WM v. UVA

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
1

<p>WM with Monroe and full tuition v. UVA with no honors or money???</p>

<p>I know everyone's gonna say something about size, and I much prefer the bigger school (UVA). I much prefer UVA overall, but is it worth paying for something when I could get a similar education (even though I'll probable have less fun) at WM?</p>

2

<p>Having had children attend both UVA and WM I will tell you with much certainty that you definately should accept the incredibly valuable “free” education that William and Mary is offering you. </p>

<p>Both of these are both fantastic schools and we have had season football tickets to Virginia football games for years and our son enjoyed his time at UVA very much. But our other child who attended William and Mary had just as good an experience it was just a little different. He was in a frat at WM and participated in more school activites that were smaller than a Division 1 football or basketball game.</p>

<p>I guess my point is that unless you are independently wealthy, I would say that you would be crazy to turn down such a wonderful honor as being a Monroe Scholar. By the way, you may need to have some extra money for grad school as my UVA grad found out.</p>

3

<p>I was in the opposite position with Jefferson from UVA and 3,000 from W and M. I chose UVA because you just can’t beat a free education.</p>

4

<p>Maybe you could talk to the financial aid office at UVA. If you feel more passionate about UVA, I’m sure they would be able to help you considering you were offered the full ride to WM.</p>

5

<p>thanks so much for your comments.</p>

<p>Thrills4ever- thats what some people have told me, that talking with UVA about my situation could help and they may be willing to work with me on getting some sort of money to at least compete with what I’m getting at WM.</p>

<p>I realize that a free education is a great opportunity, i just don’t want to go somewhere where I’m going to be unhappy.</p>

6

<p>I don’t think its possible to be unhappy somewhere, unless you want it to be unhappy. I am sure if you go in with an open mind, no matter where you go, you will flourish</p>

<p>I hate when someone says they will be unhappy going somewhere. Two problems, first you don’t know your gonna be happy or unhappy(which alludes to my earlier point, if you think going somewhere will make you happy, then of course its going to be amazing, but if you go in thinking it will stink, even if you have fun, you will think it stinks), and second, if you say that you won’t like it, then most probably you will come out hating it.</p>

7

<p>Do you think coat/tie for football games, secret societies, huge school pride/attitude, Animal House Greek system, 15000 undergrads is the best thing on Earth? Go to UVirginia. If you think its silly, then go to W&M. Both have smart kids and good professors ( just like 50 other top schools in America). The differences are in the experiences and peer groups. Good luck.</p>

8

<p>

Or [the</a> sea of orange](<a href=“http://www.orangevest.org/articles/hook101608e.jpg]the”>http://www.orangevest.org/articles/hook101608e.jpg).</p>

<p>

Have you seen Animal House? Greek life here isn’t even close.</p>

<p>

13,000 :)</p>

9

<p>My son got the Johnson scholarship at Washington and Lee - free ride. No financial aid
admission to UVA. Anybody - parents have any thoughts? We loved W & L and haven’t yet visited UVA.</p>

10

<p>capt123,
hard to turn down a free ride. but let me just say this: visit UVA before you make a decision. undoubtedly one of the top 5 prettiest campuses in the country. safe town. polite conscientious students. close to DC.</p>

11

<p>W&L is pretty conservative…I wouldn’t go even if they paid me…but then again, I’m very into politics, so it depends.</p>

12

<p>to the above post ^ no, the student body isn’t collectively conservative, the rundown is about 50/50 liberal/conservative, which is a very realistic and representative makeup of politic beliefs compared to other elite universities where the student body is overwhelmingly liberal.
Concerning W&L vs. UVA, if you were fortunate enough to get a merit award from W&L, let alone get in, than it probably would be the best choice.</p>

13

<p>W & L is quite lovely. I was there at a conference last year. Very nice school.</p>

14

<p>“My son got the Johnson scholarship at Washington and Lee - free ride. No financial aid
admission to UVA. Anybody - parents have any thoughts?”</p>

<p>Considering the same two schools. S got the Johnson at W&L. We do qualify for fiinancial aid, but if UVA’s is as bad as W&M’s for us, it’s practically no aid.</p>

<p>Check your Private Messages. : - )</p>

15

<p>Every student that I have talked to from William and Mary says that it is an overall liberal school in terms of the student body.</p>

16

<p>I said W&L not W&M. I know W&M is ultra liberal.</p>

17

<p>W&M is not Brown or Reed, but it one step left of center. But most of the best schools would attract students who have thought through the issues as opposed to getting their “facts” <em>cough</em>cough* from Foxnews. After the last 8 years most of the country is one step left of center.</p>

18

<p>As far as negotiating with UVA, I was at “Days on the Lawn” at UVA today and the Financial Aid lady emphasized how they give no merit scholarships through the FA office and have limited ability to deal. They pride themselves on “consistency”, right or wrong. Based on what she said, they shouldn’t be offering significant money to try to entice somebody from another school. Remember, the Jeffersons come from outside of admissions and FA.</p>

<p>By the way, congrats to the one in this thread who got a Jefferson. I heard today they intend to award only around 25 this year (i.e., have 25 accepts out of 30-some offers), which is down from 32 (?) awards last year. That’s a significant drop.</p>

19

<p>I am probably not going to attend UVA ( good offer from stanford) but i was willing to turn down the Murray Scholarship +Monroe Scholarship +William and Mary Scholarship and in order to go to UVA…</p>

20

<p>When I visited WM, it reminded me of a farm - not necessarily in a bad way. I do remember though that the campus was relatively small and it was quite easy to get around from one place to another.</p>