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I continue to mull over my choices in advance of the May 1 deadline. I have a heavy leaning towards William & Mary at this point, but am a bit concerned about the prospects for a life-long Yankee like myself (California, actually, but Yankee serves well enough as a descriptor) spending the next four years in the south.

Additionally, NYU offered me a bit of money and the opportunity to participate in their honors program. Anybody heard anyhing of this Scholars Program? My leaning towards WM really comes from a concern about the academic muster at NYU.

Your comments will be looked forward to and much appreciated.

By Ctmom (Ctmom) on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 07:52 pm: Edit

If your only concern about WM is that its 'southern', I wouldn't worry about that - we just returned from the "accepted students weekend" and I can tell you that we heard only an occasional accent! Most of the VA kids seem to be from Northern VA (NOVA they call it)which is really part of the DC area. There were kids from New England , NJ, NY, FL. I think it is fairly 'traditional' but not conservative. After our visit my son decided that WM is the right choice for him (from CT).

By Candyice (Candyice) on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 08:03 pm: Edit

NYU, because New York is more exciting, and you won't get bored.

By Bjv (Bjv) on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 08:20 pm: Edit

I am heartened to hear your impressions of the admitted students day, CTMom. I would have gone, but it simply wasn't practical to make the cross-country trek. Perhaps your son and I will meet if my intention to go to WM holds, as I suspect it will.

By Mamamiles (Mamamiles) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 12:28 pm: Edit

We also went to the WM accepted students weekend and sent our check in this morning! It's just a great place, warm, friendly, not really "southern" at all. We met folks from Ohio, California, Virginia (northern VA and VA Beach areas), New York, Massachussets, Colorado, Connecticut, just to mention a few. GO TRIBE!

By Optimystic (Optimystic) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 07:06 pm: Edit

My daughter will be attending NYU. She just returned her questionnaire yesterday accepting her appointment as a University Scholar. From what I read about the program, they get to attend weekly seminars, must keep their GPA up and they get to travel both domestically and abroad. I'm so happy that we finally decided on NYU. We got a good package from what I found out from searching this board. Also, you should have gotten a letter giving you additional money if you selected NYU as your 1st choice if you are a Natinal Merit Finalist. I think it will be a wonderful opportunity. I'm so embarrassed, I was communicating that she was accepted into the CAS but she was actually accepted into the Steinhart School of Education. NYU is where my daughter needed to be because of her major! I don't know anything about WM. Sorry!

By Anotherdad (Anotherdad) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 05:07 pm: Edit

It is hard to imagine how they can be compared. A medium-sized, gentile, moderately conservative old-line school in a small town, versus the big-city bustle of NYU. If your kid wants or needs several years for maturation, go to Wm and Mary. If ready for the big world, head first, then it is NYU. Both offer good educations (but NYU can offer more elite programs), but the key is to pick the school that fits the life style the kid needs.

By Ryd53 (Ryd53) on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 - 06:26 pm: Edit

Im thinking about attending WM when I go to college. Anyone know the GPA required to get in?

By Mariec (Mariec) on Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 01:25 pm: Edit

Hi, I am in the same exact situation. I am deciding between NYU (I live in Brooklyn) and W&M and am kinda leaning towards W&M. After visiting W&M, it seemed to me that the environment there is more interactive, students helping students, teachers interacting with students, compared to NYU, which seems very cut-throat without the teacher-student interaction. However, NYU is in New York, with it's endless opportunities, where W&M is in Colonial Williamsburg! Also, as far as like companies recruiting, I wonder which has more prestige...W&M or NYU??I am so confused!! And only have 6 days to decide!!

By Macsuile (Macsuile) on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 09:35 am: Edit

Here are some stats on William & Mary:

- Second oldest U.S. university
- Oldest U.S. law school
- Birthplace of Phi Beta Kappa
- Thomas Jefferson's alma mater
- Most selective Virginia university
- Third highest SAT scores in the South (only Duke and Rice are higher)
- Highest entering student GPAs in Virginia
- Fastest growing university endowment in Virginia
- Best physics, history and biology departments in Virginia

As you can see, William & Mary is really our best Virginia university. Yes, the grading scale is somewhat deflationary and the course offerings are not as extensive as some other Southern schools, but William & Mary is a school high on tradition which doesn't subscribe to fads where everyone graduates cum laude and there is a supermarket of course offerings. The school is committed to the British university model which is human-scale as opposed to other university models which focus on research and increasing enrollments. W&M may not be for everyone but a degree from there has timeless substance, something you can't find from most other U.S. schools which are constantly trying to reposition or recreate themselves.