Is William and Mary considered prestigious to graduate schools/employers? (Compare with UVA, UNC, MIchigan, etc).
Yes, WM is in the same “tier” as those colleges you’ve mentioned. It is ranked 11th in the US News 2021 top public school rankings. Notably, it is the smallest of any of the top public schools. I attended, and my daughter is currently a junior. It’s a beautiful campus, and if you like the size of the school, it’s probably as close to an ideal college experience as you can have.
3 Likes
Yes, it is. It is also the only one of these publics that is of a similar size and residential undergraduate nature to schools like Brown and Dartmouth.
I would suggest thinking of these schools more through the lens of what you want from your college experience. If you want a larger environment, big time sports, etc., then clearly schools like Michigan and UNC fit the bill better than William and Mary. If you want a smaller environment, a residential college experience, and more focus on the undergraduate program, William and Mary may be a good option.
There is a website that has summarized federal government data on PhD production by undergraduate institution attended. William and Mary is I believe the top public school overall on a per capita basis (adjusted by number of students), and is in the top 3 for STEM (and the schools above, including UC Berkeley and the Colorado School of Mines, have a higher percentage of graduates earning undergraduate STEM degrees.
Law and medical school admission data is difficult to come by, but I would argue that both are largely stat driven, meaning you will need high standardized test scores (LSAT and MCAT) and GPAs to be admitted. So my advice would be go to a school where you will feel comfortable and do well.
2 Likes