College of William and Mary Top Questions

1/3 of students are from out of state, 1/3 from NOVA, and 1/3 from the rest of virginia. Most kids come from a typical, stable, high-achieving family of the middle to upper-middle class. People are pretty accepting of the LGBT and racial diversity. If I were to generalize the type of kids here I would say it is a lot of geeky or very-academically involved students, Frat/Sorority stars (so much GREEK), and jocks. There isn't a huge hipster, alternative, artsy population. Plenty of kids do music though (usually piano or choral groups). If you are a nature-loving, artsy, free spirit type, I don't know that W&M is right for you. That is me and I continually feel out of place here with so many people that have never even been in the woods.

1/3 of students are from out of state, 1/3 from NOVA, and 1/3 from the rest of virginia. Most kids come from a typical, stable, high-achieving family of the middle to upper-middle class. People are pretty accepting of the LGBT and racial diversity. If I were to generalize the type of kids here I would say it is a lot of geeky or very-academically involved students, Frat/Sorority stars (so much GREEK), and jocks. You have a good number of kids that party all the time and you have some that live in the library. There are a large number of Christian organizations on campus. W&M is also huge on community service. Most students participate in service in some form.

Classmates are intelligent (for the most part), push you to excel and can be fairly competitive, grade-wise.

Upon getting to William and Mary, I realized just how small a niche my academic experience had been to that point. Living in a community of predominantly upper middle-class Caucasians provided a certain perspective of the world, but college certainly contributed to an expanded viewpoint of all the different types of people that coexist in the world we live in. Because William and Mary provides a safe-haven for students of varying races, religions, sexual preferences, SES, etc., I have gotten a chance to engage with many people that I feel that I may not have at a university whose demographic is not as diverse. That said however, most of the students come from upper-middle class families in Virginia, predominantly Northern Virginia/DC metropolitan area. The College consistently strives to celebrate its diversity, most visibly with its plethora of student-run clubs observing various ethnicities and activities of that culture (e.g. Bhangra club, Asian Student Union, etc.), and I believe that attending a number of those events has broadened my horizon. Since there are so many clubs and different groups available for students to make friends it, it is impossible to isolate any one group that would feel more or less at home at William and Mary. In fact, it is safe to say that if a newly accepted student didn’t feel comfortable at William and Mary, it is likely due to a lack of effort on their part in trying to find their nice within the university; everyone is friendly and wants to make all students feel accepted in their new home for the next four years! There is opportunity for interaction among different groups of students, especially in an academic sense (e.g. group projects, research, etc.), but like any school, there are certainly cliques within the College. A few prominent ones include drama kids (no one ever sees them, but all know they are frantically rehearsing for something or spending all of their time in the drama building, Phi Beta Kappa Hall), football players (even though football isn’t popular at William and Mary, this doesn’t stop them from thinking they run the school), runners (perpetually wearing athletic gear, it’s impossible to walk into a dining hall without seeing 8-20 of them sitting together), and fraternity and sorority members (the ones serious invested in their Greek society will be decked out in letters, or wearing the typical frat-guy/sorority-girl attire all of the time). Aside from these (admittedly flat) stereotypical groups, students generally wear prep-style clothing, but everyone has a definitive style, and is comfortable enough in their own skin to be themselves, which is fantastic to be in the presence of. Students are very politically aware, which is largely due in part to William and Mary’s proximity to Washington DC (3 hours’ drive), but it is difficult to identify a strong political presence at the school. It was formerly a liberal hotbed, but adolescent conservatism has surged, and the College is relatively balanced in terms of its political positioning. As far as future successes, students for the most part place a high emphasis on financial success—pre-med and the sciences are some of the more common concentrations at William and Mary, and many students choose them for their socio-economic prestige. Not to say that all students care about monetary wealth after school, but based on the background of the majority, many students chose William and Mary on the belief that it was the best school to help their chances to succeed fiscally later in life.

