The University of Virginia's College - Wise

Date: Jan 05 2004
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
Good Qualities - It is a small campus and one can easily make friends here. Getting lost is virtually impossible. Profs at UVa-Wise want students to talk with them. They truly want their students to learn and feel comfortable in class. Class sizes are relatively small and students are encouraged to speak up or ask questions. Most of the students here are not out to make you feel stupid or unworthy, it isn't very competetitive. The school is affiliated with the University of Virginia, so most people have little trouble transferring or getting into grad. school in Charlottesville. The school is very inexpensive. It is, I am almost certain, the least expensive college in Virginia. Financial aid is available to most who qualify and there are plenty of scholarships out there (especially for SWVA residents). My advice is to apply for scholarships early. Also, on a positive note, parking is not a problem for commuters or residents, although you might have to climb a hill to get to and from the parking lots. Look at it as good exercise, it won't kill you.

Bad qualities - The name says it all…UVa-WISE. Don't confuse this with the main campus in Charlottesville. UVa-Wise is mostly made up of students from Northern Virginia who didn't get into or couldn't afford, as they call it, "The REAL UVa" and they are more than happy to tell you that Wise was not their first choice, while the rest are locals who could not pass up the opportunity of paying LOW tuition payments while being able to commute. UVa-Wise is largely comprised of commuters. This makes the campus seem dead after 3 p.m. The new student center helps matters some, but the idea of a party around here is something like 25 people gathered around a keg. Most people come to Wise thinking it is your typical small, Southern, college town with close ties to it's growing institute of higher learning. Think again! The Town of Wise does not have a good relationship with the students who attend the college that bears its name. Speaking of Wise…for its size, it really does have a reasonable amount of places to shop and eat, but these are not the kind of places that college students take interest. Sure, you have a K-Mart and a Wal-Mart for the bare essentials, but be prepared to drive an hour to the nearest mall and another 30 minutes to the nearest club. It's not what one would call an ideal social atmosphere. The college also has its drawbacks when it comes to class selection. UVa-Wise prides itself on being small school with a close knit faculty, however, along with that comes a small selection of courses and small number of profs who teach them. I hope one does not run across a prof in one's major that he or she does not like, because there is basically no way to avoid HAVING to take a different class under that prof 3 or 4 times. Let's say that you are a government major. Well you can choose from 3 profs. I hope you like the teaching styles of each one, because there is no way out of taking the same prof over and over.

In the end, I would give UVA-Wise a 6 on a 10 point scale. There are plenty of school that are much worse, but it is not a place that I would highly recommend to most people.