<p>Which of these are best for a social, athletic, smart guy who is not sure what he wants to do but is most interested in science and math. He can't have everything he wants which is</p>
<ol>
<li> Best Academic school possible</li>
<li> Great athletics</li>
<li> Worth the price</li>
<li> Small classes</li>
<li> Huge school spirit</li>
<li> Friendly students and a happy, positive environment</li>
</ol>
<p>In State tuition:
Va Tech-sibling there, loves it but huge classes and questionable teachers
JMU
William and Mary - never visited</p>
<p>Out of State:
Wake Forest (1st choice but not sure worth the price- not received fa. School where he best sees himself)
Villanova - poor financial aid
U of R - amazing financial aid
Rhodes - decent aid
U of South Carolina - in state tuition, honors, scholar</p>
<p>William & Mary is a great school and a pretty good bargain at $20K a year (assuming no FA). I am a huge fan of Wake Forest, but I absolutely would not consider it worth the extra cost over W&M. </p>
<p>Many people find Richmond similar to Wake Forest (I’ve never visited, so can’t say), so it might be a more reasonable choice with amazing financial aid, although it’s not on the same level athletically. </p>
<p>I visited Rhodes recently to see a friend and came away VERY impressed. I graduated from Duke and am most familiar with other NC schools, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was blown away. The facilities are excellent, the campus is beautiful, and the students are extremely friendly. Well worth a look if it’s affordable, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I would go Wake, then Va Tech, then South Carolina. All three have good (or great, in Wake’s case) academic reputations and exciting athletic programs.</p>
<p>Is it reasonable to give up better academics (say William and Mary) for my son’s desire for a true “rah rah” college experience? (still waiting on Wake but I’m hearing their financial aid is not good)</p>
<p>Does it really matter? Can a child who is a verbal learner and remembers everything he hears so he doesn’t have to study much do well in a very large school with poor teachers (at least first 2 years) where a lot of students have to teach themselves and can’t even understand the teacher. Will he figure it out. Is his being happy better than going to a school like William and Mary or U of R.</p>
<p>My brother-in-law graduated from William and Mary in the late '60s and still lives in the area. He still attends games and is a member of the old football players club–whatever they call it. Though it certainly isn’t Big 10 football, I think there is plenty of school spirit. You might give William and Mary a look. It sounds very close to what your son might like. The top grad from my daughter’s high school is a freshman at W&M, also.</p>
<p>Thanks. We do need to visit. The perception from kids around Virginia is that W and M is only for the artsy and quirky intellectuals. We do need to explore it further. I’m so worried about the size of Tech’s classes.</p>
<p>W&M beat UVirginia in football. Beat Wake Forest/Maryland in Basketball. Beat North Carolina in Baseball. Top 20 soccer team. May be better rah rah than ACC :)</p>
<p>LOL. So true. Is paying a high price for Wake, being my son’s first choice, worth it over William and Mary? Is giving up W and M for Tech an okay decisions?</p>
<p>“Is paying a high price for Wake, being my son’s first choice, worth it over William and Mary?”</p>
<p>This depends on your family’s finances. If you’d be borrowing most of the money, then it would not be worth it to me. If you have the money to spend, but it would mean a lifestyle adjustment, it might be worth it.</p>
<p>Your son might get more excited about W&M if he knew that it’s about 60% women, vs. close to 50-50 for Wake. :)</p>
<p>caity, I have a son at VT (2nd year) and he has found quite the opposite regarding the quality of teaching for the intro level classes. He even hasn’t had to face the big classes by scheduling some of them at the not so desirable 8:00 hour He didn’t mind getting up early to be in a smaller group. It has worked well for him thus far. If your son has a sibling there, he/she can help him to avoid some of the more “challenging” profs as well. It is a terrific school, and becoming very strong in the sciences. USC at in state prices/honors is also a great option. Their sciences are super, too, and like VT I think it would offer a great all-around undergrad experience. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t pay the extra to go to WFU if he has the option of Richmond, who you said gave a great FA package. WFU and UR are very, very similiar schools. I am a UR grad and it is a gem. He would get a lot of individualized attention and their sciences and math dept. are very strong. Their sports teams probably have more notoriety and are gaining in student body support, probably a bit more loyalty than WM imho. They just finished the new on campus football stadium- it is going to be an incredible environment over there with that in place. The academic facilities are incredible as well- has he been in the new science building? Facilities like that are where you see a big difference in small state schools vs. small privates. </p>
