I was accepted to William & Mary as a James Monroe Scholar. I have also been accepted to Duke and WashU. I want to pursue a career in biomedical engineering. Normally, the choice wouldn’t be this difficult and I initially didn’t even consider W&M. But I decided to visit for admitted students day and I fell in love. Being on campus made me so happy and the Sunken Gardens are probably my favorite place on any college campus. I’m also in state, so it is a hell of a lot cheaper than Duke or WashU. I know W&M has the 3:2 program with Columbia, but it seems most aspiring engineerings at W&M just apply to and attend graduate schools instead of following through with the program. I know Duke and WashU both have really great engineering programs, but I can’t stop thinking about how much I loved it at W&M. The campus, the people, the atmosphere, I was shocked by how much I liked it. I need to choose a school and I don’t want to have any regrets. I’ve been driving myself crazy for the past two weeks. Can I have some opinions or advice on where I should go?
I wouldn’t bother with the 3:2 program. You are correct that most W&M students with a real interest in such subjects simply complete their BS in Physics, Chemistry, or whatever, and then go directly into Ph.D. programs in their chosen engineering discipline, wherever.
I suggest doing Physics (they even have a specific pre-med Physics track) at W&M, possibly with Bio as a second major?, and then do your Ph.D. (or Ph.D./M.D.) in biomedical enginerring wherever you want.
Among other benefits, instead of paying for two undergrad years at Clumbia ($$$$), you’ll be a grad student sooner. And you should be able to do better in your classes if you are happy in your setting.
WashU biomed program is pretty darn intense. But the opportunities for undergrads to do research there are amazing, with the medical school so close by. Have a child at WashU in ChemE. Loves the school, the campus, the collaborative mid-west atmosphere, the ease of commuting to and from St Louis, and the kids there. She did however, feel lots of pressure in the classes with the biomed students as they are almost all working towards med school. The price is certainly much different than W&M in-state, but they do have a program to get a masters in 5 years with reduced rate for that 5th year for students with high GPAs. My child researched 3/2 programs at several schools and found that while many schools offered them, by junior year most students opted not to go through with them. We could not get any school to give us statistics about how many students had actually done a 3/2. She did not look at W&M for 3/2 however as she wanted to be in a city. Have you flown back to WashU for a weekend? They often pay for your admitted student visit. That being said I totally understand your love of W&M (I’m an alum) and have a child there now. And saving a bunch of money towards graduate school is very appealing. But the best news is that the research shows kids with great choices such as yours generally end up happy where ever they decide to go, once they decide. It’s the next two weeks that will be the hardest. Good luck.
I think you should go to W&M. If you loved it, you will love it for your 4 years. It will be home and it will be your family.
- It's your favorite place.
- It felt like home.
- It's the cheapest. (if your parents would pay for the other schools, perhaps they would contribute to grad school... if it's less loans for you, obviously that is huge)
- It's one of the best undergraduate schools in the country.
- You can do undergraduate research.
- You can go wherever you want for graduate school.
Perhaps you should ask yourself: what are the negatives (for you) of attending W&M?
You don’t end up with an engineering degree in 4 years?
?
?
what else?
weigh the pros and cons honestly
I’m honestly not really a fan of 3/2 programs… I don’t think you would want to leave W&M before your senior year and miss out on everything with all of your friends.
It sounds like you love W&M. I am biased though, as it is one of my two top choices. I fell in love with it for the same reasons as you did. I don’t feel like you really want to go to WashU and since you said you love W&M’s atmosphere, I doubt you are going to like Duke’s. Plus, you are in-state! W&M is quite a steal. Go with your gut.
I was also accepted into WashU, but here I am committed to W&M. You should join the Tribe, we would love to have you 
You have likely already decided but here is my 2 cents - William and Mary is a beautiful campus which projects a family atmosphere that attracts many young people. I believe that this is the wrong reason to select William and Mary - my daughter fell for W & M also for those very reasons. Your main basis where you go should be the quality of education and what the college will do for you.
