My kid got accepted by both Washington Lee University and University of Richmond. He is interested in being on pre-med track, but he worries about the weed-out situation he hears about in different schools. If anyone knows about that, could you please share your insight or give some ideas about which school to pick? Especially if you are going to either one of these schools. Financial aid packages are about the same, so money is not a issue.
I visited Wash & Lee twice with my older son two years ago. He was accepted but did not attend. He loved it, though.
Wash & Lee is a notch or two above Richmond in terms of selectivity and prestige and is located in a provincial area of Virginia. Richmond is much different obviously, more cosmopolitan. Richmond is D1 sports while Wash & Lee is D3. That has a big impact on campus life.
This “weeding out” you speak of is urban myth everywhere. No college intentionally forces students out of a program. Colleges have every incentive to graduate as many medical doctors as possible. Unfortunately, the curriculum is hard and many students simply don’t have the dedication or natural talent to succeed. There is nothing intentional about it.
Richmond is a more mainstream type of school. They are both preppy but Wash & Lee is more Southern and conservative. Much more old money type of school.
I have 2 daughters at UR and they are having a great experience there. At UR, there is no weeding in premed. The premed advising dept. will help students who wish to apply to med school, and they have a good acceptance rate. UR is academically challenging, so some pre-med students weed themselves, or simply change their minds and pursue something else.
Both girls have been doing research since freshman year, have had paid summer internships, and my senior spent a semester abroad at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The advising has been great, and they feel challenged academically and like their professors.
Richmond is a very nice area to live in, there is lots to do, we have all grown to love it on our visits. It has also been very easy to get the girls home for visits without a car. They can take Amtrak to our home city(mid-Atlantic area) from a stop 4 miles from UR, Megabus also offers service to our area.
I do not know much about the academics at W&L, but the daughter of an acquaintance attends and loves it. It is a much more rural location and much smaller than UR(10 mins from Downtown Richmond) Does your son have a preference? Stats for both schools are similar, and both have good academics, Richmond has more majors avail.
I don’t know if it is still so strict as it was but Washington and Lee has some very strict guidelines for student behavior and a student led governing body/judicial group that is actually pretty frightening.
So just check into that and google “problems with” etc. Maybe it has changed. But heads up.
W&L has an Honor System that is run by a student committee. If you don’t cheat or steal I wouldn’t worry about it.
W&L grads command very high starting salaries.
On the contrary, you should worry about it and not blindly assume you will be treated fairly by your peers. Often times young adults this age see things in black and white and miss the nuances of behavior and situations.
Perhaps it is better students are involved. Have you seen how kids are treated by admins for silly things and disciplined without any evidence of wrongdoing?
You dont like W&L for some other reason so you picked on its Honor System. It is a conservative school with strong Republican ties, that is probably it. Or the controversy with the flags? Or the Greek presence?
If that’s it just say it rather than dwell on the Honor System.
You didn’t mention that students get to pick when they take exams under this system. That is a great feature of the system.
You probably know this, but 30% or so of guys are in frats at U of Richmond while 74% are at W&L.
@mathmom Yes that’s true but many students like Greeks. Participation keeps growing nationwide, up over 30% in the last three years.
http://www.roanokecriminaldefense.com/washington-and-lee-honor-violation-lawyer/
I have nothing against Washington and Lee. However people should understand what they are agreeing to. I didn’t create the problems. I am just reporting on them.
Noting that OP asked specifically about weed-out pre-med courses, and this thread has strayed off-topic.
Med school weedouts do exist IMHO, but not at either of these schools.
I didn’t say it was good or bad, but I wouldn’t attend W & L if I weren’t interested in going Greek.
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