<p>so I was just wondering if there was any information that current students could give to the new students to make the transition to campus life a little easier. anyone who has a question can go ahead and post it and hopefully a current student will answer it...</p>
<p>What bank is the most convenient for students? Are there any banks that have ATM's on campus?</p>
<p>Should freshmen only bring clothes for warm weather when first moving in? I'm thinking that I'll get there in August and it won't start getting really wintery until around late November when I can go home for Thanksgiving and bring back winter clothes, I mean I can go back home before Thanksgiving (and probably will a few times) if need be. So, should I just start off with tee shirts, jeans, a light jacket... or just bring the entire wardrobe down (heavy jackets, sweatshirts, boots, etc.)?</p>
<p>any general education requirement courses that you would advise students to avoid if they aren't really interested?</p>
<p>that's all i can think of right now. your help is much appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Wachovia seems to be a popular choice among students. There's a branch just up Richmond Road, as well as an ATM in the UC. There's also a SunTrust in Colonial Williamsburg, but the hours are somewhat limited. I believe Langley Federal Credit Union has an ATM in the Campus Center as well, but Wachovia still seems to be the most popular choice.</p>
<p>As far as clothes go, the nice weather lasts a good while. The t-shirts and shorts will hold you for a long time, and with a few pairs of jeans and a couple sweatshirts you should be more than covered until you can go home at Fall or Thanksgiving Break. While you can do without the heavy jackets and so forth until later on in the year, you're going to need your raincoat a lot so don't forget to bring it at the beginning of the year.</p>
<p>For GERs, it really depends on your interest. Since there are a variety of ways to fulfill any given GER, you should look for something that interests you (or at least doesn't terrify you). For instance, the mathematically-challenged tend to take Math Powered Flight instead of Calculus. Similarly, Psych as a Natural Science is an easier way out of the Natural Science GER for those who would rather avoid the intense Intro Bio courses. For the GER subject areas that interest you, pick something you'd enjoy or something that will help fulfill your major requirements. For the subject areas that might not be among your greatest strengths, there are still plenty of options that fulfill the requirement without crushing your soul in the process.</p>
<p>Remember that you will be going home for fall break (or at least going somewhere, since you "can't" stay in the dorms). So there's no need to take a bunch of heavy clothes. To get some helpful tips, search for
william and mary "what to pack"</p>
<p>Just for reference, the dorms don't close for Fall Break. Its only four days long. The dorms do close, however, over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. They don't close over Spring Break either.</p>
<p>Ah, good point. I heard that the dorms weren't any fun because of the small number of people around during Fall Break, but that's definitely not "closing" and so you wouldn't have to leave.</p>
<p>There are very few people, to be sure, but most of the OOS kids just stay put. We had a pretty good time, just because things were so quiet. Plus by that point you could probably use a quiet break. It's certainly nice not to have to do anything for a few days.</p>
<p>I believe there's a Verizon tower somewhere in Williamsburg itself. I have Verizon, and I almost always have full bars. I can't speak for other carriers, but I know that I've never ever had a problem with Verizon. My roommate commonly borrows me phone in our room because he gets poor reception in the room, while mine is fine.</p>
<p>Daughter just completed freshman year, and the verdict from students on cell carriers is that Verizon is far and away the most reliable. She was on our Cingular family plan to start with and was constantly borrowing her friends' verizon phones because the Cingular phone would cut out or not connect at all. The closer you got to Colonial Wmsburg the better the Cingular coverage would get, but there were problems inside buildings and at various spots off campus and on the new campus. We worked with Cingular on changing towers, updating the simcard, etc., but nothing helped. Threw in the towel and got her her own Verizon line during fall break. No problems since then.</p>
<p>NolanDW, as a followup, you're smart to research the reliability of cell carriers ahead of time. W&M re-evaluated their emergency response system after the VT shootings, and they added text messages to the media they use to inform students. Decided that email wasn't extensive/quick enough to contact a wide range of students in an emergency. However, if your phone cuts out or is in a dead spot, this won't do you much good.</p>