Hi! I was wondering if anyone knows of any public, medium-sized, academically focused/rigorous universities? Preferably in the South, and not impossible to get accepted into as a transfer? I know this is sort of a niche inquiry, but due to my father’s military service I’m eligible for in-state tuition at public schools. I absolutely love William & Mary but realize I need some back-ups. Everything I’ve looked at has been private though, so I thought I’d reach out:)
A number of the Virginia state schools have the beautiful, idyllic, pastoral campuses that M&w has. Mary Washington comes immediately to mind. St Marys Of MD is a lovely school. New College in FL in Sarasota is a wonderful school. Some of the Penn state satellite campuses (Harrisburg) are very nice. Millersville, a Pennsylvania state school is a good pick as is Westchester. Indiana University of PA, Miami of Ohio , Ohio University all great schools
If you are willing to go north NYS has some excellent mid-sized public universities/colleges. You can look at SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY New Paltz to name a few.
William & Mary’s combination of size, residential nature, and undergraduate focus are pretty rare for public universities. It is probably more similar to selective private universities in that regard. I’d say The College of New Jersey, Binghampton University, Truman State University, Saint Mary in Maryland, Mary Washington, Christopher Newport, and New College are worth looking into.
Seconding TCNJ. Also, Ramapo College in NJ, although not nearly has hard to get into as W&M or even TCNJ.
@cptofthehouse St. Mary’s does seem like a really special place and I’m definitely going to consider it! Also going to check out your other suggestions. Thank you for your help!
@happy1 Ok, thank you! I’ll make sure to check these out!
@IzzoOne I know right? It makes looking for alternatives so difficult lol. Truman and St Mary’s I’m both going to consider, and I’ll make sure to look into the rest of your list. Really appreciate your help!
@NJWrestlingmom These both look great! Thank you!
I will also say TCNJ as it is most like a NESCAC school than a state university.