Rumors

In my experience, one of the unofficial requirements of looking at colleges is this: you tell people the schools you are considering and they tell you every bad thing they have ever heard about the school. As if the college process wasn’t stressful enough, no matter where you apply it seems that someone has heard something negative about the school. Well I am here today to take those rumors (yes, I’ve heard them too) and give you the real facts. I hope what I have written below can help you get direct, honest responses to the rumors circulating about William and Mary.

Rumor 1: William and Mary is a cutthroat competitive environment—everyone is trying to outdo everyone else.

This one is absolutely 100% false. The thing I like most about William and Mary is the fact that you are really only competing with yourself. If your first test in a class didn’t go too well, your concern for the next test is only to improve your score not to beat the other students in the class. Students don’t walk around bragging about their GPA or trying to trick someone into studying the wrong material for an upcoming exam. When you hear that William and Mary is like a family, it is true—we are all here to succeed and we help each other through to the very end. Take my roommates as an example. Whenever one of us does well on a test or a paper, we know that we can come straight home and jump up and down for each other and spend the evening celebrating the success with a movie and dinner together. Everyone at William and Mary is here to learn as much as we can and have fun while we are doing it. As I said before, the competition here is with yourself not with the students around you.

Rumor 2: William and Mary is where the fun goes to die, students study 24/7 and don’t have time to do anything else.

Again, false! We have over 300 student organizations on our campus and they are busy. I would say that W&M students are definitely busy 24/7, but they are not by any means studying all of that time. Students are running for class office, heading up the bone marrow drive, participating in a Greek organization, serving as a tour guide and so much more! Williamsburg may not seem like the most “happening” place when you come to tour Colonial Williamsburg in third grade, but trust me, there is never a dull moment on this campus! Whether you are going to see a band brought to campus by AMP (Alma Mater Productions) or going to a philanthropy fundraiser hosted by a sorority or fraternity there is lots to do on campus. If you ever spend an entire weekend in the library it is usually your own fault—you didn’t start on that 10 page paper until three days before the due date or you “played” too much the weekend before and you didn’t study for an upcoming exam. I certainly don’t know anyone at W&M who studies 24/7 and I think you would be hard-pressed to find one. We do work hard and learn a lot, but there is more to college than academics.

Rumor 3: William and Mary is a “nerd” school.

I don’t think that I can label this one perfectly true or perfectly false. The way I usually say this is: everyone at W&M is in touch with their inner nerd (some more so than others). This is part of what makes William and Mary such a unique atmosphere. It means that in the classroom no one is afraid to answer a question because it is “uncool.” Students here are excited to learn (except maybe in 8 am classes) and they are never afraid to show it. William and Mary is one of the most welcoming communities you can find and this is just one more way in which we all differ from one another.

Rumor 4: There is nothing to do in Williamsburg (except maybe hang out with colonial actors)

I’ve kind of already addressed this in talking about student activities, but let’s look at life off campus as well. Contrary to popular belief, there is more in Williamsburg than just the colonial part. The first thing that comes to my mind is Busch Gardens. In fact, at the beginning of every school year, there is “Busch Gardens Day” on which W&M students get reduced price tickets and shuttles run to and from campus to get students to Busch for a day of fun. If roller coasters aren’t your thing you can head out to New Town, a town center with shops, restaurants, and a movie theater, or the Outlets. Don’t have a car? Don’t worry! The Williamsburg bus line runs to all those locations and more and you can ride free with your W&M ID. If you and your friends are desperate for some urban experiences, we are also a mere 45 minutes from Richmond and Virginia Beach.

So there are four rumors that I hope I’ve addressed to your satisfaction. Whether you are currently in the process of making your final decision or just considering which schools to visit, I hope that this post will dispel/alleviate any fears you might have had about William and Mary.