Weekend Campus Vibe

<p>My daughter was just accepted to W&M and is really excited. We're from Pennsylvania and since most W&M kids are from Virginia she would like to know whether most students remain on campus during weekends. Any insights would be appreciated!</p>

<p>Well, the restrictions on freshman and sophomores having cars does tend to keep the students more or less “on-campus” on the weekends. And while the majority of the kids <em>are</em> from Virginia, many/most of them are from Northern VA, which isn’t exactly convenient for trips home every weekend. This isn’t a “suitcase” campus, by any means.</p>

<p>As a parent, our experience was that occasional trips home / or visits to campus were necessary that first year, to exchange clothing, to do laundry, to buy things you’d overlooked, and of course, the occasional bit of homesickness. </p>

<p>Once DD had a car, she might not have always been “on-campus” on weekends, but that didn’t mean she came home - it usually involved some social activity, like attending a concert, or doing some outdoors activity, like skiing or hiking or going to the beach, or going to visit friends at other campuses. </p>

<p>Despite the relatively small size of Williamsburg, she never complained of a lack of things to do. In fact, I’d imagine that those who <em>do</em> go home every weekend miss some of the best parts of being in college. And I think it’s best for most students <em>not</em> to go home, to get involved in the many activities available, to build a network of friends, and so on. The biggest problem DD she was probably getting involved in too many activities, and ultimately had to scale back.</p>

<p>Congratulations to your daughter, and best of luck!</p>

<p>campus clears out for: fall break, thanksgiving, spring break</p>

<p>and a noticeable chunk for Easter, but by no means most.</p>

<p>Most students are definitely on campus on any normal weekend during the semester.</p>

<p>Do also keep in mind that 35% of students are from out-of-state so that’s a significant chunk of geographic diversity.</p>

<p>“Clearing out” on the weekends is definitely not an issue. My twin sister has a significant scholarship to the University of Maryland and is attending out-of-state, and when we compare experiences as OOS students, the social experience of WM makes it seem almost like a private school. The only time where I felt really at a disadvantage of being OOS when everyone else cleared out for the weekend was 1) Easter and 2) the emergency evacuation for the hurricane. People do go away occasionally for the weekends to go home or visit friends at other schools, like one would expect at any college, but very few people go home every weekend or even regularly.</p>