I just wanna know the quality of this program
Is there a reason you eliminated Brandeis initially?
For general liberal arts, Wesleyan probably has the best national reputation. If you were one of my kids, it’s the one I’d recommend. That’s just because I like LACs and it’s one of the best in that category, and because I prefer New England to the South. However, I doubt anyone can point to good evidence that its economics department (for example) is clearly better than the one at Brandeis or W&M. Film studies and ethnomusicology seem to be the only Wesleyan programs that are clearly better than anything ~30 other LACs also offer.
If you want to major in business as an undergrad, Richmond is the one clear choice. If you like the idea of a 5 year BA/MA (or MBA?) program, the Brandeis program looks good. It may not be better than a BA in economics plus an MBA, but would be faster, less expensive, and seems to be well-respected in its niche:
https://www.brandeis.edu/global/admissions/rankings.html
In my opinion, if you’re not too sure what you want, then W&M may be your best choice. For a full-paying international student it would be several thousand dollars per year cheaper than any of the others. It is a little larger than the others. It probably is better-known nationally and internationally than Wesleyan or Brandeis (and is definitely better known than URichmond even in the DC area). If your Auntie in Shanghai has never heard of it, then all you have to say is, “Second oldest American college after Harvard. Thomas Jefferson went there”. End of story.
^I agree with @tk21769 . You’re kind of reaping the rewards of the “street light effect” someone once described your college tour last year. Just about the only thing your choices have in common is that they are located near Amtrak stations. This makes it difficult to compare apples to apples since they are all prestigious in highly specific ways. Let Auntie know that the “college” part of W&M’s moniker does not mean it’s an American high school, but, rather a legitimate institution of higher learning and you should be all set. 
OK, in simple terms:
Go to Wes if you want an artsy/liberal-leaning environment and plenty of funk and/or if you want to major in one of the Humanities.
Go to W&M if you want to be close to DC, if you want a relatively less liberal vibe (than Wes and maybe Brandeis), and/or if you want to save a little bit of money (confirm cost…).
Go to URichmond if you want a slightly less liberal, more pre-professional LAC experience (than Wesleyan) and/or if you want to major in Business
Go to Brandeis if you want to be in the Boston area and/or if you want a combined BA/MA (or BA/MBA)
@prezbucky wrote:
I think we’ve established that getting to DC from Williamsburg would be a pain without a car. Wesleyan actually has a straighter shot to New York City by Amtrak or car. But, I agree with the rest of your analysis.
Sorry about that! So OP, don’t go to W&M for the benefit of being close to DC, because it isn’t really close in practice. Another reason would be if you liked the colonial architecture/culture/vibe of the area.
A friend of mine said that he would place W&M as the last option because it is public. He said among these schools, private ones are better than public for sure. Do you guys think that’s true?
Btw he is a senior too and got accepted by Duke, CMU, UVA, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Colby, WUSTL, etc.
Wes might still be in the lead. I just consulted a friend who works for one of the big 4 accounting agencies in NYC. She’s also from Shanghai and went to Dickinson College. She told me the dual degree thing doesn’t really help. Only MBA, MD, JD and degrees like those are appealing.
I know I keep advocating for Richmond and W&M but in all honesty, everyone else is right in the sense that it is very “funky” and socially just/aware. Not to say that you aren’t, but as far as AP transfers and logistics go, W&M and Richmond are very accommodating while Wesleyan isn’t and you (sorry if I don’t sense correctly) don’t seem like the type to be very socially active as your #1 priority as Wesleyan students tend to be. Their classes are nowhere near professional in the area of buisness and their studies are VERY liberal. I heard of a trump supporter who wasn’t allowed to go to his classes because kids were rioting so much. While this is social justice, it is intense. I understand the rankings standpoint but Wesleyan is absoltely tied with W&M and possibly they are both a bit ahead of Richmond but if you want a traditional proper LAC you would choose Richmond or even W&M.
I second the opinion that for business in particular Richmond has both amazing internship opportunities, and placement outcomes. For a mid-atlantic school it has a very strong network of alumni in the metro NY region. One of my daughters is attending and loves it. Definitely a lot of very bright students there who are landing incredible opportunities after graduation.
W&M has an admissions rate nearly twice that of Wes. In terms of selectivity and overall reputation I’d give Wes the strong edge. But both are obviously good schools.
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@admissionsrep wrote:
Cite please.
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What could be the potential benefits of Wes’s open curriculum?
Open curriculums, in general, make it much easier complete your major early, to take a semester off, and to even graduate early, if you so choose , since you’re not caught up with trying to take courses you don’t really need to take. They enable you to specialize in one subject, if you discover something that really grabs you. One thing you have to watch out for at Wesleyan is that you still need to fulfill the distribution requirements, if you plan on graduating with Honors.
I was browsing through Wes’s website and came up with several questions.
http://www.wesleyan.edu/careercenter/career-outcomes.html
- 71% of class of 2016 were employed after graduation, and only 13% continued education. Does that somewhat indicate Wes might be a bit pre-professional? Or does it just show that a Wes degree is pretty appealing among employers?
- The chart by industry shows that Tech/Engineering/Sciences 15%, Education 13%, Media&Communications 13%, Financial Services 12%, Leisure/Arts&Entertainment 11%, Consulting 10%. It looks like Wes graduates are pretty evenly spread out in all major careers. Is this a good sign?
- Does Wes have a strong study abroad program?
In response to post #47-- no. Top public colleges like William and Mary, and Berkeley, and Michigan, etc. are as good as top private colleges.
Wesleyan is not overly preprofessional at all. Intellectual interests and conversations seem to abound there.
Both colleges are excellent. I think many previous posters pointed to the biggest differences:
William and Mary: a larger number of students and a more traditional college experience, with fraternities and southern charm. Gorgeous town. A majority of students from Virginia, but the rest from all over the world.
Wesleyan: a small liberal arts college with small classes and a really personal experience; you will know your professors and classmates well. Delightfully quirky, outside-the-box students mix with a range of students, including everything from athletes to artists-- with some artists going on to do amazing things in film, TV, theater, etc. Close enough to New York City for a day trip on a weekend day. Students from a full range of states and countries all over the world.
How do you feel about a liberal atmosphere (not intolerant as one poster implied, but definitely an experimental type of place) with a great sense of community and small intimate classes, versus a larger-- though still not overly large-- school with a much more traditional feel and a mix of class sizes? That is your choice.
@TheGreyKing Thank you for your insight!
I think I’m more pro-Wes now because I’ve always wanted a sense of close knit community and close interactions with professors in small classes. It’s open curriculum also kinda attracts me since I don’t really know what I wanna major in yet. And the option to live in a single room as a freshman sounds really appealing as well.
I’m going to have a serious talk with my parents this weekend via video.
I think W&M is pretty close knit as well, with lots of interaction with professors. I think overall selectivity is similar. Wesleyan may have lower admission rate, but a quick look shows W&M with higher GPA and percentage in the top 10% of high school class.
I think these schools would probably give you a different feeling if you could visit, which would help you decide. Did you visit? Are you in the U.S.?
I went to a college with core requirements and my son is at Wes…and I had the same question. I thought the admissions team nailed the response to this question by saying that the biggest advantage of their approach is that every student in every class is there because they want to be there…not because they’re checking some box. I immediately thought about the wasted semesters in language and math classes that I hated but had to tale…but didn’t take that seriously. What a wasted opportunity that could have been spent exploring other disciplines.