I’ve heard some real scary stories about grade deflation - these rumors are all over my high school and have actually caused many students that I personally know to reject Wiliam and Mary in favor of another school. What’s your take on this?
Also, I would appreciate some information about the benefits and ins/outs of the Monroe Scholars Program. I’ve been accepted and would like to hear about a current student or alumni’s POV!
Likewise, are there any volunteer opportunities available on campus or near it in regards to EMS? I’m a volunteer EMT and would like to continue with this throughout college.
I can address #1 and #3. Willam and Mary, like other colleges, has had some pretty significant grade INFLATION over the last few decades. Still, is it as easy to make an “A” in an intro government or chemistry class at some other schools, local and national? Probably not. But I don’t think the differences are as significant as many would think. And, for a bright, hardworking student, a lack of excessive grade inflation is an advantage. I know a professor at another top mid-size university who is trying hard to hold the line on grades because they want to reward top students who are really doing outstanding work and not diminish their accomplishments by also giving A’s to students who might be doing a good job, but not quite as outstanding. And rigorous academics are a part of the school’s outstanding reputation, and success.
Yes, William and Mary students can and do work as volunteer EMTs with the local department. The Williamsburg fire station is easily walkable from campus, and is very close to Monroe. I know Wake Forest has a school EMT program; William and Mary does not (grade “deflation” is probably more of an issue at Wake). Good luck!
How often do W&M students go to Washington D.C.? I know about the programs up there, but do students ever just go to do something on a Saturday or something?
Not really. You can go by train from the Williamsburg train station (near campus) to Union Station in DC, but that’s pretty expensive to do regularly. But if you are interested in going up to DC, it would probably be with friends from Northern Virginia, and probably more often toward the last half of college, when more students have cars, and can drive home themselves for the weekend. You could certainly get up there during breaks.
How difficult is it to register for classes and get the ones you want? Can freshmen with a lot of AP credit get sophomore status to enable them to register earlier?
@prodesse I’ll ask my daughter when I see her this morning (home for Easter) but my guess is that the number of freshman with IB/AP credits at W&M is significant enough that they would not give sophomore status to entering freshman based just on that. IIRC, Monroe and 1683 selectees get a registration advantage. And athletes.
When she was a freshman, her hall met during a specific time at orientation to register, and they could only register for 11 credits or so, and then they had to meet with their adviser to get a code to register for the remaining credits.
D has always gotten into the classes she needed, if not the ones she wanted. Sometimes she has needed to get an override but she has only been denied that once to my knowledge and that was because there were seniors requesting it that needed the course (she was a rising junior at the time).
@prodesse, I just asked a student. I knew freshmen choosing classes for sophomore year were treated as freshmen. They said that continues the whole way. You stay with your “social class” (I’d say peer class) the whole way through. They were not sure exactly how “social class” is calculated in cases that are not obvious. WM is relatively generous in giving credit for AP, etc. Mine got 12 credits there and another similar school only gave 6 credits for the same APs.
I am curious how students get to airports from William and Mary. I saw that there is no shuttle available - do most students simply take a one hour taxi ride to the airport? Sine we are out of state, we want to be sure to consider ease of travel (location of airport) for our daughter when she has to fly home.
Hello @goingback2cali. My D is also from out of state and we were initially concerned about airport transportation. Thankfully, our worries were for naught. She has had no issues getting reservations for the shuttle service during breaks and she is also able to easily find a car pool ride. I think she uses an app for the student car pool rides - not exactly sure - but the students all know how to find safe rides. I also noticed postings in the student post office when I was there during Fall Student Orientation. As far as airports are concerned, we find we have a preference for the airport in Richmond. The traffic from Norfolk can be a bear! Good luck.
Thank you @VAMom23 and @Longhornalum2 Very helpful! She hasn’t made a final decision as of yet on where she is attending college - but ease of access to airports is one factor we are looking at since she will be on the opposite coast!
