Virginia Tech vs. William and Mary

College Search & Lists
7

<p>Ummmmm, yes. </p>

<p>Just for transparency purposes, I do not have a kid a W&M or one who plans on applying. That said, almost EVERY school in the nation can claim to being #1-10, 20, 30 in some major/discipline/niche that boosters love to latch on to. If you look at the biggies, however–business, premed and pre-law, and education–W&M wins hand down over VA Tech and, more importantly, is stellar in graduating its undergrads and placing them in grad programs (surpassing UVA in areas like placing its Pre-meds into med schools). </p>

<p>Lets quote some other stats/rankings other than the ones listed above. The Wall Street Journal in 2003 (yeah, dated but still probably relevant) ranked W&M among the Top 10 public universities based on placement at “elite” graduate programs in medicine, law and business (e.g., Johns Hopkins Medical School, Columbia Law, Harvard Business). In the survey, William and Mary ranked #7 among the nation’s public universities for elite graduate placement (also referred to as “feeder” colleges by WSJ). Other stats from USNWR (I know some call it flawed, but its the survey that resonates with the masses)</p>

<pre><code>* W&M ranked sixth among all public universities (2010)

  • W&M ranked 33rd overall among the nation’s best universities (2010) while VATECH came in at #71
  • W&M tied for 6th nationally among best colleges for undergraduate teaching (2010)
  • The School of Education ranked as tied for 39th in the nation (2011)
  • The Law School ranked as tied for 28th in the nation (2011)
  • The Mason School of Business ranked as tied for 55th in the nation (2010)
  • The History Department’s Phd program ranked 4th in the nation for Colonial History
  • W&M ranked 18th in graduation rates for national universities (2009)
  • Undergraduate business program ranked 43rd in the nation and 22nd among public universities (2009)
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<p>Forbes (2010)</p>

<pre><code>* W&M ranked as the 2nd best public and 5th overall among all colleges and universities in the South
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<p>Forbes (2009)</p>

<pre><code>* W&M ranked as the fourth highest public university in the country in the inaugural guide, “America’s Best Colleges 2009”
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<p>Princeton Review: Best 371 Colleges (2010)</p>

<pre><code>* W&M scored a “green rating” of 90 (on a scale from 60-99)

  • W&M ranked 7th in the category of “Best College Library”
  • W&M ranked 8th in the category of “Professors Get High Marks”
  • W&M ranked 14th in the category of “Happiest Students”
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<p>And finally, here’s one last important statistic that you take into account when choosing another school over W&M. W&M has a graduation rate (4 years) of 91 percent (18th in the country as noted above), and third in the south I believe (Duke #1, UVA#2). VaTech’s is 52 percent (although it shoots up to the 70s when you add a 5th year to the equation). </p>

<p>So, IMHO, unless you’re looking for engineering/architecture/Ag-related disciplines in-state, a large school, good food, or a football team, W&M has both the better rep and stats. It truly is an “elite” school deserving of the pubic ivy label so I stand by my initial assessment with a slight modification</p>

<p>Engineering/Ag-related sciences = Virginia Tech
Everything else still = William & Mary</p>

<p>Good luck</p>