<p>Is Washington and Lee University as Republican as the Princeton Review reports: "Being a Democrat at W & L is like being a part of a secret underground society"? </p>
<p>Is anyone applying for the Honor Scholarships? How competetive are they? </p>
<p>Are the fraternities and sororities really important for people to have things to do?</p>
<p>Well, it seems like everyone I talk to at W&L is a Democrat, so I don't know how true that could be. They genuinely seem like they have a lot of friends and fun, too.</p>
<p>I'm applying for the Honor Scholarships, and I have no idea how competitive they are. Hopefully not very, but I think that's hoping too much. The school has a good applicant pool, and I'm sure the GW Scholarships are competitive.</p>
<p>No idea to number 3.</p>
<p>I've heard that if you were to do a presidential election with undergrad students, it would probably come out about 85% for Bush, 15% for Kerry. I've also heard that they tend to be a fairly apathetic bunch - they'll have the W'04 stickers, but they aren't crazy into politics. A lot of old-money kids go there, which is why they tend to lean right.</p>
<p>About frats and sororities: I think that W&L has the highest percentage of students who rush (some 88%). Could just be me, but frats and sororities are going to be important in almost any school you go to in the South - this isn't something exclusive to W&L. Also, rural schools tend to have more of that scene, as there isn't much else to do.</p>
<p>I have a friend who's a junior at W&L and he told me that as the election heated up people began showing their Republican pride more and more. He even told me of a few incedients in which democrats wearing Kerry buttons were yelled at, pushed around, ect. He also says that if you don't join a frat your ethier a geek or an outcast. Furthermore, frat parties and drinking are the main soical event on campus. He says much of the student body is white and upperclass. While many people would view this non-diversity and unacceptance as a bad thing people there like it and don't seem to want it to change.</p>
<p>Argh... that's such a shame. It's such an <em>amazing</em> place and school otherwise. Oh well. I kind of always knew it was like that.</p>
<p>It's pretty ridiculous if what he said about democrats being pushed around is true.</p>
<p>Edit: Yeah, I really can't stress how disappointed I am to hear that the stereotypes were more than true.</p>
<p>Well I can't attest that at the whole student body is like that, but the frat crowd definitly is. It is sad, and I have heard rumors of the school trying to become more or a Northeast, liberal collge, but we'll see how well that works out.</p>
<p>The administration definitely is trying. That's why all the students complain about it in the newspapers.</p>
<p>Still, I loved the place when I went there, and if none of my other "favorites" work out in the admissions process, I'll probably definitely be attending. Maybe I'll help bring it around a little bit.</p>
<p>As I spent undergrad at an uber-liberal Northeast private school... I guess I view this differently, but allow me. During undergrad, I didn't dare reveal my political affiliation - when it came out, I was treated like a moron. People asked me if I was capable of thinking for myself, or snapped that I obviously didn't care about the environment (hello, I don't eat meat or fish for environmental reasons!), or that I was a moron. You get the drift. The few other conservatives who I know were subjected to the same treatment. Some conservatives were beaten up in an incident which made the Boston papers. The administration did not discipline anyone.</p>
<p>Now, I know that is really no excuse to have the same happen to others... but I'm thinking that political problems happen at almost every campus. Also, they tend to be overblown, as there is little else to talk about in student papers. </p>
<p>From what I've seen, there are plenty of Kerry stickers - and I use the present tense. At least at the law school, the administration is trying to make it more liberal (although it is 50/50, about as good a representation of the country that you can get). The people I know who went undergrad didn't complain about a political atmosphere - said that, for the most part, people didn't really care very much. Then again, it's a biased sample of those who liked it enough to hang around for another three years. </p>
<p>The administration and the professors seem to be quite liberal. </p>
<p>The frat and the sorority scene is what you're going to see at any rural college; should the college ban them (a la Williams), you'll still have problems with drinking. The town is so small that there isn't much to do besides drink, and the frat/sorority scene is something that you'll get in almost any upper-class Southern school.</p>
<p>I visited W&L about a month ago and I went to a frat party. Accordingly to most of the kids that I talked to, unless you're willing to drive to JMU or UVa and other 'neighboring' schools, greek parties are your prime outlet for fun. This could be good or bad depending on how you see greek life. The party I went to was fun and the late-night was pretty chill too. The band sucked but like the atmosphere was cool. I'm into that sort of things but if you haven't been exposed to drinking and drugs and what not then it could be overwhelming. Its all up to you because you can always find an alternative if you really want to. Like that same night this german film(which surprisingly enough I had already seen) was playing and my host went to see that. You can also chill in the student center and play pool or watch the rw/rr challenge repeats. To each his own, right?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It is nowhere near as bad as Princeton Review reports, I have asked people who work there (my friend's mom teaches statistics and I asked an admissiosns counselor), as well as a couple of students. I'm an oustpoken Democrat and I have no worries coming to W&L.</p></li>
<li><p>The Honors scholarships are VERY competitive from what I've heard.</p></li>
<li><p>Yeah, frat life is quite big.</p></li>
</ol>