The College of William and Mary

5th Year Female -- Class 1990

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Extracurricular Activities: C+

There is a strong sense of community at William and Mary. Students and faculty take the Honor Code and academics very seriously. Course work is difficult, but not impossible. Faculty is top-notch--approachable, friendly, welcoming, fair, knowledgeable, and experts in their fields. Williamsburg is a typical college town without being distracting or drab. If you're looking for a small, superior college, the "Ivy of the South" is for you.

1st Year Female -- Class 2005

Education Quality: A+, Extracurricular Activities: F

I have just completed my first year at William & Mary, and I have had an incredible experience. The people are very friendly, helpful, and very easy to talk to. The college community is very tight-knit. The size is such that you don't feel like a number but you do have some sort of anonymity. Sure, it is known as a "nerdy" school, but you know, there are nerds who like to party and have fun!

Though there were two suicides this past year, this was a very unusual occurrence--they were the first suicides in six years at the college. Over the past 35 years, there have been 9 suicides, which is lower than the national average. I was an acquaintance of one of the people who did committ suicide, and according to the note he left, his reasons for doing that were in no way caused by anything at William & Mary and certainly NOT academic pressures. When these two suicides occurred, the college administration and the community in general helped out one another in such an incredible way.

In the classroom, I have encountered mostly very helpful professors who are always willing to take time for you for even the smallest question--even when there are 150 people in the class. Only intro classes get up to 200 people; otherwise, all of my classes have been under 40 students. I even had one professors who would meet with students outside of his regular office hours on a regular basis (even on weekends) at local cafes and restaurants to discuss questions, issues, or just simply talk about current events or anything else.

Yes, William & Mary's students do tend to study a lot, but the social scene is not completely void! Contrary to popular belief, WM students DO like to party and DO like to have fun! They work hard and they play hard--and there are also quite a few kids who do the "normal" college things like skipping class and partying on weeknights. The greek life is really big, with almost 30% of students involved in it; however, it doesn't dominate the scene if it's not your thing. I was in a sorority, and it definetely helped me to meet new people and expanded my social scene. There are also "delis," which are our versions of bars.I was selected as a Monroe Scholar, and I did decide to live in Monroe Hall. I think that was the best decision I made when coming to college. Monroe students do NOT study all the time, contrary to popular belief, but they are definetely more concerned with academics than other WM students--I will admit that much. I learned SO much from my hallmates--some of them were so incredibly smart, and we had some awesome conversations--intellectual and non-intellectual. Monroes DO like to have fun and DO like to party! A lot of my friends and I went out all the time! Monroe as a dorm and the individual halls within Monroe tend to be very tight-knit since it is a pretty small dorm. There is a closeness in Monroe that I have never experienced before in any other community in my entire life! Also, Monroe has the highest inter-hall marriage rate of any dorm on campus--a scary thought but it's true!

1st Year Female -- Class 2006

Individual Value: A+, Perceived Campus Safety: B-