, any south/west of NOVA is pretty rural, until you get to Richmond, which is a pretty urban/city-ish area. W&M is near Chespeake, and therefore IMO falls into the Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads/Norfolk area, which again, is not really rural, but more urban with VA Beach being more of a vacationing area</p>
<p>In the end, I don't think you'll be disappointed by either of these schools :)</p>
<p>and another note, southern VA has places named "Mechanicsville" and "Jonesville" (Jonesville in the extreme southwest btw), while NOVa has Fairfax County, one of the top 5 "richest" in the nation and schools like Thomas Jefferson for Math and Science (top national magnet school, over 50% of studetns to to top 20 schools)</p>
<p>Thanks everybody! I think I'll try to visit still, but you comments have helped a lot.</p>