College Tour Day 4

I woke up earlier than the boys and took an exploratory run around Williamsburg and found exactly where we were supposed to meet at 10:00 this morning.  We ate a breakfast of leftover pizza and coffee from the campus bookstore, and made it to the admissions office with time to spare.

Very similar to the other colleges, William & Mary had an information session followed by a campus tour.  We learned some useful information during the information session, but the campus tour was AMAZING.  We walked around the campus for almost two hours and talked about everything a person could possibly wonder about the school.  As the tour guide described campus life, the college community, and the W&M experience, I could see Will as a student there.  Looking at him told me that he felt it too.  He was smiling, asking questions, and nudging me/ making positive eye contact from time to time. 


Although William & Mary undoubtedly boasts the "best and brightest" as well as Duke and other prestigious schools across the country, the atmosphere was not at all intimidating.  While promising to be rigorous and challenging, the school is a friendly, inviting place. 



As the visit ended, Will confirmed that he had it.  "The feeling."  THIS was his place.  The pro and con list was easy to make for this one, and I was thrilled to see that he had found a place he wanted to call home for four years.
 


PROs for William & Mary:

• "THE FEELING"
• Color, symbol, mascot- love them all
• 70% of undergraduate students participate in research, MANY of them get published as undergraduates
• Great campus atmosphere and active campus life (lots to do)
• Urban-ish campus/ adjoins colonial Williamsburg, great location
• Lots of quad type areas
• Career center is instrumental in finding internships for students early on in undergraduate career
• VIMS (Virginia Institute of Marine Science) is connected with the University, and W&M undergraduate students have a greater chance for admission into the graduate program. 
• Don't need a car
• less than hour and a half from the beach and only 2.5 hours from DC
• 12:1 student: faculty ratio... AND the professors TEACH the classes, not graduate assistants.  Also, the professors and research opportunities are very accessible to students. 
• It was awarded one of the top schools for having a "happy student body," and this was evident in talking to the tour guide and the other people on campus. 
• The tour guide spent a few minutes discussing how W&M was the first college to have an honor code. Apparently, the students were the first to be asked to swear not to lie, cheat, or steal upon enrollment. This may seem silly, but she took a moment to explain that although the pressure on students can be great, the honor code continues to be taken seriously. Additionally, the students encourage one another and rejoice when fellow students rejoice instead of feeling like they are in constant competition with one another. 
• Acceptance rate is 34%

CONs for William & Mary:

There are only three.  Two are minor, but one feels somewhat insurmountable.  

1. Not all dorms have A/C!  (This was a shocker to the us, but she assured us that it is only hot the first week or two of school, and a fan is just fine)

2. Community bathrooms in freshmen dorms

 

1 and 2 are the minor ones.  

3. It is a public university, actually considered the "public ivy league" school. Because it is a public school, they have out of state tuition... and it is MAJOR.  Scholarships for out of state students are HARD to come by in a ridiculously competitive environment.  So, prohibitive cost is the only major con for W&M. 

After being encouraged by admissions to go ahead and apply for regular decision and apply for all outside scholarships we can find, we walked back across the street and had lunch at the Colonial Williamsburg Cheese Shop then got a few souvenirs from the bookstore. 

Spirits were high as we left town in the direction of DC.  Will informed me a little later this evening that he plans to research and apply for outside scholarships, keep studying to improve his ACT score, and come up with an outstanding admissions essay.  Actually, this is all his plan B.  I think his plan A is to be adopted by a family in Virginia for the in-state tuition and VA grants. We will see how that goes, but I am thinking plan b is a better option.

We still have two more schools on this road trip, and I am always holding out for Southern Miss as an option, so who knows how it will all work out! 

The drive to DC was only three hours, and we were able to exercise and then go to dinner at a local Greek restaurant.  

Tomorrow morning we will wake up and take the metro in to visit the monuments and Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.... AND THEN DRIVE TO BOSTON.