W&M VS VCU Honors. I need help!

College Search & Selection
1

Hello Internet,

I have come to ask for help over my most recent acceptances at VCU and W&M. I am an In-state student for both of these schools, and my parent have invested in the VA 529 program as well. I understand that I will be the one making the decision, and therefore I should be the one figuring out what school is best for me. But it’s a very hard decision for me, and I would like some 3rd party input. Favorably from people who have attended either school.

I have been accepted into VCU and their Honors college, as well as their Guaranteed Admissions for Pharmacy school. I have also received a $3,000/ per year merit scholarship. If I did end up going here it would be for 8 years for both my undergrad and Grad schooling.

At W&M, I was just accepted as a regular student. No scholarships, specialty programs, or anything of the sort.

My goals are to study Nuclear pharmacy and become a Nuclear Pharmacist.

With these things in mind, here’s what I have to say about both schools:

I love the fact that VCU is in Richmond (even though it is a dangerous city), and when I went to visit the undergraduate and pharmacy schools, I loved the social and learning culture there. None of the students that I spoke to (including the Pharmacy students) considered VCU to have a toxic learning environment. However, VCU doesn’t have that much of name value as William and Mary and I don’t know if I could live in the same area for 8 years.

William and Mary, on the other hand, is a prestigious university, and I know that I would be getting a degree from a top tier school with great research opportunities. In addition, there is also a pre-pharmacy track at William and Mary, but I am not as familiar with it as I am with VCU’s undergraduate curriculum. The academic rigor at William and Mary, however, seems to be off the charts! I mean the average GPA at William and Mary is around a 3.33. I might not have an educated perspective when it comes to college GPA, however W&M seem outrageously low. In addition to the intense academic rigor at William and Mary, I’m not sure how much social activity goes on within campus considering the majority of students are working on school work most of the time.

I hope to make a decision soon, and hopefully become happy with the school I choose. This thread is not meant to ask “which school is better?” I just need advice and input about my situation from reliable sources.

Thanks for reading, a hopeful student.

2

The two schools are so different. I urge you to spend time on each campus to determine which student body feels more like “your people.”

If you look at the average SAT scores and high school GPAs of VCU students, and compare with the same statistics for W&M students, you will see a big difference. Would that bother you? Would you rather spend 4 years with one or the other?

If you already have excellent study habits and look forward to working hard, the stressful academic environment at W&M will not be a big issue. It’s more like a small liberal arts college that way. I don’t think grade deflation is huge. But there are some weed-out classes too.

I know VCU students who love the urban environment, and a couple who hated it and transferred. If that pharmacy school guarantee means a lot to you, you can always start at VCU and see if you like it. If not, transfer elsewhere.

Good luck with your decision!

3

Richmond is not “a dangerous city”

4

I as well got accepted into William and Mary, but I already had 2 years of college through a dual- entry program in high school. It still would take me to get 3 and a half years to finish my undergrad, so I transferred actually to VCU the school I got accepted to as well , but thought at the time it wasn’t a great school. However, I realized that a school that doesn’t have the name like William and Mary can still get you into a graduate program later on because you more easily maintain a high gpa. William and Mary does have grade deflation. I suggest go to a school where you can receive a higher gpa plus that guaranteed program is definitely a huge plus for you as well. VCU is a great accredited institution for biology and art. Most graduate schools the way they look at applicants don’t really take in account the name of the school when looking at gpa comparing someone from VCU or William and Mary, especially for dental which I intend to do.

5

3.33 average GPA isn’t bad at all for a public university - it’s often more like 3.1-3.2. It’d MUCH harder to get As and Bs in college, and some weedout course will set the needle at 80 so that half the class will have less. (In some majors or universities it may be even less.)

W&M will offer a more classical college experience. Your peers will be top notch and focused on their studies. However they don’t spend all their time studying, far from it.
VCU is a great urban university. The honors college is very strong so you’ll have academic peers but by adding other classes you’ll have more leeway in balancing course rigor because it’ll be easier to find some lighter classes than at W&M, but make no mistake, the pre health classes will be weedout too.
Do check how “guaranteed” that Admission is (ie., It’s always conditional - what are the conditions?)