We have a diversity of opinion at W&M. An exchange student from Belgium might meet up for coffee with a student who grew up the daughter of missionaries in the DRC. That example is really just two of my friends that I actually know... very nice people, though Lisa from the DRC claims W&M has too many white people, as does everywhere in the US. Students are politically aware, active, and intelligent. We interact with one another not based on who has money or who comes from a good family, but on what you can contribute to a conversation and a friendship.

There are so many active student groups all over campus dealing with race, religion and sexual orientation. Consequently, I have never met anyone here who feels out of place because of their nature of viewpoints. One of the most visible groups is that of 1 in 4, the sexual assault education group run completely by men on campus. The group derives its name from a statistic that one in four college women report surviving rape or attempted rape nationwide. There are similar peer-education groups for religion as well as sexual orientation. The student body here is clearly very smart, and with that comes a higher level of tolerance for all lifestyles. With this level of tolerance comes the comfortable environment that allows students of all socio-economic backgrounds. We have "trust fund babies" as well as students whose tuition is fully funded by scholarships, grants, and loans because they come from tough environments or single-parent homes. The school does a commendable job of reaching out to lower-income or less fortunate high school students to bring them in and get them to at least apply. Most of the students (I think around 70-75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}) are in-state. The rest come mostly from the east coast- Maryland, New Jersey, and New York to name the most prevalent ones.

Students at William & Mary are extremely nice. No one really feels out of place because everyone can find their niche somewhere. Whether it be among the Greeks or the geeks, every student will find somewhere where they fit in. William & Mary students will either be extremely preppy, or completely casual; there seems to be no middle ground. Most students are from Virginia since it is a state school, but the out of staters are usually from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. The financial and ethnic backgrounds are extremely diverse, W&M is definitely not a campus full of rich, white kids. Students are too politically correct however, and as a student from the Northeast, it is frustrating to be judged based on the fact that I curse more than the Virginian students. All in all, students are down to earth and super easy to get along with.

They are okay. Some people are very mean and bad.

Since I'm from New Jersey, I almost expected all of the students to be standard southern preppy people. However, there are TONS of different kinds of people. Some adhere to the classic southern belle/gentleman stereotype, but a lot of students just dress however they feel. Sweatshirts and yoga pants or leggings are common class-wear, but a percentage of students dress fully for class as well. LGBT clubs are present on campus, and people are fee to dress or act as they feel.

There are the jocks that really separate themselves. Greek life is more open and very friendly. Then there are GDIs (people who aren't in Greek life which makes up a good amount of the school) who are also really cool and friendly who intermix with other GDIs and Greeks alike.

From my experience most of W&M students are friendly and decent. They are coming from nice families and have a certain culture about them. Many of them are from traditional families and are here to study and get ready for great careers. The student body is quite diverse with a lot of international students most of whom are from Asian countries. There are also some European exchange students as well. I believe there is no dress code for the school, however you do not see many crazily dressed students. Most of them are respectful to the traditional spirit of W&M and dress accordingly. During the official events you see lots of students dressed in suits and ties.

The LGBT scene is okay, but we're still in the South here. We're relatively diverse for a southern school, I guess. Some students dress well, others are perfectly content to wear sweatpants and Uggs to class. Most students are from Virginia, so... southern. I feel like a lot of students are politically apathetic, and of those who care, it's about half conservative and half liberal.

Very studious. Everyone wants to get better and improve their gpa's from semester to semester.

My classmates are considerate, funny, and always have something interesting to share.

My students are dedicated students who spend a lot of time on school work, but are also able to enjoy themselves on weekends.

We are awesome.

My classmates are a highly diverse and intelligent group that prides themselves on overcoming the academic rigors of the curriculum.

The student body was much more diverse than I anticipated. People's talents, interests, and backgrounds are extremely varied, which makes the college even more interesting. You learn a lot from your peers backgrounds and experiences. A lot of people come from NoVA, so if you're an out of state student, you're a little more interesting. Additionally, all sorts of people interact. The only racial "clique" I can think of is Asian; there always seems to be a group of them in the library or around campus.

Most are w&m students are nice, very involved (doing a million things at once!), nerdy, and socially awkward.