<p>Hi, I’m the Original Poster for that thread the above user posted and please don’t read that. It does not give an accurate representation of the school. I posted that about a month ago when I was extremely concerned with elitism and prestige and I tended to look over the merits of a school. St. Mary’s is not “elite” as in it’s not in the top 10 LACs according to US News and World, but it is a highly regarded school elsewhere with a very good reputation. After all, according to US News and World it is a Tier 1 school. The academics are amazing, despite limited majors and minors. The professors do spend a lot of time with you, there are many internship and study abroad options, and despite the isolation on the campus there are a lot of activities you can get into. If you’re looking into engineering or pre-med it might not be the BEST school for you, although engineers do have a joint program with University of Maryland and pre-meds do have a joint program with Johns Hopkins. If you’re not sure what to major in or you have an idea that’s not on the “majors and minors” list, you can design your own major. There are also very high law/med/grad school acceptance rates. Socially, it’s a bit isolated like I said. If you can’t handle the “rural” life then I wouldn’t come here because location is a huge deal. As a city person, I thought I couldn’t handle it, but it’s very refreshing. The student body is mixed ethnically and personality-wise (some people divide the line between “weird” and “normal” kids) but mostly everyone is accepting. People are very intelligent, though some tend to be lazy. But yeah, that’s pretty much all I have to say. Really, though, the point is that when you’re looking at schools you need to find something that fits you. St. Mary’s is an amazing school with a beautiful campus and so many opportunities (both socially and academically). I feel really awful about my jaded, preconceived notions in that post because I didn’t know what I was talking about and I downgraded St. Mary’s worth even before I gave it a chance (I based it only off of rankings). Good luck with your college search!</p>