<p>Current students, please evaluate the veracity of the following statement: </p>
<p>When I visit campus, I feel like W&M is a pretty laid back place. I don't feel like it is very competitive (WHICH IS A GOOOOOD THING, for me, at least), nor do I feel like there are different "classes," like I kind of feel at UVA. </p>
<p>I feel like a day at W&M might include the following:</p>
<p>Waking up around nine or ten, attend two or three classes that day, meet up with friends for lunch, maybe coffee in the afternoon. Study for a couple hours, then go to a few club meetings or an intramural sport. Then come back to the dorm, shower, and chill with friends until it all starts over again.</p>
<p>I don't feel like everyone is running around trying to do the best they can at everything. I feel like everyone just goes with the flow. I think that everyone doesn't spend every waking moment with their noses neatly tucked in a book, but can hold their own in an intellectual conversation. </p>
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<p>Two more questions:</p>
<p>Is the "awkward, socially challeged" stereotype of William and Mary students true?</p>
<p>How prevalent are drugs on campus? When I say drugs, I mean weed.</p>
<p>I would agree it's not a competitive campus</p>
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I don't feel like everyone is running around trying to do the best they can at everything.
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<p>I would say this is partially right... lots of people do a lot of things, but they don't broadcast them to the world. They do them b/c they want to, not for recognition from someone else. (Monroe Scholars came up in another thread, and I was looking at the lists of them online, and some people I know pretty well were on there, but I didn't know they were Monroe Scholars)</p>
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I think that everyone doesn't spend every waking moment with their noses neatly tucked in a book
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<p>People do a lot of things... but I would say the majority of campus is pretty serious about their studying. Especially the ones who make their home on the 3rd floor of the library (if you tell someone they are breathing too loud, you need to chill out)</p>
<p>I would say the day you described would be pretty typical, especially in a freshmen dorm where you can congregate in the lounges.</p>
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Is the "awkward, socially challeged" stereotype of William and Mary students true?
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<p>quite possibly. Most W&M students seem to really enjoy the school though.</p>
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How prevalent are drugs on campus? When I say drugs, I mean weed.
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<p>if you want it, it can be had. I know people who were (are?) active weed smokers. It's not just handed out or anything (Williamsburg would never be confused with Amsterdam), but, it is available.</p>
<p>Excellent - thanks for the point-by-point analysis (and ignoring the fact I spelled challenged incorrectly, haha). The only thing I'm worried about is the W&M stereotype. </p>
<p>Another question - how's the homosexual presence on campus?</p>
<p>I hope you won't mind if a parent of 2 W & M students (one a freshman, one a 2005 grad) weighs in. I think, depending on your major, classes, and learning style, that studying only for a couple of hours might not be enough. Some classes have very heavy reading loads.</p>
<p>On the gay presence on campus - I don't know what the percentage of gay students is, but I believe there is a relaxed attitude toward homosexuality on campus. My d was involved in an EC with a substantial number of lesbian students, and found the atmosphere completely comfortable. W & M Greek life is a good deal more laid back than it is on many other campuses, and gay students seem well-integrated there, as well. D1's boyfriend was involved in a frat with several gay members. And when one of her lesbian friends was featured at some public event shortly after coming out (the details get fuzzy at my age), her sorority sisters were there in numbers to support her.</p>
<p>When I think of the stereotypical W&M student, I think of a really bright, quirky individual who's tough to stereotype. :)</p>
<p>I toured W&M with daughter during her spring break in March and the campus had a very welcoming feel to it. We visited 5 schools that week and W&M seemed to have the friendliest and happiest students of all. Everyone we spoke with really seemed very content that they chose to attend and were all laid back.
As a parent, I can't help you with the drug or sexual orientation atmosphere there!</p>
<p>non-conformity reigns at W&M. Everyone is confident in themselves but respectful of others. This attitude allows people to get the best out of the college experience which is learning from your peers outside the classroom. Most colleges feel like 13th grade, not W&M.</p>
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Waking up around nine or ten, attend two or three classes that day, meet up with friends for lunch, maybe coffee in the afternoon. Study for a couple hours, then go to a few club meetings or an intramural sport. Then come back to the dorm, shower, and chill with friends until it all starts over again.
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For me, that is pretty accurate of my first semester. On an average day, I would wake up at 9, swing by the UC for a bagel, go to class at 10, then another at 11; go to the Caf for lunch with a couple of friends, then take notes, do work, and catch up on reading during the afternoon, possibly with a frisbee break in the middle. Then in the evening I would eat dinner with a large group of friends and then go to two or three club meetings. On days without meetings we might watch a movie or just hang out after dinner. Then around 11 or 12 I would go jogging through Colonial Williamsburg (there are a surprising number of people out there at that time), then shower and go to bed.</p>
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I don't feel like everyone is running around trying to do the best they can at everything. I feel like everyone just goes with the flow. I think that everyone doesn't spend every waking moment with their noses neatly tucked in a book, but can hold their own in an intellectual conversation.
