I have been accepted to UVA and was selected as a recipient of the University Achievement Award (full-tuition) and I I have been accepted into William and Mary and was selected as a William and Mary Scholar (full tuition). I plan on visiting UVA this week for DOTL but I was wondering if any current students could tell me how they feel about attending UVA? Do you love it?
If it helps I want to major In Bio (pre-med) but that’s not set in stone I am open to finding other majors If come across something else that I like.
Thank you (:
p.s I’m also posting this on the W&M thread
Congratulations on securing full tuition for both schools! I am a current student at U.Va and I have had an excellent experience here. The people at U.Va are generally very well-rounded and open minded, and the vast majority of students are genuinely interesting to interact with and learn from; I have never had trouble finding a group of peers that share my academic and social interests. There can be a competitive atmosphere at times in class and in extracurriculars, but most students are very helpful to each other and thrive from this atmosphere. Overall, U.Va students make for great friends, and I imagine you will also find these kinds of people at W&M. There are over 16,000 undergraduates at U.Va, so it is almost certain that you will find people you enjoy interacting with daily.
In terms of academics, there is no “wrong” choice; both schools have an excellent reputation for pre-med paths, so it really comes down to where you can see yourself thriving the most for the next four years. I encourage you to visit both schools and see how you feel about them in your gut. Taking the standard tour is nice, but you may get a better feel for a school by just walking around it at leisure and sitting in on a few lectures. If you have an interest in conducting research in college (which it appears to be based on your W&M post), email relevant professors at both schools and get a feel for what the faculty are like through meeting them in person. If you have an idea of what extracurriculars you want to get involved in in college, see if you can talk to students in those groups and make some connections. Above all, go with your gut!
What other majors are you interested in? You mentioned an interest in research; I am involved in research at U.Va, and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about that or about anything else. Best of luck deciding! 
@Fennekin That is a really great idea, and I will try to explore/ talk to professors when I visit next week. As far as other majors, I was drawn to the following: Biostat, human bio, biochem, and anthropology.
As far as research, I want to become a Pediatric Oncologist, and I was hoping I could conduct research involving cancer. I don’t know how feasible that is as a college student but it would be a dream of mine since cancer is an illness that strikes home. Although, anything health related I would love to get involved in since science fascinates me.
How is your overall research experience? and Were the professors easily accessible?
Thank you for replying! 
@sleepingbeauty15 It’s great to hear that you are coming to U.Va next week for DOTL! That’s a good opportunity to check things out for yourself and make some connections; DOTL is particularly cool because there are many different activities going on throughout the day all over Grounds, and you get to decide what you want to go to. Plus, you get to hear the marching band perform at the opening ceremony (clearly, I’m not biased).
That’s a good collection of majors! Fortunately, most of those are similar enough that you’ll be able to take some common requirements during your first year that satisfy any of those majors. I have posted links to each major at the bottom of the post, so feel free to look at the different courses you’d take for the major you decide on. Arts and Sciences students do not have to declare a major until their fourth semester, so you have time to choose!
I don’t know how open the medical school is to letting undergraduates work in their research labs, but it’s certainly worth a try to email relevant faculty and see what they have to say about it. I have included a link to the pediatrics resources webpage at the bottom of this post. If you are interested in other research areas specifically in biology, there are a ton of opportunities to get involved in cool labs; all you have to do to get started is to email professors you might want to work with! Most professors want undergraduates to assist them in their research, and they’re friendly. They may tell you to take a specific course that will prime you for working with them, and they offer good advice in general. I recommend doing summer research, as it is a great opportunity to dig deep into your interests without the busy schedule that you have during the school year. Doing research during the school year can also work, but you probably don’t want to overload yourself your first year with the stress that that can bring on top of your coursework.
My research area is quite a bit different than yours, but it has been a very accessible and great experience overall. It’s certainly a testament to how great U.Va professors are about getting undergraduates involved in their research labs. I only had part of the experience I needed in my field to work with my professor, so I took to teaching myself the background I needed to produce quality work; this may happen to you as well! If you’re dedicated, you’ll find a way to get into cool research groups. Above all, I definitely recommend looking over the faculty files for relevant professors at both schools and sending a few interest emails out to them and see if you can talk to them about their lab in person.
