<p>Given the large % of in-state students, what is the social scene on weekends?
Do a lot of students leave campus? Are admissions standards different for OOS
students compared to Virginia residents? Any other comments on social life
welcome.</p>
<p>Newma:</p>
<p>What are you looking for in a social scene? UMW isn't a social wasteland, but it isn't a party school either. Basically, if you're looking for a party on the weekends, you'll find one, but you might have to work at it on some nights (know someone who's throwing down or make some calls to see what's going on that night). A lot of house/apartment parties are tied to clubs and sports teams, so that's extra incentive to get involved on campus. The "underground frat" (officially UMW is Greek-free) also throws a big party every month at a local bar that is always popular, and they are known for having parties pretty regularly.</p>
<p>For those that aren't into drinking or partying, there are cheap movies for $1 playing every weekend (fairly recent too - most are only a month or two old from when they premiered). There is also Late Night at the Eagle's Nest (student center) where you can get some pretty good snacks (i.e. mozzarella sticks, cheese fries, chicken strips etc.) and karaoke, pool, ping pong, XBox 360 etc. UMW is also in the middle of renovating the Underground, the campus coffee house that always had student bands playing on the weekends, and that should be back and even better next year.</p>
<p>Basically, the social life is what you make of it at UMW. If you sit around and expect that things will just happen on the weekend (a lot of kids seem to assume this, especially the freshmen), you will hate it here. But it's not hard to get into the social scene if you give a bit of effort.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with Patriarch86; Mary Wash's social scene is what you make of it. I'm having a great time here, but then again, I am really involved in extra-curriculars and that help me meet a lot of upperclassmen with houses and apartments. The one thing that I don't like about UMW is that Fredericksburg is not a college town, so if there are parties going on, they can't get too out of hand or else the cops come. Coming in Freshman year, it helped to know some upperclassmen who knew what was going on where Saturday night, so I highly recommend getting to know a few if you decide to go here. </p>
<p>Cheap Seats is great because as a college student, you're poor and having to only pay a dollar for a movie instead of 10 is pretty sweet. I also recommend checking out the local band scene; there are a lot of campus groups that play gigs at the Loft in downtown Fburg.</p>
<p>There are some kids who go home every weekend, and I feel like it's their loss. It's all about going out there, meeting people and getting involved.</p>