<p>If you or someone you know was admitted to both W&M and UVA, why did you pick W&M? I assume that for most people it is a matter of personal preference - larger vs. smaller; Div. I sports; or engineering vs. no engineering. But did some of you have other reasons/preferences that are no so obvious?</p>
<p>W&M has division I sports, for the record. We just participate in a smaller conference.</p>
<p>As you said, I really think the biggest difference between the two schools is fit.</p>
<p>soccerguy, is there anything that you could do at the point to get wm to notice you or accept you? I called them and they said they are doing oos now and that they were being mailed out by march 29. my guess is they mail them on the 25th and you get them next week. would they consider it good or bad to write to them asap and beg?</p>
<p>since you go there, who would i write to that it might help. i really want to go to wm.</p>
<p>Until you find out I'd suggest you hold off on the letter. If you're waitlisted, have your guidance counselor call the admissions office, follow that up with a visit, and personally contact the admissions office to find a regional director, or contact one of the directors listed on the admissions site, and write them. Explain why you want to go there, and if applicable, list any awards, merits, etc. that you have received since you submitted your application.</p>
<p>I would agree with bjcdb on this... there's at most a week left to make decisions, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were done already.</p>
<p>vatownsend, I'd bet that your love for the school came through in your app, so I hope you'll be receiving great news next week. If you are wait-listed, read this:</p>
<p>This story got a lot of press a few years ago - an out-of-state girl who was waitlisted walked around campus for several days wearing a sandwich board advertising how much she wanted to attend. It worked!</p>
<p>To answer the OP: I think the campus atmospheres are significantly different, though the student bodies are remarkably similar. I would advise anyone lucky enough to be admitted at both to do overnight visits, unless their intended major is markedly stronger at one school.</p>
<p>Ok, back from visiting both W & M and UVA - some definite impressions, but I'd like to hear from anyone with good knowledge about specific majors etc. at these schools. For pre-med (maybe bio. major or something completely different with coursework necessary for medical school) - which school? I have heard that science at UVA is much weaker than at W & M, but that it is much easier to get good grades in science at UVA - therefore looks better for medical school. It seems odd to me that UVA has such a good teaching hospital and weak undergrad. science programs - is this accurate?</p>
<p>Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>It might be easier to get better grades at UVA than at WM, in any field. However, this is something that is noted by an overwhelming majority of grad school admissions offices. WM has a higher rate of MED school acceptance, at 80% than UVA and all other state schools. Additionally, a GPA at WM tends to carry more weight than one at UVA. This is furthered by the fact that many teachers at WM attach notes on their Letters of Rec, stating that they consider an A at most schools they taught at to be a B at WM, I know this was the case for a number of teachers during our orientation program, and is the case with my former Stat teacher who taught at Wharton..</p>
<p>In response to your question, WM science department is far suprerior to UVa's</p>
<p>I think of W&M as generally more academic and 'nerdy'. Granted they are both great schools...but if you are looking for an incredibly challenging four years and don't want to be surrounded by jocks and preps (that is, really smart jocks and preps, because that's who goes to UVa!), W&M might be a better fit.</p>
<p>Mom felt she outgrew W&M, small size, lack of social scene, etc., and when she visited UVa her junior year asked herself "Why? Why W&M??". But she's still forcing me to apply to her alma mater, and I'm sure she'll probably force me to accept if I'm admitted, haha.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response Bcjb. After visiting both schools I had the same impression. Can you speak to the fact that UVA has a medical school and teaching hospital and how that might affect pre-med vs. W & M's excellent science departments? </p>
<p>Btw...just for the record, we saw lots of "attractive" students at W & M and plenty of nerds at UVA and vice versa. It seems both schools are big enough to have everything under the sun in terms of student body. Met lots of very nice students at both schools. I think I like people from Virginia..very friendly, well mannered :).</p>
<p>I have been told (admittedly by a UVA proponent) that the science departments at W&M are really competitive in the less favorable sense of that word - that students do not cooperate with and are not supportive of their fellow students. Anyone have an opinion?</p>
