Context without going overboard and writing a premature admissions essay: I’m a community college student in Virginia with a ~3.7 gpa and a less-than stellar high school record. I was previously in the guaranteed admissions agreement with W&M and suddenly realized I have no idea what to do with my life. So, to put it simply, I squandered my chances to get into my dream school and I’ve taken a break for a year (and W&M doesn’t do delayed matriculation).
I’ll probably still apply to W&M through the traditional transfer app but I’m not going to get my hopes up; I’ve accepted my blunder and I’ve gotten over it. ANYWAY here I am rambling as I knew I would. Simple question: Are there any schools in the high-mid tier in Virginia with similar environments to WM? (with UVA and WM being reach schools, VT GMU etc. still top tier but not quite as ridiculously hard to get into, etc.) I was thinking UMW but I’ve read reviews from students online and the bad seems to outweigh the good. Not to sound pretentious or anything, but I’m a smart guy and I love learning, and having top tier professors with other likeminded students is important to me.
PS I’m eligible for guaranteed admission to both UMW and VCU, and would consider GMU JMU VT as uncertain but reasonable acceptance prospects, while I wouldn’t imagine being able to get into UVA or WM but will probably try unless I become certain of another school to go to
You should look at Christopher Newport Univ. - the current freshman class had the third highest GPA of all Virginia state school incoming freshman classes - smart kids, small class sizes, beautiful campus, great school spirit, nice dorms. My son loved W&M too with CNU as his next choice. After being deferred and then rejected at W&M he has no regrets about choosing CNU. I think he really started to like it more than W&M as things progressed. He also got into UMW, but there really was no comparison between UMW and CNU - CNU was the right place for him. He loves it!
While I am really happy for vamominvabeach that her son loves CNU but you really need to visit it: the students that I know who have applied and/or enrolled have had strongly different reactions to it- it seems to be much more of a ‘fit’ school than some of the others that you are looking at.
You should always visit schools you are interested in, on several occasions if you can. The whole point is to find the place you will fit and thrive.
I have no idea what a ‘fit’ school is supposed to mean, but isn’t that the whole point of looking for a college? To find that place you’ll fit? One school won’t be the place for everyone, that’s why you have to check them out.
My son hated VT, too big, too gray, just not his place. My two cousins who went there adored it. Can’t understand how ‘fit’ is a negative.
@vamominvabeach, I definitely didn’t mean “fit” as a negative! I have a daughter who is blissfully happy in what I would call a ‘fit’ college. Of course you are right that the college search is about finding a good fit. But I think that many colleges and universities will appeal to a broad range of students, while others will appeal to a narrower range of students. To me, those are ‘fit’ colleges- ones where it’s important both that the student ‘fit’ the college, and the college fit the student. To me, Furman and Vassar are examples of ‘fit’ colleges.
I know a lot of students currently in various Virginia universities, and while each of the universities has their own ‘personality’, CNU is the one that I have seen students have the strongest reactions to: it seems to be all or nothing. To me that suggests a ‘fit’ college. So, all I was saying to the OP is to be sure and visit.
I agree that visiting is a must before making any final decisions. But you can still put in your applications and visit the schools where you are accepted.
What are the reasons for the “all or nothing” reactions?
CNU has some cool aspects - the Leadership Academy is one of them - and it’s more highly regarded than UMW. Not sure wrt VCU though which one is “closer” to W&M.
When students look for colleges similar to W&M, posters here suggest colleges such as Reed, UChicago, Swarthmore, perhaps Wooster for a safety. Is there a risk for OP to try and apply there (after running the NPC)?
Poster asked for schools in Virginia similar to W&M and appears to be doing the guaranteed admit through the Virginia community college system. They didn’t ask for out of state options. They also asked for schools that were not quite as selective as W&M, which would definitely eliminate schools like Chicago and Reed.
VCU is nothing like W&M. It’s urban, artsy, tall buildings, larger student body. CNU and UMW are closest in size, campus style to W&M followed perhaps by Longwood and Radford.
I didn’t mean style though, so OP should clarify.
Most students who post asking about W&M recognize it as one of the most intellectual universities in the country, hence the typical subfield of UChicago, etc. It’s the great difficulty for students who want mostly intellectual student bodies, finding a non-reach cerebral university.
BTW,just because OP has guaranteed acceptance into VA public universities doesn’t mean they shouldn’t and see whether they’ll get a good offer elsewhere. If the question was asked in terms of “vibe”, there aren’t many programs in VA (or in the country) that match W&M.
However if OP meant in terms of architecture or campus size, then it should be much easier to find universities that match W&M.
University of Richmond is a good private school. I absolutely loved the campus and after touring definitely had that mature intrinsically motivated student body. I believe Mary Washington is also a great fit for you. Everyone in my High School who applied to W&M applied to MW- small classes, diligent student body, strong professors, friendly students, decent class rigour.