<p>WM is a tremendous school, but some guys don’t see themselves there because of its quirky, more intense, academically driven student body and the smaller athletic programs. It is 60-40 girls to guys for a reason. You asked, “is giving up WM for VT an ok decision?” It is if after visiting, he doesn’t see himself fitting in at WM. Kids will do better academically if they are happy overall with where they are. My kid got into both and went to VT…just didn’t like the vibe at WM for some reason. </p>
<p>Good luck to you both as you make this decision…after he makes it, just tell him not to look back and enjoy his time wherever he goes!</p>
<p>Wake and W&M very similar schools. It would be difficult to pay the extra tuition if he is IS at W&M. Sports scene would have to be really important b/c that is about the only significant difference.</p>
<p>^ doctorb, similiar in what ways? To me they are both very strong schools in terms of academic quality and maybe size, but I see WF students as being much more conservative and homogeneous as compared to the non-conformist kind of student at WM. The OOS extra tuition wouldn’t make up for the difference in the academics, I do agree with you on that one. In several other areas of comparison though, I can’t share your opinion.</p>
<p>William and Mary seemed to have a very different student body. They seemed to be more quirky and intellectual. But it is such a great school. </p>
<p>I’m just soo worried about the size of Va Tech. He just received a scholarship from JMU for 75% off tuition. I think we’ll visit SC this weekend.</p>
<p>Look out caity, Carolina in the springtime… </p>
<p>His “Where am I going to go?” picture may get real muddy with that drive south. Beautiful school. And, here is the real kicker…The Ole’ Ball Coach has the Gamecocks playing in the Garnet and Black Spring Game on Saturday, April 10. That would be fun to see if he is a big sports fan. </p>
<p>Why go to JMU when W&M is a similar price and it doesn’t have anything on W&M?
Why go to Villanova when Wake is a similar price and your son likes it better?
Why go to Rhodes when you can pay less at a similar, but better academically, U of R?
Why go to SC when W&M/VT have similar prices and are better academically? <– unless you really like the idea of honors</p>
<p>That leaves W&M, Wake Forest, VT, and Richmond.</p>
<p>Out of those four, in order from best to worst:
Best Academic school possible - W&M, Wake, Richmond, VT
Great athletics - VT, Wake, W&M, Richmond
Worth the price - Richmond?, W&M, VT, Wake
Small classes - Richmond, W&M, Wake, VT (somewhat of a guess here)
Huge school spirit - same as #2?
Friendly students and a happy, positive environment - probably can’t go wrong with any of them</p>
<p>I think people are going overboard on the “quirky” thing for W&M. As an alum, I have friends with kids there and they are not quirky intellectuals. They are normal, smart kids who like to have a good time too. I much prefer W&M’s campus and location to Wake.</p>
<p>Yes, my son was denied from UVA. We visited William and Mary this week and did like it a lot better than we thought (rumors of it being just for quirky individuals). We are both really glad we visited. It does seem very intense academically, but it should to maintain the quality reputation. We both thought it was more diverse than the reputation it has among my son’s friends. </p>
<p>He went to Wake and South Carolina this weekend so we’ll see. I"ll let you know what he thinks. He is excited about the SC football game this weekend!</p>
He didn’t mind getting up early to be in a smaller group. It has worked well for him thus far. If your son has a sibling there, he/she can help him to avoid some of the more “challenging” profs as well. It is a terrific school, and becoming very strong in the sciences. USC at in state prices/honors is also a great option. Their sciences are super, too, and like VT I think it would offer a great all-around undergrad experience. </p>