If you have any other questions about U.Va or college in general, feel free to ask! I really enjoy being at U.Va and I’ve gotten a lot out of the curriculum and the environment here. W&M is a pretty awesome school as well, so you’ve got great options. 
Links!
Resources for Pediatric research: http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/pediatrics/research/resources
Biology major: http://bio.virginia.edu/undergraduate/bs
Biostat major: http://www.stat.virginia.edu/degree_undergraduate_major.shtm
Human Biology major: http://www.virginia.edu/humanbiology/Home_page/home_page.htm
BioChem major: http://chem.virginia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/brochure-revised.pdf
Anthropology major: http://anthropology.virginia.edu/undergrad/major
UVA and WM are very different schools. I think that you will not have a hard time making your decision after visiting both schools. UVA is much larger than WM and the grounds and atmosphere reflect that.
@Fennekin Wow you are awesome! thanks for the links I will definitely look into them, and I really appreciate you sharing your experience at UVA with me
@sleepingbeauty15 No problem! I’m happy to help in any way that I can. If you have other questions, feel free to ask, that’s what I am here for! I am also available in person at any DOTL session by request (this is mostly to help answer questions about the engineering school, but I don’t mind talking with other potential students!). I believe the Echols scholars program also has a panel of sorts during DOTL, if you’re going to be involved with them.
There have been many previous discussions on this site about the pros and cons of W&M vs. UVa. I would do a search to read them.
It’s possible that you’ve already made your decision, but I do have personal experiences with both schools if you still need some guidance. I currently go to W&M, but my brother goes to UVA and I am hopefully transferring there for academic reasons (UVA’s environmental science dept is much better than W&M’s; I also just like the atmosphere better). However, most people here at W&M love it and wouldn’t leave for the world. I feel like a lot of people who post about W&M on here aren’t actually current students, so here are some pros and cons from a current freshman. Maybe you saw some of these things when you visited.
Pros (in random order):
- Everyone is super super nice. Like ridiculously so.
- The academics, for what we have, are stellar. Keep in mind this is a liberal arts college, so it is mostly humanities majors. However, the chem, bio, and physics departments are stellar. Math and compsci not so much, but you don’t seem to be interested in those things.
- More specifically for you, I feel like the premed students here aren’t nearly as cutthroat as they are at other schools. A friend of mine graduated from UVA with a chem major (he wasn’t premed) and said he hated the premed competitiveness of the students and the professors there. He said the same holds true of the bio dept.
- Very easy to do research because of the lack of graduate students
- Beautiful campus. Very nature-y.
- Strong community spirit
- Unlike UVA, the honor code is enforced and taken seriously, but not hung over your head
Cons (in random order):
- Old facilities. They are renovating a lot of buildings and even building another new science building, but a lot of “new” campus and many dorms need to be torn down
- Lack of school spirit for sports. It could make things a lot more fun if people cared more.
- Things to do in Williamsburg. I think you can find plenty of parties associated with Greek life, but for those of us who don’t like to get plastered every weekend it would be nice if there was more local entertainment
- Class registration. On that note, lack of classes. A big state school will give you more options, so you can take something related even if you don’t get your first choice of elective. A friend of mine here is a sophomore public policy major, but he still can’t get an override for Intro to Public Policy to be able to take it next semester, his junior year.
- For you, lack of medical research/ hospital experience. One of my premed friends at UVA is volunteering at a hospital as a first year.
Hope this helps! Have you visited?
@hedgehog12 That was super helpful, thank you!
I visited W&M on admitted students day and I visited UVA on DOTL. When I was at W&M I did notice that the students were super nice, one even approached me to ask me if I needed guidance while i was looking at the campus map. Like you have recently stated, I have had people tell me that pre-med at W&M is a little less cut throat, and the pre-med competitiveness at UVA does make me feel a little nervous. Although I have already made my decision (I have decided to attend UVA, although I have not committed yet), I am really glad you posted this because I was talking to my mom about the pro’s and con’s about W&M, and you just gave me more things to remember/consider
That’s great! Also, from a financial perspective, UVA is actually around $18,000 cheaper over the four years as W&M’s tuition and fees are a bit higher. Your parents should be happy about that one…best of luck at UVA!
Thank you! Maybe I’ll see you on grounds next year?! Best of luck to you on the transfer process