<p>Actually there are many internship opportunities in Washington, D.C. Be sure to ask admissions about this.</p>
<p>When my daughter began her search, I was definitely wary of hard drinking environments. Here’s what I learned: most colleges, academically elite institutions included, have an active drinking culture - regardless of whether there is a greek system. Anyone who says otherwise is either ill-informed or in denial. It’s really up to the kids to decide whether and when to partake.</p>
<p>“And, yes, the Civil War was about preserving slavery.”</p>
<p>Revisionist history at work again…sigh. </p>
<p>Prior to the Civil War and until the 13th Amendment was passed, slavery was the law of the land even in the Union North (read Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Dred Scott decision).</p>
<p>“My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.” A. Lincoln to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862.</p>
<p>If Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers had the wherewithall to really believe all men are created equal, slavery would have never been allowed in the U.S. under the Constitution. But, being a slave owner himself, it does show where Jefferson’s loyalties were on the matter.</p>
<p>Why did the Confederate States really seceed (e.g. Slavery, State’s rights), we can only speculate based on the written history, all the key players are long since dead and buried. But, since the common soldier was not a slave owner (either North or South), I believe that when approaching an artillery line loaded with canister, the issue of slavery was the farthest thing from their mind.</p>
<p>Sorry to digress, but it really irks me when someone is getting their historical talking points from Facebook/CNN/internet blogs.</p>
<p>Back to Lexington, it is a charming town with so much history, Colonial and Civil War (VMI, Stonewall, Lee). The downtown area is loaded with great eateries and interesting shops. It’s always a bustling place with tourists on weekends.</p>
<p>And if you want a bigger place to visit on weekends: Roanoke 40 min south on I81, Charlottesville 60 min North on I81/64, and Lynchburg 40 min east over the beautiful Blue Ridge Mts. Once in Lynchburg or Charlottesville, jump on the Amtrak Northeast Regional for a ride to DC and points north.</p>
<p>@vjstangelo
Thanks.</p>
<p>tamtiger-I’m the parent of a very happy first-year W&L student. If one of your concerns is that by not visiting the college prior to the Johnson semi-finalist determination, your child will lessen his chances, may I suggest you indicate in the application that it’s hard for you to travel to the college for geographic reasons. But, by all means, work very hard to get an alumni interview in your area. They start in September. That will demonstrate interest even in the absence of a visit. Then, if your son is lucky enough to be invited for the Johnson competition, have him seek out others of his background and ask them for their impressions of the place.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>@bellybones
Thanks.
How did your son or daughter find the so called hard drinking environment? That is also a concern of us.</p>
<p>tamtiger-as far as I can tell, it’s not a so-called hard-drinking environment. It IS a hard-drinking environment. Whether it’s more so than other similar colleges, though, I can’t really tell. We talk to our freshman about being careful and not doing anything stupid. He’s a football player, so I’m sure he’s around it a lot. I know that the majority of college kids drink. We encourage him to be careful. So far, grades are good and I think he’s been responsible.
I do get the distinct impression that plenty of students at W&L don’t drink at all, and their peers are totally cool with that.</p>
<p>@bellybones
Thanks. As long as kids who do not drink are not excluded then it is good.</p>
<p>I went to W&L and one thing I did not see here (although I skipped the middle pages) is that W&L alumni look out for each other. It’s a small school <2,000 total students and we care for each other, even if we don’t know the person.</p>
<p>I work on Wall Street and W&L is very connected here. W&L guys are everywhere. Why? Because we learned to work hard and party hard. </p>
<p>There are few things I would do over exactly the same way, but going to W&L is one of them. Awesome place.</p>
<p>Resurrecting this thread here… Can anyone offer any additional insight on non-drinkers’ social lives at Washington & Lee? I was recently accepted there and love the school, but I do not want to go to a college where I would have to drink to be included. Can anyone support @bellybones’ impression that there are several students who do not drink at W&L? </p>
<p>That was a concern of ours as well when looking at schools. Binge drinking is not unique to W&L, and the raising of the drinking age to 21 has taken drinking off-campus/underground, so the schools are less able to monitor it. </p>
<p>D is a current W&L student and says that no one there really cares if you drink or not. There are plenty of kids in fraternities and sororities (as well as independents) who either don’t drink or don’t drink to the point of getting drunk, and athletes don’t drink when their sport is in season. The frat party may be the most obvious social event on a given night, but there are plenty of other things going on if you look at the W&L website. </p>
<p>@yaupon: Thanks for your input! </p>
<p>So, there was lots of talk about the political feel of campus; however, could someone tell me how politically active the campus is? I understand that the most popular club happens to be a political club. For someone like myself who’s not especially interested or involved in politics (or history for that matter), would I still fit in? Are the non-political clubs still well-attended and well-supported? Thanks!</p>
<p>We aren’t a very politically campus at all.</p>
<p>@Latin4Life My D is also a student at W&L and I will echo what @yaupon wrote. She offered the same sentiment. Lots of kids do drink, some to excess, some in moderation (it’s college). But others do not and are not judged as long as they are not judgmental of those who do. She has many friends who abstain for athletic or health or other reasons.</p>