Deciding between these colleges:
Planning to major in business
Looking for…
A healthy balance between academics and social scene; work hard play hard
A strong sense of community and school spirit
A close relationship with professors and engaging class enviroment
The most reputable degree
Strong alumni network
High job placement
Have visited all three schools but want to get other people’s perspective
Any feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you!
hmmm… i think uva sounds like the best option for what you’re wanting.
They are all very good schools. I suspect your visit might have surfaced some similarities and differences, but I’ll give my view.
A healthy balance between academics and social scene; work hard play hard – There was a survey of number of hours worked per week and my recollection was W&L was 1 hour more than W&M, which was 1 hour more than UVA. As for social scene, it depends on what you are looking for. Greek life is huge at W&L. I think something like 75% of students are in fraternities and sororities. At UVA and W&M, it is closer to 30% or so. UVA is biggest, so you can probably find more social circles. W&M is known as very welcoming. W&L is more traditional and preppy, UVA less so, W&M least.
A strong sense of community and school spirit – All are well known for this albeit in different ways. It is perhaps their defining characteristics.
A close relationship with professors and engaging class environment – Overall, I would say 1) W&L 2) W&M 3) UVA. You can see some survey data on this at sites like Niche. Look at the survey questions.
The most reputable degree – Not sure there is a clear winner.
Strong alumni network – All three are strong, UVA is largest, but in my view W&L is the strongest. They are truly tight.
High job placement – I think all are pretty strong. W&L grads actually make the most on average (all majors) and they have the biggest value ad by a significant margin (it was W&L, followed by W&M, then UVA). You can see this in this report: https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/college-rankings/ and also in the analysis the Economist did a couple of years ago.
I don’t think there is a bad choice here, although the social vibe at W&L is very Greek-oriented. You either care about that, or you don’t.
What is the cost of each? Maybe that will influence your choice the most.
Congratulations, great choices! All three schools are terrific and all three check all your boxes–reputation, rankings, jobs, strong academics, great for a business career. Yes, W&L is definitely the choice if you want small town, LAC benefits, Greek life. Yes, UVA is the choice if you want a large university with ACC sports and pretty big Greek life. Yes William and Mary is your choice if you want a Goldilocks option, mid-size national university, Greek life, mid-size sports. Choose the place you want to live and learn and meet friends and mentors for the next four years. Good luck!
Of your criteria, there is no meaningful difference between these 3 colleges in terms of the potential for:
Major in business
Work hard / play hard
Strong sense of community and school spirit
Most reputable degree
Strong alumni network
High job placement
For a “close relationship with professors and engaging class environment”, UVa would be harder than the other two, simply due to scale. Note: not impossible- just takes a little more outreach on your part.
However, the personalities of the three schools are seriously different, and we can’t know how that suits you. W&L is considerably more homogenous and conservative (and Greek life is a bigger part of the campus experience) than the other two. Where W&M is definitely work hard/play hard, W&L might be more play hard / work hard. W&M is Betty/Velma to UVa’s Veronica/Daphne. Although all 3 are seen as academically strong, W&M students have something of a reputation as the most intellectually inclined of the three, and it is a relatively new thing for W&L to be grouped with the other two in terms of academics. Women are fully part of W&L now, but there are still places where you realize that they only arrived relatively recently (1985).
The Darden business school at UVA is very difficult to get into. I believe students apply their sophomore year. Many end up majoring in economics. Just another factor to consider.
Oops edit to above. I mean’t the McIntire business school. Darden is for grad students.
About 2/3 of applicants get into McIntire, so you do need a good GPA over the first three semesters, but it’s not necessarily very difficult, though you certainly can’t count on it. I don’t know how hard W&M’s Mason program is to get into. If W&L’s Williams school is a definite option that would be an advantage.
My D is at UVa, and we visited W&M. My sense is that W&M has more of a sense of community and close relationship with professors that UVa, but I don’t know that there are clear advantages on your other factors. I’m sure W&L is strong on those two factors as well.
Wow, thank you for the advice and recommendations!
From what everybody is commenting the main distinction between these three schools is their “personalities.” I’ve been lucky enough to meet some prospective and attending students at UVA and W&L, and plan to attend the admitted students day at W&M. The kids I met from UVA and W&L were both great. Everyone is friendly, outgoing, and very helpful. I expect the W&M students to be the same, which will only make this decision more difficult. However, after speaking to college counselors, teachers, and my principal, there seems to be a common notion that W&M is “stuffy” or slightly more “geeky” than the other two. I have no idea how valid this claim is, only what I’ve been hearing.
Also, I would consider myself to be a mix of introverted and extroverted. I say so in the sense that I love hanging out with my friends and meeting new people, but that often these social events drain the energy out of me. If it helps I’ve played sports my entire life (not playing in college) and people at my high school might label me as a jock because most of my friends also play sports. I want to have a close group of friends but at the same time do not want always to be surrounded by the same people.
Based on my personality is there one school that you think meshes with me better?
Thanks to everybody again for their help and any additional feedback I would really appreciate!
Wilson98
If you don’t mind me asking what ended up being the reasons your daughter picked UVA?