<p>accepted to both, exact same FinAid...</p>
<p>Which is better for Biochem and Polysci?
And which is more prestigious</p>
<p>justink, You are instate for both. Both schools are great and costs very similar and both will get you where you want to go if you work hard. Equally “prestigious” if you are worried about that. I would say to go where you think you would be happier socially. Which one do you see yourself at? Good luck.</p>
<p>I’m going to both of the accepted student weekends, and will decide which one I like better then :)</p>
<p>That is a great idea! I think you will have a clearer picture of where you would be more comfortable after you do that. Have fun at the accepted students events and good luck with your decison!</p>
<p>I think, in my opinion, Echols may be a stronger honors program than Monroe (as one who also got accepted to both this year). If you’re looking to do research in biochemistry then I also believe that UVa is the stronger school. Either way, it’s important that you’re comfortable with the school and its campus. A lot about college decisions are about how comfortable you are.</p>
<p>W&M has more prestige nationally. UVirginia has many more alums in VA for networking. Go with your heart after visiting.</p>
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<p>Strongly disagree</p>
<p>We were from NJ but never heard of WM until we came to Virginia.</p>
<p>Same here crazyadad, but I’m from NY.</p>
<p>Hahahaha, W&M has more prestige nationally? Not in the West Coast. At Stanford, where I’m a graduate student, people look at me with a confused face when I say I went to W&M for a year…then I say, but I transferred to UVA, and then they instantly recognize UVA. It’s sad, but true…and of the very few who have happened to have heard of it, they don’t know that it’s a public institution and most of them think that it’s a LAC.</p>
<p>PS: When I was a freshman at W&M, the only OOS students I met were from Maryland, D.C., Pennsylvania, NJ and NY. I never met anyone outside of those places.</p>
<p>PSS: Swish14, aren’t you the guy who is known for knocking UVA every chance he gets? Did you not get in when you applied? What’s your beef with the school? Most students at W&M don’t have that complex that you seem to have. From my freshman dorm alone (I lived in Botetourt), 8 of us transferred to UVA, 1 transferred to GTown, 1 to UNH and 1 to UMD-Baltimore. On this forum, I have gotten quite a few messages from current W&M interested in transferring to UVA…yet, I have never heard of anyone transferring out of UVA. Why do you think that is?</p>
<p>wait, you mean W&M is not a LAC?</p>
<p>derp.</p>
<p>Ignore all the talks of prestige, who knows what college where, and who happened to transfer from one college to another. It’s meaningless B.S. Both schools are “prestigious”; UVA probably more so nationally because it’s a major research university with strong graduate programs and ~4x the number of students. But prestige shouldn’t be driving your decision. Both schools have strong reputations and will be known by academics and those recruiting for jobs. You’ll get where you want to go, whether it be grad school or somewhere in the workforce, at either school.</p>
<p>What should be driving your decision is fit. W&M is a small public university that strongly focuses on undergraduate education. UVA is a large research university with numerous graduate programs. Both offer a fantastic education at a cheap price for instate students. Visit each one and make your deposit to the school that seems right. Don’t let talks of prestige and rankings cloud your decision making.</p>
<p>So because UVA isn’t small, it isn’t focused on “undergraduate education”?</p>
<p>W&M focuses on undergraduate education because it is where the vast majority of its students are enrolled; there are far fewer graduate programs/students at W&M than at UVA and the W&M law school is basically separate from the rest of the college. </p>
<p>The quality of undergraduate education at UVA is of course fantastic, just as it is at W&M. The point is, the two schools have separate missions and offer vastly different experiences. Which experience a student prefers should drive their decision on where to attend. The difference in academics or “prestige” at the undergraduate level between UVA and W&M is negligible and shouldn’t be the major factor in one’s decision.</p>
<p>Yes, we are quite different in size and style. However, it’s not accurate to imply that undergraduate teaching and learning isn’t a priority here.</p>
<p>Goal #1 from our [Statement</a> of Purpose and Goals](<a href=“http://www.web.virginia.edu/iaas/data_catalog/institutional/data_digest/goal.htm]Statement”>http://www.web.virginia.edu/iaas/data_catalog/institutional/data_digest/goal.htm):</p>
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<p>FWIW, the graduate programs in medicine, law, and business aren’t on Central Grounds at UVa. Darden, the Graduate School of Business is totally independent of the University. </p>
<p>OP, you can’t make a bad decision here. Get yourself to both schools and go from there.</p>
<p>This thread may be of interest:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1113969-why-uva-better-than-w-m.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1113969-why-uva-better-than-w-m.html</a></p>
<p>wahoomb- <em>sigh</em> Touchy, touchy.</p>
<p>I don’t knock Virginia but I dont fawn all over it either. (The University…really?!) W&M isnt for everyone but neither is Virginia. I stand by my statements but, as with you, it is completely biased and based on my personal experiences which are tiny bit broader than a grad student. </p>
<p>I’m sorry if you were offended.</p>
<p>PS I was not rejected by UVirginia but it was not for me.</p>
<p>Maybe a better way of putting it is that W&M is closer to a selective, more residential liberal arts college with a smaller 12:1 teacher-student ratio. The sports aren’t as big time at W&M as at UVA.</p>
<p>Again, both schools are terrific, it depends upon what you are looking for (smaller vs. larger is a main differentiator and somewhat quirky vs. more preppy is another). On the selectivity front, I’m not sure one is more selective than the other at all. Some people are accepted at UVA and not at W&M; and some get into W&M and not UVA. For what it’s worth, it appears that overall UVA emphasizes GPA slightly more than W&M, while W&M emphasizes test scores slightly more than UVA. Of course, all my opinion but based on research and data. </p>
<p>By the way, we have feet in both the UVA and W&M camps, including undergrad and grad experience at UVA.</p>
<p>Really, if you can choose between the 2, visit both campuses and also do your research. Then go with your gut. In the end, that’s what matters.</p>