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 and William and Mary as well on admitted students day. One plus for William and Mary is the WMSURE research program. I was wondering if any current students can comment on their experience at William and Mary? (Btw I’m in state and I live very Close to William and Mary)
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 Uva thread
Have you visited both schools? Does one jump out at you? Does one “feel” better / more like home to you? The academics are pretty similar.
I have visited William and Mary, but that is a weird dilemma because I don’t have that “it” feeling when I am on campus, but I feel that maybe i would fit in better at william and Mary. But then again I don’t know if I want to be 5 minutes from home at the same time. I’m visiting uva on the 8th so hopefully that will give me some better insight
@sleepingbeauty15, you have an enviable choice - full tuition at two great schools. Major congrats! I think that, once you’ve been on both campuses, one school will certainly register with you as the better fit. Being 5 minutes from home is indeed a factor. But you’ll be either 5 minutes or 2 hours from home, which is still fairly close (for good or ill). Please let us know what you decide.
I am a current student at William and Mary and I can answer any questions you might have. All in all, I have really enjoyed my experience here and there’s never a shortage of things to keep me busy. The friendliness of the students is unmatched and the professors here are really knowledgeable and want to get to know you (heck, I am already friends with one of them on facebook) One reason I chose W&M is because of the smaller class sizes and the school’s personality.
Definitely go to the day for admitted students and talk to as many people as possible from both. Sometimes it just comes down to “fit” or a gut feeling all else equal. I’m not familiar with University Achievement Award, but from my friend’s experiences with the WM SURE program, it has many events that will work towards your development as a person as well as your interest in research. Dr. Charity Hudley, the director of the program, is exceptionally personable and will help you pursue research if that’s what you really want to do. Meet her at the reception day if you can.
Another opportunity you may want to know about is a program called ESCAPE, which allows you to stay overnight on Admitted Students Day with a host. (http://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/how-to-apply/freshmanapplicants/multiculturalstudents/admissionprograms/escape/) It may give you a better chance to get to know the school and what campus life is like.
Thank you @shawnspencer ! (: I will look into the link and I’m excited to attend admitted students day on Saturday since I haven’t had a tour or anything like that to see what life on campus is like.
Well an official tour that is
Out of curiosity, how did your visit to William and Mary go?
@shawnspencer It was really nice, I’m interested in pre-med and I really liked how they had a specific time block dedicated to those interested in pursuing pre-med. I got the vibe that education at W&M is very very intimate and hands on, which I liked. All the students were nice and one even approached me to see if I needed help when I was looking at the map. Plus, the free popsicles were a huge plus 
Overall, it was a good visit!
@sleepingbeauty15 That’s great to hear! Did you end up staying overnight or going to the WM SURE events? I myself was an overnight host and had a couple of friends involved involved in both. I’m always curious to hear what people thought about those events from the other side haha
No, I did not unfortunately 
but I really did like it! @shawnspencer