@Longhornalum2, fellow Texan and UT grad here with a senior leaning toward W&M. Out two older kids go to out of state schools, so I am used to much of what that brings, but I see so many students from Northern Virgina–does she ever feel like an outsider being from Texas? I don’t know what city you’re in, but which airlines do you fly to Richmond? Fares seemed a lot more than to DC, but we live in a small town so that is a factor.
It is a good question. It’s not an issue though. There is a large Nova contingent but also many others from other areas of VA and 30+% OOS students. I know current students who rarely even see some high school classmates from Nova. So there really aren’t significant high school cliques.
I can’t say that I’ve seen it as any sort of factor in Greek life either. I honestly can’t think of any sort of connection between a high school/high school group and a specific fraternity or sorority. By the way, Greek life is very moderate at the school. It’s big enough to be something if a student is interested, but small enough that one can ignore it if one wants. I know people who do both. I think the whole question of high school networks/cliques is potentially more of an issue at states where the % of OOS students is very small.
I know a current transfer student who has found the student body to be extremely friendly. Good luck!
@mom9955 Under VA law, 70% of students are supposed to be in-state. That is much more expansive than say UNC Chapel Hill where the OOS acceptance rate is in the teens. NOVA is a large, populated region and commonly refers to Fairfax, Loudon and Prince William Counties, but can include others as well. The great thing about all the NOVA counties is that there is a large, mobile military and gov’t employee base, which means that this data includes families who are “from” everywhere. There is a map on the state website that shows instate distribution of students. http://research.schev.edu/iprofile.asp?UID=231624
Happy to respond & help as best I can @mom9955. We live in North Texas so generally fly American Airlines nonstop from DFW to Richmond. There are also nonstop flights between DFW to Norfolk. D took SW Airlines home at Thanksgiving because we didn’t plan well enough in advance so by the time we booked it was much less expensive than AA, but the AA nonstops are much more convenient. Yes, flights are less expensive to DC but the drive up & down 95 is none too pleasant!!! I can happily report she has never felt like an outsider because the students at W&M are very friendly & welcoming. And though we pay that hefty out of state tuition, we feel like what W&M offers makes it worth every cent. W&M goes out of its way to be very inclusive & that also translates into good communication with parents. Have you visited the campus before? If not, I highly recommend next week’s Accepted Student event. Hope your senior is happy wherever he or she may go & congrats to receiving an offer of admission.
@Longhornalum2 thank you so much! I am a terrible planner but need to get it together with my third going far away (this will make 9.5, 12, and 24 for our 3 of 5). I am going in 2 weeks because he already had plans to visit his brother at another college during admitted students weekend. We will do WM Monday, but it is our 4th trip. He is our 3rd so he has seen it with older siblings and on his own last March. I did book to DC this trip, but the problem is really that we live in Midland and can’t get a flight to Richmond via SWA. I will keep looking. Thank you also @TTG and @VAMom23 for the info. I think I am trying to find a reason to push that seductive merit scholarship at a LAC! His heart is at WM, though, I know it’s where he will be.
Here’s another thing on my mind: what do kids do about going to the store? Is there a Walmart or grocery store within walking distance? Do kids just get it all on Amazon or stock up when home? If I recall kids can’t have cars freshman year, and given the distance for us, mine may not until well into his college years. Also if anyone is Catholic, which church do students prefer? I see there are 3, but the closest is Eastern rite. My husband is orthodox so thinks this is AWESOME, but I wonder if college kids would be drawn to it.
I have a daughter who is a sophomore. Catholic campus Ministries holds Masses at National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. In one of the lecture halls, there also is a later Sunday night Mass (9:00 p.m.). The Shrine is an actual Church, and IIRC, it used to be Saint Bede Catholic Church, which has a beautiful new Church outside town.
I’m transferring to W&M in the fall as a junior and planning on majoring in Kinesiology/Health Sciences. I’m hoping to graduate in 2 more years and I made a preliminary schedule but it looks like I’m going to be pretty busy. How many units do most students take per semester? And does this leave time for doing research/internships/etc. during the school year?