Hey! I recently got in as an Economics major to both of these schools and am on the pre-law track. While W&M has a more isolated setting, the smaller classer sizes are a major advantage. UDub on the other hand is a large public school, but it is located in large city like Seattle and has great employment prospects after graduation. Both schools cost around the same as I’m OOS for both (around $42k-$44k).
Please give advice! Thank you!
At University of Washington, economics is a capacity-constrained major with competitive secondary admission: https://econ.washington.edu/apply-economics-major
William and Mary economics courses appear to be math-light, since the intermediate economics courses do not list calculus as a prerequisite.
Why do you assume UW has better employment prospects? Being in a city doesn’t necessarily equivalate to better outcomes.
You should ask each career center for an Econ placement report.
Here is UW but seems like W&M doesn’t break by major and UW leaves off info. Depending on what you want to do, either could be a solid choice.
Student Outcomes – Career & Internship Center | University of Washington (uw.edu)
My son just finished his freshman year at WM and is very happy there. But your two choices are very different. What environment would you enjoy more? I think your employment opportunities would be fine with either.
Thanks for replying! The Econ major accepts 80% of applicants after the completion of pre-requisites so it may not be as difficult.
Which environment and size of school do you prefer? Go there.
Thanks for the link! I also want to explore finance or business analytics. I was under the impression that Seattle has better career opportunities due to Amazon, Microsoft, Paccar and Starbucks etc being headquartered over there but W&M is also close to DC recruiters so I’m confused about that too.
Both have their pros and cons and I don’t mind either. The final career prospects and academic success is what I’m really curious about.
WM is ranked the number one public for internships, so that might be very helpful.
Thats good to hear. What does he major in?
My son will be applying to the business school for business analytics. I did see this for the Econ department. Economics | William & Mary.
Is there any grade deflation for his major?
I don’t expect career prospects will be materially different based on which of these excellent schools you attend – your post-graduation opportunities will be more about what you accomplish during your college years.
I would say no. I don’t think there were curves in any of his pre-business classes.
Have you been able to visit both campuses? What stood out to you as pros/cons for you at each of them? I have to imagine one of them felt more comfortable than the other?
As someone who went to W&M, but who now has a daughter in a large state school, I would encourage you to go to the smaller, more intimate program, but there are absolutely students for whom the larger school would be the better choice. I’m curious how the vibes felt when you were on the ground at each school.
In terms of job prospects, as others have said, I really think it’s more about what you do at the school, rather than the school itself. Coming out of undergrad at W&M — even as a Religious Studies major — I had an offer from a consulting firm in what was then called the “Big Five”. (I didn’t actually take that offer, fwiw.) That was certainly not everyone’s path, and I absolutely don’t mean to say “School X → Job Y”; I just want to highlight that the school matters less than the opportunities you take/make while there.
I think both of these colleges can get you where you would like to be. Here is my suggestion…start making a list of things you do NOT like about these two colleges…it’s time to eliminate one choice and folks usually do that because of things they don’t like. Also consider things aside from academics…since both schools have their strengths. Maybe one is closer to home and easier to get to. Maybe you like the architecture of once vs the other.
The academics are strong at both.
You can go from any school in the country to any city in the country - both Foster and Mason are strong in business.
Who will allow you to take classes, etc or have a minor.
You are looking at, IMHO, the wrong thing.
It was pointing out by @happy1 @lkbtnc - these aren’t the same.
Which do you prefer - that’s where you should go.
You will be there four years, day after day after day. And yes, that matters.
Pre-law does not include any specific major or courses.
Do you want to go to law school immediately after undergraduate, or after working for a while after your bachelor’s degree?
My impression is W&M is in many ways functionally a DC area school. Lots of alums, lots of people do internships, lots of recruiting, and so on. Of course they also go all over the country, but I would not worry about W&M lacking those sort of concentrated opportunities.
In terms of law school, I would first urge you to keep an open mind about whether it is really something you want to do, and ideally work for at least a couple years before deciding.
But in terms of admission, among colleges like this the best bet is the place you think you will be happiest because that is also your best bet to get the best grades.
So basically, in my view this is not a matter of choosing either at which school you think you will be happiest, or instead choosing the school which will give you the best prospects for next steps in education/career. With a comparison like this, it is actually the same question, because how you actually do in college will dominate that second question, and the first question is a major factor in how you actually do.
My daughter is a junior/rising senior at W&M (who is also considering law school) and has been very happy there. While she is not a business major she says that there are frequent business-related job fairs on campus. I’m not sure if economics is part of the business school or liberal arts at W&M but I do know that it’s possible to have a double-major that straddles the business and liberal arts programs. Since you’re considering finance as well I’ll mention that my D has a friend majoring in finance, doing a summer internship with a national organization. So that’s entirely possible through William & Mary.
I was going to ask you what kind of environment you enjoy the most, because I do think that people tend to function best in those environments. Many students adore W&M but those who prefer busy urban areas might be bored.
I looked back on one of your old threads and saw that you prefer mid-sized schools and that, at one point you were interested in Bowdoin, a small LAC in a small town, so I assume you can can be reasonably happy in a calm environment. I see that you don’t reside in the US (India?) so I assume you haven’t been able to visit either campus.
To me W&M is the perfect size school…small enough to feel that you aren’t just a number in a crowd, yet large enough that there are always new people to meet and activities to participate in.The campus is beautiful and large for the amount of students that attend. I can’t speak for U of Washington, though people say it’s also a beautiful school in a different way and Seattle is one of the most vibrant, distinctive cities in the US, surrounded by water and mountains. Some people report a growing problem of homeless people having to live on the streets in Seattle. I haven’t been there to know, or whether that would affect you. You would likely have a harder time standing out in the crowd at UW, if that is something that concerns you. William & Mary is known for its teaching quality, approachable professors and friendly students.
One thing that might interest you: W&M has a Washington DC Center, a building not far from the Capitol/White House area that serves as a DC campus. Housing is provided in a nearby apartment building that the school contracts with. Students can spend summers or a semester there, taking classes and getting academic credit for DC internships. Possible settings for internships are endless, ranging from congressional offices, government agencies, NGOs, law firms, businesses, news media organizations, etc. You can find more information about that by searching “Washington Center” on W&M’s website.
Good luck with your decision! You have two great options.