Why UVA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
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<p>I'll start with saying I love this school and I'm applying Early Action. I visited last November and thought it was astounding. That being said, I also love William and Mary. Up until recently, William and Mary was my number one until I got a booklet from UVA and my parents tried to talk me out of ED for W&M so I would be able to choose between w&m or UVA. (if I'm accepted to both of course) My transcript is strong (top 8%) and I have a ton of leadership but my SAT is lacking. currently William and Mary and UVA are neck and neck</p>

<p>My concerns about UVA are the class sizes are number one. I was intimidated by the sheer size of UVA and the fact that "[the] largest class only has 400 students." 400 seems like quite a lot to me and I'm worried about having TA's. I want a professor that knows me and is someone I can come to when I'm struggling.</p>

<p>Also as I've said in a few other posts, my only concerns about William and Mary are the social life and the school spirit for athletics. I want to have fun and I plan on going greek so I'm not too worried about that part, I'm just concerned about a lack of things to do in Williamsburg. Also I am a HUGE sports fan. I love sports-football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, you name it, I'm there. I'm not worried about football games, I know those are exciting, I'm just concerned about spirit for basketball. Attendance seems rather dismal... </p>

<p>I would describe myself as outgoing and liberal. I'm not too extroverted but I'm definitely not introverted, I don't want to be hidden away studying 24/7; I also don't want to be out partying every night. So my question is simply, why UVA?</p>

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<p>Many students who are accepted to UVa are not accepted to W&M, and visa versa. It makes sense for Va. residents and others to apply to both, and hope they are lucky enough to have a choice. You can then attend accepted student days at both, and make a more informed decision. </p>

<p>I really hate binding early decision, because too many high school seniors will evolve in their interests between Sept. and April. </p>

<p>UVa does have some large intro classes - some science lecture classes are bigger than 400. They do separate into small discussion and lab sections. However, the class sizes rapidly shrink as you progress into your major. Also, first year math, writing and language classes are small. </p>

<p>To reduce the number of large lecture classes, UVa is moving to replace them with hybrid classes. This involves students watching the lectures online and then putting the class time to more productive use with discussion and questions.</p>

<p>Fortunately, UVa has been adding many new profs. Many universities had reductions in profs during the Recession. UVa was fortunate that they never had to do any layoffs, unlike many universities.</p>

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<p>Both schools are great, but I hope you have some safeties on your applications list as well, and are spending time finding reasons to love them.</p>

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<p>Hi BTT -
I answered on your other post. As you saw I think given the information you are sharing applying to both is really best in your situation. You’ve actually been contemplating the UVa/W&M question for a couple of months and have other threads. I point this out for no other reason then to show you are unsure. There is nothing wrong with that. Most kids are not sure this early. They apply to various schools and either through admits, merit, or FA, some schools are not options. They then choose from schools that are options. Some even attend 2-3 admitted students days in April with a clear top choice in mind and end up choosing another school.</p>

<p>Lastly, you also mentioned FA is important to your family. Assuming admits to both, W&M and UVa do their best to make school affordable, however you may not know that AccessUVa now includes a mandatory loan for all students in their FA package, UVa is moving towards differential tuition, and W&M raised tuition quite a bit last May for the incoming class, however it is ‘locked’ for all four years. My point being, your costs, FA, and bottom line could be different at each school. Different enough to sway you to one school or the other? I can’t answer that, only your family can. But you can’t compare FA packages or bottom line COA with ED. That is one of the drawbacks. You have to be willing to accept that schools FA offer without knowing what another school might offer.</p>

<p>Again, best of luck making this decision.</p>

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<p>What do you want to study? If it is anything in the sciences/in research, I would say that UVA beats WM hands down. Nothing against WM, but they simply don’t have the funding/resources that UVA does when it comes to scientific research. UVA has several brand new facilities that are very nice (check out the physical and life sciences building next time your in Charlottesville) as well as graduate programs in nearly every area of science. In the last several years UVA has really been pushing research and there are now many opportunities for undergraduates to not only get involved in research (and not just in the hard sciences) but also get adequate funding to support their projects. Other majors that are not in the sciences are also VERY strong at UVA too and I think are comparable (at the least) to the programs at WM, such as econ, politics, English, foreign affairs, etc.</p>