<p>Based on my daughter's experience as a bio major, I would disagree. This may only have been within her circle of friends, but I heard about a lot of note-sharing and book-sharing, frequent study group meetings, etc. After her graduation ceremony last May, there was a separate departmental ceremony to distribute diplomas individually, where I noticed a marked warmth and friendliness among the students. Yes, they were thrilled to be graduating but I don't think I'd have noticed such solidarity if most of the majors mistrusted one another. Btw, the faculty were obviously having a wonderful time at the departmental ceremony. Each student selected the faculty member who gave them their diploma and posed for pictures with the graduate.</p>
<p>I hear you all on the grade deflation, though. It's real and it can certainly sting.</p>
<p>W&M students work very hard to earn the [sometimes low] grades they get. But I have not seen people refuse to work with others, or intentionally give wrong answers to others to make themselves look better. The student body at W&M is very friendly, and people work with each other.</p>
<p>One should choose primarily use issues of fit and finance to pick between UVA and W&M at the undergraduate level. The academic differences are negligible. The speculation in post 8 about the quality and easiness of sciences at UVA is bunk. UVA's science departments aren't as strong as UVA's other departments, but most, if not all, are ranked in the top 40 in the nation. There is no particular difference in how easy it is to get A's in science classes. Most at UVA give out between 10% and 20% A's, particularly in premed classes. I doubt it's any different at W&M, and I doubt that W&M's departments are any stronger than UVA's (particularly at the UG level.)</p>
<p>My point is, at the undergraduate level, the academics are very, very similar at UVA and W&M. The students at both schools are of a very similar quality and their opportunities after college are very similar. I go to UVA (didn't apply to W&M) because it appealed to me for non academic reasons. There are people who do the same with W&M. Regardless of which one you choose, you can't go wrong.</p>
<p>Thanks cavalier302, but how do you decide if you don't have personal knowledge/experience at or about either one? Flip a coin?</p>
<p>visit!!!</p>
<p>I don't recommend doing a coin flip, though I guess if that's what it comes to... make sure you have visited and exhausted all your options to learn about the schools you are deciding between before you do this.</p>
<p>Learn as much as you can about campus culture at each school. I'd get into why I didn't even apply to W&M, but I think discussion on this board should stay fairly positive about it. It's a great school - I don't want to sound like I'm bashing it.</p>
<p>cavalier, i would be interested in knowing why you did not apply to wm. if you don't want to post it, then send me a private message, please. my family is from va and i know some about both schools. know kids from both. i will say this, there is a real attitude from uva kids that has turned me off. i have not seen that with wm. also, my view is that there is much more partying at uva if you are in to that.
the guy i know that is in the law school claims that it is so much work at uva but he still seems to have time to party a lot.</p>
<p>vatownsend, I guess I'll just post it here, as others may be interested. </p>
<p>I didn't apply to William & Mary because of non-academic aspects of the school. There's little social life, and students seem to always be working. Many are stressed out. Many alumni and current students that I spoke to were more "meh" than "rah rah!" Many stay there because it's a great school and it's a valuable degree. Many also stay because they're more reserved, more bookwormish, more dorky. Not to stereotype W&M students, but that's how many that I've met have come off. Not that there aren't plenty of normal, cool people there, and dorky, weird people at UVA, but across the respective student populations, there seem to be distinct traits.</p>
<p>My first college tour ever was at William & Mary. I thought it was wonderful. It was a boiling hot day, but the campus was spectacular. It was also small, and I came to find that there's not as vibrant of a social scene there as there is up the road in Charlottesville. I guess that goes hand-in-hand with my stereotype of the students at each school. Additionally, I had planned on majoring in physics. UVA has a fairly decent physics program, while W&M isn't particularly strong in any of the sciences (except for maybe biology.) You mentioned UVA's law school. UVA is superior to W&M in law and business, and it has a medical school. That doesn't really matter for undergraduates, but it does seem to give the university as a whole a broader canopy of offerings and strengths. </p>
<p>Again, I stress that these are personal observations and that, at the undergraduate level, I think that both schools are very, very equal. You can't go wrong at either. Deciding between them requires identifying exactly what you want out of a college experience and your youth in general. At UVA you can get a great education and have sh** tons of fun at the same time. The downside? I don't know. I guess some people don't like hot girls and think that the preppiness means everyone is a tool. I should also note that UVA was the only school I applied to in the state of Virginia and it was my safety. I chose to attend after being waitlisted at my top choice and deciding that the privates I got into weren't worth the cost.</p>
<p>If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. My response was obviously somewhat biased in favor of UVA, but I tried to be balanced.</p>