Richmond or W&M?

IAmTheRainKng
Wed, 30 Mar 2005 01:33:24 +0000

I’m a new member to the forum having just discovered it the other day. I’m a native to Williamsburg Virginia and was accepted earlier this year to UR under the school’s ED process. I’ll throw in my two cents worth on this topic since I faced the same decision as you are facing right now Cows. Being a native of Williamsburg I had the unique advantage of taking two different classes at William and Mary and loved them both. I knew with my recommendations from William and Mary professors I would be accepted to the school even with my relatively mediocre GPA (3.5ish). Ultimately I decided to apply to Richmond over W+M because of cost (oddly enough I knew it would be cheaper to go to UR). The two campuses are amazingly beautiful, both schools have excellent professors, and both schools have strong reputations around the country.
From my point of view UR is in the process of furiously trying to increase its level of prestige. By changing their category of classification this fall and increasing the cost of tuition to fund various education-improving projects, the school is becoming a better and better buy. Since you mention being interested in a Bio major I would point out that although W+M has an excellent reputation for having a strong bio program, Richmond’s newly renovated science center should put the schools in a dead heat.
The only advice I can give is to follow your gut on this one. Both schools share so many good qualities, and although each school has its own unique flaws you could probably be very happy at either. If you have any questions that I might be able to answer (especially about Williamsburg) feel free to fire away. Best of luck in making your decision!