Virginia Tech or William and Mary?

<p>I am a high school senior, and am choosing between William and Mary and Virginia Tech. I am a very extroverted person, and would like to go to a school which allows me lots of opportunities for fun -both on campus and in the surrounding area. I want to be a doctor, so opinions regarding the science or medical programs are wonderful. Any feedback is appreciated; I have around two weeks to decide. Thanks!</p>

<p>William and Mary has a great campus, but the town Colonial Williamsburg doesn’t have that party town vibe. Virginia Tech has a pretty good campus but the town of Blacksburg is somewhat livelier than Colonial Williamsburg usually is. I know Tech is good with its engineering programs, but I’m not sure if its science is as good as William and Mary’s. Honestly, they are both pretty good choices, but the atmosphere is the main difference. W&M is more LAC-ish while VTech is more like a big state school.</p>

<p>W&M has a tremendous reputation for pre-meds - there’s a guaranteed admit partnership with EVMS, and the overall admit rate is somewhere north of 80% - far above the national average (46%, iirc.) I don’t know what VT’s current acceptance rate is, but I found an old web page on their site that said this:</p>

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<p>That’s not good, though perhaps it’s better today. And I’ve heard from someone I know in a related field that there’s a definite hierarchy in research - according to her, the top 10-15% of students in that course of study get placed in research, externships, etc - but everyone else is left to consider alternate careers. You need research hours on your AMCAS, and you can get them at W&M. </p>

<p>On the good news side, VT is just now opening a medical school (VT Carillon) so this may help your chances if you choose VT.</p>

<p>I can’t say whether you’d be happy at either school - a one or two-word self-description will never suffice for that. Visit both, see what feels better to you. As already said, the environment of the two schools will be very different. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Sounds like you have some great choices. One of the things that makes W&M unique is the opportunity to conduct undergraduate research. The science departments at W&M even provide summer stipend programs for students conducting research and that can be a great thing to add to your resume for med schools. We also have students participate in the Scribe program at the local hospital which is another great resume addition. We also have two guaranteed admission agreements with EVMS and MCV for those who are interested.</p>

<p>W&M, even though a small school, has over 400 clubs and organizations, 23 DI sports, 45 club sports teams, and 27 social fraternities and sororities so there’s no shortage of opportunities for social involvement and engagement.</p>