<p>I was torn between UVA and Tech until yesterday. Tech was where I wanted to go to (besides Syracuse)[for architecture] since 9th gr… but alas, I chose UVA. Also rejected a 56k scholarship from Maryland Institute College of Art(MICA).</p>
<p>Wife turned down Columbia for UVA. Of course, that was a long time (twenty years) ago.</p>
<p>OK D just chose UVA over- William and Mary, Boston College Honors, Fordham-Deans Scholarship- Washington and Lee- Johnson Scholar (was a full ride!!..ouch!), Tulane Honors ($$$) Georgetown and Vandy.<br>
She was the alternate finalist for the Jefferson and got a likely letter and was hoping for Echols but didnt get it- she still decided on UVA with the hopes of appying for Echols after first semester. She is/was concerned that UVA may feel big compared to her other choices but thought the fit was better.</p>
<p>Turned down UMich Biomed egineering & GA Tech biomed engineering for UVA!</p>
<p>turned down Boston College honors (too close to home) U Mich LSA honors (too big) and UMass honors +scholarship.</p>
<p>VTech: Safty, got accepted into the honors program/housing. Too many people from my HS are going. Not strong in my major</p>
<p>GaTech: I applied for engineering, but I am not sure that is what I want to do, and they’re are not great at much else. also, too far. I loved the atmosphere, though: very nerdy. A recent Email cited a survey that said that GT was the best return on investment in higher education. I followed the link. It ends up that that was just for in-state, and UVa in-state was second place on the survey. So that plan backfired</p>
<p>WM: This was the really hard choice. UVa has more opportunities, due to size and prestige. Upside for WM was the comfortable community and I might fit in better in that kind of nerdier crowd. One thing that is off-putting is that students and admin at WM constantly compare WM to UVa. Why not just go to the real thing? UVa does have 100 years too little history, though. I most just rolled dice on this one.</p>
<p>Michigan: too far, too expensive, too big, too cold. Would have been fine there, happy even. It’s just not the same. I will point out that they advertised at the info session that they are ranked “the 4th best public university(USNWR).” I loled, they stared. Not a selling point: Backfired.</p>
<p>Wake Forest: Mostly cost. I did not like it 3times better than UVa. In fact, I like UVa more. I do kind of like the smaller size though,considering it has almost as many resources as UVa.</p>
<p>Summary, Wake: too much$$, VT: not strong in my major, UofM and GT cited the wrong statistics. WM: dice roll.</p>
<p>Suburiboy - congratulations on having so many options. Your thought process for rejecting the other OOS schools makes sense. It does sound as though you are unsure about your decision to go with UVA over W&M. If you wind up feeling out of place at UVA don’t hesitate to consider transferring to W&M.</p>
<p>If Suburiboy were to transfer to W&M, he will find that many of his classmates there wanted to or are in the process of applying to UVA. Good choice Suburiboy!</p>
<p>UNC: hardest one. die hard carolina fan, family ties. but out of state tuition just didn’t make sense to pay for a school that is basically the same as uva in every aspect - academics, athletics, and student life. would have been happy, maybe even slightly happier?! not sure, but not enough happier to justify the significantly bigger price tag. will continue to cheer for carolina!</p>
<p>Wake Forest: too expensive, smaller than ideal, not a college town. really loved it though, but not more than unc or uva. probably would have gone to uga over wake? </p>
<p>VT: not good for my major, too many people from my hs, didn’t like the campus.</p>
<p>UGA: out of state tuition wavered, but farther than ideal and bigger than ideal. beautiful campus, but i thought it was very sprawled out which didn’t appeal to me as much. </p>
<p>PSU Schreyers: too much money, too cold, too big, not a better school than uva. </p>
<p>CU Boulder: too far away, too expensive given the education, gorgeous campus though, doesn’t get better in my opinion. and ski slope access was definitely a positive. </p>
<p>UA: out of state tuition waivered, but too far away and not academically what i wanted. </p>
<p>WAHOOWA</p>
<p>Cya next year Carolinagirl :D</p>
<p>University of Pittsburgh, University of Maryland - College Park, Boston College, Washington University in St. Louis</p>
<p>wahoomb “If Suburiboy were to transfer to W&M, he will find that many of his classmates there wanted to or are in the process of applying to UVA. Good choice Suburiboy!”</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s at all true. But even if it were true the circumstances for those other students are completely irrelevant to Suburiboy. Suburiboy wrote “This was the really hard choice. Upside for WM was the comfortable community and I might fit in better in that kind of nerdier crowd.” WM is a viable fall back for this particular candidate and there’s really no need to stick it out at UVA if the candidate were to eventually determine that UVA wasn’t the best choice.</p>
<p>thank you Chris!</p>
<p>Chris–read what I wrote again. I never said that he would transfer if he had chosen W&M, I said that he will find many people who transfer out. I don’t know if W&M keeps statistics on the number of students who transfer out (if they do it’s probably in the Dean of Students office on Richmond Road). Like I have said numerous times before, I went to W&M for a year and found that 10 other of my hallmates were transferring out with me. As a transfer mentor at UVA, I met quite a few number W&M students who did the same in the years after I transferred. I’m talking out of actual experience (because of this message, I’m going to get at least 3 or 4 new messages on this forum from W&M freshmen asking me about why I transferred and how I did it. My inbox has at least 15 of these message from W&M freshmen)</p>
<p>PS: The whole comparison thing that goes on at W&M is totally true–this really annoyed me.</p>
<p>Retention rate is reported on the common data set. According to their CDS, W&M’s retention rate was 95% last year. I think I’ll trust the statistics more than one person’s anecdotes.</p>
<p>A 5% drop-out/transfer-out rate is a pretty significant number of a class of roughly 1500…just saying. That’s about 75 freshmen.</p>
<p>No it’s really not…</p>
<p>I should probably apologize for inadvertently starting a UVA v. W&M. It was not my intention at all. CC does not need too many more of those. They are both fantastic. </p>
<p>I decided that UVa would have more opportunities in the long run. And since I am considering business, I thought that UVa had a slight edge academically.
I felt like WM might have been a better cultural match. Someone once said that “Smart people go to UVa, Hard workers go to W&M.” That being said, many of my close friends at my HS are going to UVa (everyone in the top 10% who was rejected from the Ivies), so that support group is still there.</p>
<p>And 5% is not large at all, just saying. And I have several friends who were accepted at UVa, but rejected at WM. They are two great schools and they look for different things in the applicants. We are so blessed in VA to have the choice :). I will say that we are the second best state for high caliber public education. And thanks for the kind words and thoughts.</p>
<p>all the schools that rejected me.</p>
<p>in fact i dont even feel bad about it.</p>
<p>Wahoomb is wrong. Turning down Columbia for UVa is the worst decision ever. I have to agree about JMU, though, and I hate UVa.</p>