The College of William and Mary

-Parking. Good luck with the car situation...and it really helps to have one in Williamsburg. There isn't much to do here, but Richmond, DC, and Virginia Beach are all within a reasonable drive, providing many more activites for students on the weekend. If you can't make your own fun and have to have a major concert going on every weekend, Williamsburg isn't the place for you.

-Lottery/Housing. You'll hear a lot of students complain about this. To be honest, this is an issue with nearly every school. The fact that so many students actually want to stay on campus (thus making on-campus housing somewhat competitive - although almost everyone gets to live on campus) speaks volumes about the closeness of the community here.

-Registration. Another thing that is a problem at almost any other school. Yet it can be a pain. We just implemented a new registration system, so that might help...I'm not holding my breath...

-Diversity. Don't come here if you're looking to go home with a student from some exotic location for spring breaks. Granted, the school isn't entirley lilly-white, but you would certainly think so from walking around campus. The multi-cultural organizations lead to some self-segregation amonst minorities, but by the same token, different racial groups get along without any problems.

-Social Life. Believe it or not, some of us have one! William and Mary is not known for its rockin party scene. If you're dead-set on that, go to UVA. The greeks certainly dominate it, a party can be found going on Friday and Saturday on frat row. A wide variety of people tend to go to the frats because they're pretty laid back - if you just want to go and dance, that's fine. If you want to get drunk off of cheap beer, that's fine. Most people do both. Not to mention that the frats aren't all cookie-cutter examples of your typical greek organization. There are some alternative ones that provide variety to the typical party scene. The best way to describe the type of people socially here at W&M would be to divide them into thirds. About 1/3 have no social life whatsoever, by typical standards. They could live on your hall and you'd never know their name. They study obsessively, and find joy in getting their mid-term back. Their best friend is their computer. If magic or dungeon and dragons is your gig, you'll find some life-long friends here. The next 1/3 would be the crowd that goes out and parties, but not to the extent that most frat people do. They like to have fun, can be found playing frisbee in the sunken gardens as often as they can be found playing drinking games at the delis (a group of delis that turn into bars on the weekend - popular place for many students to go). A lot of non-drinkers are in this crowd as well. The final 1/3 would be the hard-core partiers. If you fall into this group, join a frat or sorority. You'll have a good time. These three groups interact pretty well and aren't entirely segregated from each other. Everyone at W&M is pretty accepting, really. Different organizations provide a great deal of different activites. No matter what your interest, there is an organization here for it. TRUST ME.

-The sense of "community". You'll hear them talk a lot of this on tours, admissions, ect. I thought it was crap to be honest, until I came here. There really is a sense of community, and you feel as if you can relate to every student here on one level or another. People are friendly and open, and like I said before, different social groups interact frequently. The school's size is one if its best features, being right around 5,500. It is big enough so that there is a good variety of people, and it won't feel like high school all over again. By the same token, it is small enough that can't walk across campus without running into 5 people you know. I seriously believe it is "2 degrees of separation" here. The countless traditions and campus-wide events (such as King and Queens, a campus-wide formal, to Wren at 10, where the a capella groups perform for free in the Wren courtyard every Wednesday at 10) really bring everyone together here. Campus organizations work hard to bring interesting events to campus, and they do a good job of it.

-Athletics/Rec Center. Unfortunately, there isn't one single sports team the entire school gathers behind and supports. We have strong soccer, tennis, and cross country programs (but those aren't quite on the same level as basketball or football). There is a club team for almost every single sports team you could think of, and intramurals are extremely popular as well. We have a good rec center, they're even going to expand it soon. It is kind of far from old campus, but also close to most of the freshmen dorms.

-Campus. You can walk from one end to the other in about 15 min. Getting to class on time isn't a problem. Not to mention this place is absolutely gorgeous. The sunken gardens is a great place to hang out: people go there for everything from practicing musical instruments, laying out, playing sports, or studying.

-Academics. Umm, they are pretty difficult. Expect to work more than you ever did in high school. But grad schools recognize this and the William and Mary name will take you far.

All in all, benefits outweigh the costs(by a good amount). For in-state students: William and Mary is the smaller, more laid-back (and not nearly as conforming) version of UVA.