Schools Like William and Mary

College Search & Selection
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Davidson’s acceptance rate is 1/2 of William & Mary’s.

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Agree on Denison but I don’t believe they have a business major.

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My apologies, I didn’t look at the numbers and can see now that my perception is skewed based off the kids I know currently at both schools.

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Wake, Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, Gettysburg, F&M and Villanova?

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Lots of schools are being suggested that typically have overlap in applications with W&M but are more difficult admits (some much more). OP asked for easier admits. The 2026 admit rate for VA residents is 42%.

Some to research with easier or similar admissions rates… Gettysburg, Christopher Newport, Mary Washington, Miami-Ohio, Lehigh, Lafayette (Edit: I meant to include Furman & Elon)

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According to my son’s friend who gives campus tours, Davidson’s acceptance rate was just 15% this year.

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Okay, if the geographic parameters have been expanded, then these are some additional schools that you may want to consider:

  • Butler (IN): About 4500 undergrads in Indianapolis
  • Calvin (MI): About 3100 undergrads and seems to produce more alums who get PhDs than most other schools of its size/type. In Grand Rapids.
  • Creighton (NE): About 4500 undergrads. This is another Jesuit school that, according to Niche’s student surveys, tends to swing more conservative. In Omaha
  • Hope (MI): About 3100 undergrads, and the town of Holland might appeal to you as well, if you are fond of Williamsburg
  • Loyola University Maryland: About 3800 undergrads, another Jesuit school that Niche is showing as more conservative than I would have expected. In Baltimore. Also part of a consortium where you can take classes at other area universities (like Goucher and Johns Hopkins)
  • Providence (RI): About 4200 undergrads
  • Samford (AL): About 3600 undergrads in Birmingham (also part of a consortium where you can take classes at other area universities)
  • St. Joseph’s (PA ): About 4200 undergrads and may be particularly suited to your business interests. In Philadelphia
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This is a VERY religious school, very catholic. The nuns from my kids’ school studied there in the summer (full habit order, very conservative). Franciscan hosts a lot of religious rallies for youth groups.

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Thank you for adding some additional color to Franciscan of Steubenville. It’d be great if others can do that for any other schools, as well.

I was focusing on the conservative part of OP’s request and missed the small unique town bit with my last post…though Hope in Holland, MI should still meet that criterion.

But yes, the colleges I listed seem to go from moderate to conservative leaning to full on conservative, per the info on Niche. Calvin also has a conservative, religious reputation (though as @Sweetgum mentioned, not like a Liberty type reputation).

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Consider Holy Cross in MA

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I was talking about Campbell University in Buies Creek NC. It is religious, but I think a conservative who was not overly religious wouldn’t feel too out of place. They have a well regarded law school. Not sure if the town is that much to write home about.

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The Jesuit colleges usually hit the sweet spot of 4000 to 10000 students and are often ‘contained’ campuses in urban areas. BC and Georgetown are much more selective than the others, but Fordham and Holy Cross are difficult admits too. All welcome students of any/no religion, but some are a little more conservative (Creighton, Regis, Wheeling Jesuit) just because of where they are located and the curriculum focus (both Regis and Wheeling are heavily focused on medical things like nursing, PT/OT, and for Regis pharmacy). I swear half the dentists I know went to Creighton (and I don’t know why, but I know a lot of dentists).

The Jesuit schools still have a big focus on service but not necessarily in a political way. I’d say they are more neutral than conservative or liberal. They are going to have a Catholic overtone to the schools like religious symbols, Religious (meaning priests, nuns, brothers) involved in the administration and on campus, but not so religious that non-Catholics might feel overwhelmed.

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33

Not quite the same, but Denison does have a Global Commerce major.

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Yes, I understood that you had been referring to Campbell and not Calvin in your original post. I was just trying to indicate (evidently unclearly) that Calvin was another conservative school, like Campbell, but not in the way that Liberty U. is.

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35

My son looked at both St. Joseph’s in Philly and Loyola MD in 2021. While both are in cities, they don’t have an urban campus vibe to them at all. St. Joe’s is right on the line of the city of Philadelphia and Lower Merion Township, part of campus is in each. It has a good amount of green space. Loyola MD is in the city of Baltimore and really close to Johns Hopkins, but it has a ton a green space and it did not feel urban at all. Around both schools are some restaurants and businesses that cater to the college crowd. The small amount of students we interacted with were nice and friendly. My son didn’t attend either, but he seriously considered Loyola. St. Joe’s was too close to home for him. I really don’t have a great feel for their campus politics, but I would think they would be pretty apolitical/moderate, which by college campus standards would probably be considered “conservative.” I really liked both campuses and thought they were both really attractive. They are definitely easier admits than William and Mary. Both are also known for giving a good amount of money too. Their cost will be close to an in-state state school amount.

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