UVA v. W&M v. Wake Forest v. UMichigan

College Search & Selection
1

<p>This week I was accepted into UVA, Wake Forest, and U of Michigan. I also have acceptances from VaTech and GaTech. Still waiting on William and Mary, and Cornell(A bit of a reach.)(rejected from UPenn, UofChicago and WashU)</p>

<p>I am an american-born-asian from Northern VA. I'm considering majoring in Economics (Doctorate later? too early to decide). I qualify for in-state at UVA and VaTech(and W&M), but lets assume that money is not an issue.</p>

<p>So what do you all think of this set? Let's assume that I get into W&M, and feel free to talk about Cornell, even though it is a reach. What are some advantages/disadvantages? Do the rankings really matter, since they are all closely ranked? Any advise, otherwise?</p>

2

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<p>Nope. Not a bit.</p>

<p>I’m not from VA and my top two choices would be UVA and W&M.</p>

3

<p>If you live in VA, it’s silly not to go to either UVA or WM for college instate unless you really dislike either one.</p>

4

<p>Yeah the in state factor weighs heavily for me too. I would say UVA - it is such an outstanding place for a good in state cost.</p>

5

<p>UVA most definitely. Awesome school…save your money for your MBA.</p>

6

<p>Ok then, haha I smell unanimity. What about W&M(hearing back from them this week)? If I get in, what factors should I consider between UVA and W&M?</p>

7

<p>I would say UVA and W&M are pretty similar. UVA is slightly better academically, but the biggest difference is probably size, UVA is quite a bit bigger and is in a bigger town so really personal preference.</p>

8

<p>W & M is smaller, more undergraduate-oriented, less research-oriented. It has more of a LAC quality than UVA, which is a research 1 university. I think research universities have real advantages for academically serious undergraduates (I went to Cornell myself back in the day) because your professors are actively engaged in cutting-edge research and often bring their work into the classroom. The presence of PhD students can be energizing to the undergraduate majors as well: there are always visiting scholars giving lectures and so on. However, the downside of UVA will be larger introductory courses. Tons of people take the basic economics sequence because it’s a required prerequisite for the McIntire School of Business. As you get further into an econ major, classes will be smaller.</p>

9

<p>Attend UVA, it’ll be be much cheaper and the difference in education is negligible compared with UMich and probbaly better than Wake Forest.</p>

10

<p>Full disclosure: I officially have been accepted into W&M.</p>