<p>How do the two schools compare? Is UVa very southern? Moreso than W & M?</p>
<p>W&M is more southern</p>
<p>They're both excellent schools and are among the best four or five public schools in the nation. Picking between them should be more up to which you happen to like more. An undergraduate education at either will take you wherever you want to go, and, if you're instate, you'll get quite a bargain.</p>
<p>I agree with Untilted. Both are great institutions, but nationally, UVa is recognized more.</p>
<p>There are southern aspects to both colleges but keep in mind that one third of all students are top students from other states and that one third of the student body is from the DC corridor where most of the population lives. That means they are often from families who are from Some Where Else besides DC. One reason UVa and Wm and Mary are so great is because they have students from all over the US. Charlottesville is gorgeous as a place and this beauty permeates the campus life. Williamsburg is more like a midsized private university with smaller classrooms and access to coastal Virginia. Both are jewels.</p>