The College of William and Mary

Those who are willing to study nights and weekends for the sheer joy of learning. Those who are looking for a great education and a thousand opportunities. Those who can tolerate the lack of a party scene. (This is by no means a 'party school'--go to UVA if you want that.)

WHO IT'S *NOT* FOR:

Those who aren't willing to spend the extra hour re-reading a research paper to check for glarings errors. Those who expect college to be a breeze, awash in alcohol. Those who need constant stimuli and a fast-paced life--Williamsburg doesn't offer much in the way of that.

STRENGTHS:
-Academic reputation--W&M is known as the queen of the "Public Ivy League" and with good reason.
-Cost to in-state (Virginia) students--an Ivy League education at a state school price.
-Professors--phenominal. Ask around for the best ones when you get there...students will be more than happy to point them out and tell rambling, funny stories about them.

-Students--are fantastic. Brilliant, witty, friendly, approachable, laid-back as a rule. Most are fairly tolerant...just don't bring up the subject of our current Chancellor, Henry Kissinger. Half the school loathes him and the other half doesn't know who he is.

-Tradition--the second oldest university in the country. (Curse you, Harvard!) Thomas Jefferson's (amongst others)alma mater.

-Off-campus Dining--being a tourist town, the area is home to a host of restaurants. The ethnic ones are the best, and not too bad on a college student budget.

-Campus scenery--great landscaping, set in a historic area. No twenty-storey concrete monstrosities on THIS campus.

WEAKNESSES:
-Cost to out-of-state students--you WILL be gouged for your fantastic education. Trust me. Unless you're a FAFSA rider, be prepared to pay through the nose for everything.

-Social Scene--I list this as a weakness not because I believe it to be so, but because it's a common complaint on campus. Williamsburg is pretty, but dead after 6.00 PM. No malls, clubs, or nightlife to speak of.

-On-campus dining--mediocre at best.
-Parking--Horrendous. I don't even have a car and I know how bad it is.
-Tourists--more prevalent than you'd think, especially in fall and spring. Quieter in winter. There's a reason we call them 'tourons'.

-Building maintenance--many of the buildings are falling to bits, and not just the oldest ones. The school is incredibly cheap, and cutbacks in the Virginia state budget have hurt the school considerably.

-Diversity--A good 2/3rds of W&M comes from NoVA (Northern Virginia, the area around Washington D.C.), and the majority of students are white or Asian, and middle to upper middle class. For a non-VA resident like me, it's frightening at times.MY OPINION: The College of William and Mary was my first choice school, and since I'm an out-of-state student I can say that I had a number of places to choose from. I wouldn't trade it for anything, though. I love it here.