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Well, you always try to do your best. But that doesn't mean spending all day and night in Swem.</p>
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Is the "awkward, socially challenged" stereotype of William and Mary students true?
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There are all kinds of people here. There are the party animals like there are anywhere, and there are those that don't like that kind of atmosphere the way some do. But I wouldn't classify that as socially challenged. And, of course, there's everything in-between.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm a freshman so I have to have a meal plan, and the 19 costs just as much as the 14 (the only difference being flex points - which I guess I alone rarely use). So I might as well use them! But yeah, like a $9 Bagel lol.</p>
<p>How your day goes really depends on what classes you're taking, what your expectations for yourself are, and how smart you are. It's certainly possible to live like you described, and many people do.</p>
<p>My second semester freshman year involved waking up after noon, eating at least 5 meals with my unlimited meal plan, going to practice for my club sport, and then drinking too much. On some days I'd go to lab or stay up cramming or doing hw at the last minute. This semester I got up around 10, spent most of my days in class and many of my evenings and nights studying.</p>
<p>There are a significant number of people "running around trying to do the best they can at everything," but they're generally more helpful, fun, and less annoying than you'd expect. Most anyone here can hold their own in conversation, especially intellectual conversations.</p>
<p>The stereotype definitely fits a lot of people here, including me. Also, below average pulchritude. But we're a lot better than someplace like UChicago in both respects. In any case, people get over it as college goes on and it doesn't inhibit having fun and getting to know people.</p>
<p>Weed is less prevalent than at many college campuses. You can get it, but it's more expensive here than in NoVA.</p>
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Yeah, I'm a freshman so I have to have a meal plan, and the 19 costs just as much as the 14 (the only difference being flex points - which I guess I alone rarely use). So I might as well use them! But yeah, like a $9 Bagel lol.
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<p>You should make yourself a rootbeer float while you're there.</p>
<p>that description of wm is pretty accurate. it is way more chill than i imagined it would be. people hang out all the time in the lounges or each others rooms. I don't do much more homework than i did in high school, maybe 2-3 hours a night with a bit more than that on weekends. I love the atmosphere of the school and was surprised at the mix of people that i know. Some practically live in the library, some party every weekend, others do pretty much no homework and just get by.</p>
<p>The campus is very laid back. You do have your stereotypes, but honestly, the overwhelming majority of people do not strike you as awkwardly and socially challenged. And yes, like any other campus, it is possible to get weed.</p>
<p>Also, I never go to swem. it really isn't necessary unless you want to reallllllly study and get your stuff done. Even during finals, going to swem isn't necessary at all. Although you do have people that love to go there, the students on campus don't live in the library at all.</p>
<p>yeah, i'm a freshman and i have basically never been to swem. i'm fine studying and working elsewhere. some people work well in swem sans distractions and others don't.</p>
<p>there are certainly people who spend a lot of time studying, but it's nothing overwhelming. everyone is pretty chill until a test comes around, and then we buckle down and study really hard. i haven't felt really stressed beyond belief yet and there's always time to have fun, whatever your perception of fun might be.</p>
<p>william & mary definitely has a variety of people. everyone has their quirks, but there are all sorts -- the nerds, the preppy people, the party people the "normal people," the crazies. you will almost certainly find a crowd. i love that college is so anti-high school. there's no one group that's predominant and makes you feel awkward. i have plenty of friends like me and yet i coexist with everyone else, too.</p>
<p>of course, there are some super-awk people, especially guys, but they're well-meaning.</p>
<p>seems like my sister's life at W&M was completely opposite of everything mentioned above. she had a decent social life, joined a sorority and everything, but was often stressed out by academic work. of course, it's possible that she was stressed out because of attending the business school but idk.</p>
<p>i've visited campus several times and it seems like everyone's pretty friendly and laidback. i lived on campus for a couple weeks during break, and W&M students seem to know how to have fun. the only thing i didn't like about the whole experience was that there really wasn't anything to do, so people usually just hung-out on campus. all in all, W&M is pretty balanced academically and socially, but probably not suitable for city people.</p>
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seems like my sister's life at W&M was completely opposite of everything mentioned above. she had a decent social life, joined a sorority and everything, but was often stressed out by academic work. of course, it's possible that she was stressed out because of attending the business school but idk.
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<p>There are definitely kids at W&M who are stressed out. BUT, the big thing about it, IMO at least, is that they are stressed out b/c they choose to be. They are not stressed out b/c the classes are cutthroat and students sabotage each other's labs or something. They are stressed out b/c they put so much pressure on themselves to perform at an extremely high level.</p>
<p>W&M is home to the cool geek "chic" set. You know, the type that rule the world. Two alums in Obama cabinet. Gates, Sec Def and Rohmer, Chair Econ Advsrs. Jon Stewart is also a perfect example.</p>