I think there are better choices for BS majors than William and Mary based on education quality. But - a big but the 3/2 program that is offered is a great opportunity. Guaranteed admittance to Columbia engineering is nothing to sneeze at. Just be sure you can afford to go to Columbia - the net cost calculators will show you the expense.
A lot of people say that where you go to graduate school is all that really matters - I somewhat agree with that - Does the UA vs U of MD vs UVA vs Va Tech really matter? I toured Columbia with my daughter and I felt they offered a better education that was above the other schools mentioned and worth paying a premium for.
My daughter did not get accepted at Columbia, was waitlisted at W & M (she did not pursue) , accepted at UVA and U of Maryland and UA. She ended going to University of Alabama based on a free ride tuition scholarship plus $2,500 engineering scholarship. It was the right choice for her. I would only have agreed to W & M for her for the 3/2 program - it is a real opportunity to go to Columbia.
@eusriso you are so wrong on so many accounts I am assuming you do not have a graduate degree ( at least in engineering or science.
One of the MOST important reasons (the other finances) to choose a college is because you are comfortable there. Just look to how may of your childs friends changed schools or did poorly because of a poor fit. If you child is miserable or depresses living away for the first time that is more of an issue than the school you choose.
My son chose W&M and thought he wanted to get a degree in ENG He was accepted to Columbia but was unsure eng was for him ( he does math for fun) he also liked finance and business. Going to W&M exposed him to Econ and he just graduated as a Dual Math Econ major and was accepted to Columbia again for a PhD ( he is deferring to do a research project in Rhodesia with his undergrad research professor
From my viewpoint there are several reasons to go to college - number one education, number two to get a job afterwards, three to learn/develop mature social skills, four to transition into an adult. . For my child I tried to keep those in perspective as she shopped for a college. Her major criteria was the “vibe” she got from the college translated was 90% “comfort level” which was determined by the “atmosphere”. I believe that W&M fully understands they have to sell themselves to the young adults this way and they do a good job of it.
If you are miserable at a college you are more likely not to do well But a lot of young adults my daughter included believed she could only be comfortable at a couple of schools and she was entitled to go to these schools. There is a big disconnect between wants and needs and somehow that gets redefined into have to haves to make the young adult “comfortable”.
My replies was tailored to the original poster of this topic not your son. It is great that your son went to William and Mary and was successful at the college. For engineering majors the 3/2 program is a great opportunity to go to Columbia specially for those who do not get admitted to Columbia directly out of high school. In the college world of admittance and finance aid few things are guaranteed but the 3/2 program is guaranteed admittance to Columbia.
The poster of the topic never said he was going to pursue graduate degree or a PhD and even if he does there is no guarantee he would get accepted to Columbia. I feel that Columbia offered better opportunity than William and Mary because they offer a better education especially for BS degrees - my perception from the visit and the limited research you can do online. During my visit to both colleges I directly asked that question and tried to determine the quality of the program she would be in. If you believe in college rankings (I don’t) Columbia is ranked higher than W&M.
As far as my education goes I have an undergraduate degree from a small public school in the middle of nowhere Appalachia. I am also self made - started at the bottom of the corporate ladder, moved into director level IT management for a large 200,000 plus employee Asian manufacturing company. Self made is relative - not trying to imply I am hugely successful but given my background I have done better than my father professionally in life … Made the magical 6 plus income, etc… I work with engineers, IT people, Business executives all day long so I am very familiar with the field and hiring. As far as hiring goes there are many criteria for hiring an employee with education being one of many but if I had a resume from a college graduate from Columbia and one from W&M the one from Columbia would likely “win” that category. Like it or not Ivy League schools will often but not always open more doors.
In another interesting side note my son will be looking at college soon and we will not look at W&M due to cost. They have priced themselves out of the market if you have to pay the full cost. In my situation of being middle - middle class my son will get zero financial aid and he is not a good enough student to qualify for the scholarships that W&M offers (geared towards the top 1%). Your financial situation may be different and W&M may be a financial fit for your child’s situation.
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