<p>Social life and school spirit…honestly I dont think it gets much better than at UVA. Dressing up for football games/tailgating is a big part of student culture, as well as Greek life (which you appear to be interested in). Charlottesville is an awesome town and there is always something to do. Friends of mine at WM love it over there, but often admit to me that Williamsburg gets boring very fast. If you get involved in clubs/organizations/club sports, as well as are fairly social and open to meet new people, there will be a party you can go to literally every Friday/Saturday (should you desire). If thats not for you, thats fine. UVA is a big enough school that for every party animal you can be assured there is at least one bookworm or someone who would rather stay in and do a movie night.</p>

<p>Class sizes: they are large. however, I think that most intro classes are (I remember when I sat in on intro chem at WM there were like ~200-300 people). Generally, classes dwindle down progressively after each year and you can usually find a seminar class or small humanities course that is 30 people or less at least once a semester. However, one thing you will need to get used to in college is that YOU need to seek help when it is needed. Even in a class of 20 people, the professor will not go out of his/her way to make sure you are understanding all the material. Regardless of the class size, you are only really REQUIRED to be in class ~3 hours a week, which is pretty much the same at all colleges. This means less facetime with the professor and more responsibility on you to get the help when it is needed.</p>

<p>One side note I’d like to include. TAs are generally given a bad rep, but I have found that, in most of my classes, they have been just as or even more helpful than the professor. The TAs are usually grad students and have an idea of what you’re going through, rather than an old professor who is too busy working on writing grants to really go out of his way to prepare good lectures. So, I would not let the fact that the TA hosts the discussion section or grades the exams deter you at all.</p>

<p>A bit biased, I must admit, but as someone whose two options narrowed down to UVA and WM in the end, I am VERY VERY glad that I chose UVA.</p>

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<p>I also just saw your comment about basketball. As someone who went to every home game last season (we ended like 19-1 at home or something?), they are freaking AWESOME! One of my best memories will be rushing the court after we beat Duke last season. It was truly incredible. There is certainly a LOT of school spirit for basketball (after all, the team is halfway decent!)</p>

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<p>My main interests are international relations with Spanish and environmental studies/science. William and Mary has the Center for Theory and Practice of International Relations, so that’s a major plus for them. However, I’m leaning applying regular WM and early action UVA now just because I’m so undecided plus I saw UVA’s acceptance rate for instate early action was around 46% last year so I feel pretty good about that number. But on the other hand, WM’s total acceptance rate for ED was 45% so that’s also decent chances. The only thing that worries me are my SAT scores but I’m top 10% and involved in everything so I can’t imagine either school would reject me solely on my sat scores. </p>

<p>I have no doubt that UVA social life beats that of William and Mary’s any day of the week and honestly, I would much rather be in C’ville than the burg. If UVA had the size of WM I would pick UVA hands down, any day. I’ve talked to many friends at both schools and all love their respective schools. Those at WM tell me the “dismal social life,” is a myth and they have a ton of fun and those at UVA tell me the parties get crazy and they don’t go to all of them because of how many there are. </p>

<p>I know academically both are top notch and I would do fine at both. My dad goes to the west coast a lot and he told me people over there think of UVA as an incredibly academically strong state school and WM a prestigious private school and don’t know WM is public. So basically my decision is coming down to the small size and quirkiness of WM vs the social life and spirit of UVA. ChemUndergrad, are sporting events at UVA free to students?</p>

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<p>Quick note: I definitely recommend applying EA for UVA and RD for WM. No reason to close any doors unless you are absolutely sure WM is your first choice (you shouldnt let the statistics sway your decision).</p>

<p>Yes, EVERY sporting event is free and you are guaranteed admission for all sports (except for basketball).</p>

<p>Basketball runs on a lottery system. You are sent an email when you can begin requesting tickets. If you are diligent about requesting a ticket shortly after the requesting period starts, you shouldnt ever have a problem getting a ticket to a game. Also, when you get your ticket, you accumulate points for each game you go to. So, the more games you go to, the more points you have, and the better chance you have of getting a ticket/early sign in time for future games. As I said earlier, even if you dont have very many points, you shouldnt have a problem getting a ticket to most games. Also, if you go to go to other sporting events (such as soccer, lacrosse, etc.) you can accumulate points that count towards your basketball tickets. </p>

<p>But yes, even with all that hassle for basketball tickets, they are also free.</p>