I have heard that they are conservative, but I have also heard they are becoming very progressive. Also, is greek life inclusive? How do “academic” and “nice” girls fare here?
The general student body is fairly conservative but it’s a good mix. Both sides are respectful of eachother. The Moc Con every four years is lots of fun.
Not sure how to respond to your other questions. Almost all the women (and men) are “academic” with the high admissions standards and low acceptance rate. If you’re “not academic” you probably couldn’t get in and/or wouldn’t last long at W&L.
What do you mean by your “nice” girls question …
My daughter is a freshman. She said some people party a lot and some not at all. She is in the middle. At Parents Weekend we were impressed how “smart” the school seemed. Other than attire, we did not get an overly “conservative” feel for the school. I had a teacher tell me the students might be fiscally more conservative, but on social issues they are pretty much in line with college students. My daughter is pretty progressive, and she feels right at home. The people are nice.
I have two nieces (not related to each other) who recently graduated. One is pretty far left, and kind of “alternative” but she “found her tribe,” as they say, and had a good experience there in spite of her mixed feelings about her sorority. The other is politically middle-of-the road, but “nice” and “academic,” and she loved the place, including her sorority (same one).
How about a non-partying boy who leans conservative? Do non drinkers have a place here? Do non drinkers join the fraternities, since they seem to be such a large part of campus life?
I went to W&L and have two kids who have looked / are looking at the school. I wasn’t a big drinker and found my group, though because it was the baseball team I became one. Honestly though, there are plenty of kids who don’t drink heavily, and Greeks don’t require anyone to blow a breathalyzer minimum before they let you walk into their parties. They don’t care. If you’re funny, if you’re nice, smart, cool, then you’ll be welcome. That said, their parties can be intimidating to those who don’t have party experience. I didn’t, and as a frosh was terrified to walk into those joints. Yikes. (Though I was there an eon ago and it was undoubtedly a wilder scene. 1520 SAT’s just can’t party like us 1210’s.)
Both of my kids, neither big partyers nor conservative, felt they could see their people during our campus visits. I really think too much is often made of college profiles like Greek Party or Social Justice or Bro B-school, insofar as there are always plenty of different kids at any school who don’t fit the profile. If I hadn’t gone there myself I doubt we would’ve gotten past those simplified characterizations.
Not sure if actual Greek membership makes drinking a requirement though. That is certainly possible.