University of Mary Washington Top Questions

Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!

Inga

As I have said in the previous answer, the campus of Mary Washington is like no other campus in the nation. The historically preserved buildings and majestic verdure that surround them are characteristics that proclaim what Mary Washington stands for: historic preservation and environmental well-being. These two aspects have become increasingly important in today's world and to have a college that honors them continuously is a beautiful concept.

Melanie

The beautiful campus and friendly atmosphere.

Miranda

We have alot of students who are either very pro partying or very against it.

Rediet

not too big,not to small, it's just right.

Marijka

Mary Washington is a little bit smaller than the other schools that I considered. It was a good size for me and does not have Greek life, which I did not want on campus. It also had smaller general education classes than some of the other schools and had an equestrian team.

Jay

Often imitated, never replicated.

Meagan

A nice, homey feeling with a great ambiance.

Casey

there are a lot of weirdos

Kelly

The University offers very small class sizes. It s location in Fredericksburg is also allows the campus to be a hot-bed of political activity.

Angela

We have a truly "campus-y vibe" to our school- its awesome how people socialize out on the lawn, have fun in the dorms, and the size is perfect. UMW has a really cohesive study body and its a friendly and chill environment. Its also fun that we're located in a very historic district of Virginia, so we have access to a quaint historic downtown as well as a huge modern shopping centre with all the shopping and restaurant places you could ever want.

Connie

Unveiling the James Farmer bust at University of Mary Washington.

Haley

There is no football team! We are avid rugby fans, though.

Mallory

Hm... anything left out? Um... don't think so. All I can say is I'm very proud to say that I am an alumni of Mary Washington-- I learned more than I could've ever imagined, both personally and academically, and I made friendships that will last a lifetime. It was top notch, it really was. Everything has its imperfections, but for me, those imperfections were definitely trumped by the many positives the school has to offer.

Melissa

Avoid townies at all costs! Easy going Frosh dorms, very chill desk aides. Watch out for the squirrels.

Stephan

The campus of mary washington is gorgeous. Currently there is a lot of construction going on but even so it is still one of the nicest in the country.

Kyle

Nope!

Allison

If you are gay this is the best school for you in VA. No competition.

Mia

the education is great the town sucks no diversity at times very boring

Harper

-

TJ

The meal plan system is a pain. We should have a certain number of meals a week that we can use at any time.

Blake

The reason I spent over an hour filling out this survey was not to get back at Mary Washington; that would be completely pointless and a waste of my time. The reason I did this was to warn you about a school that I would not attend again for anything in the world. Everything about Mary Washington sucks, especially when compared to all the other schools in Virginia, not one of which has the vast amount of issues Mary Wash does. Though academically we are a tough school, if your diploma doesn't carry any more weight than other schools that are many times easier, what is the point? Most of the courses are more theoretical than applied anyway so you're not even getting better prepared for the job market. Housing is a pain in the ass to register for, the dorms themselves are old and worn down, and the new ones aren't much better. Either you're going to have hall bathrooms, no AC (most dorms don't), be on the opposite side of campus from the other dorms, or be far away from the academic buildings. And the food that goes along with living on campus is just gross. The "all-you-can-eat" building (Seacobeck), has horridly low quality of most of their food, and is only making food about 6 hours a day, not to mention the fact that if you arrive even at 6:30 most of the food is gone, and what's left is old and worse than before. The other food service (Eagle's Nest) is better, but it's expensive and they only allot you $4 a meal, which gets you a small sandwich, or two slices of pizza and a watered down soda. And if you mention late-night, I will stab you in the jaw (a Dane Cook reference if you don't know). In addition, there is little school pride on campus, few sporting events that have decent attendance, and the administration couldn't find their ass with two hand and a map. If you have to deal with any administrator at all, prepare for a long battle. They are supremely incompetent, condescending, and no help to any student. Ever. I kid you not, at every turn they do their best to make their students lives harder than they already are. Now you may think I have over exaggerated about some things and there's nothing I can do about that besides tell you what a waste of almost two hours now, that would have been for me. But at the very least, believe me about this: if you are a student who is sick, disabled, or requires accommodations in any way...DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL!!! If you're healthy, fine; dig your own grave. But if you're sick, not only should you not expect any help in the least from the school and certainly not from disability services, you should expect college to be many times harder for you than high school was. I do not have enough time to mention all the ways they have fought to keep from helping me in the least, even with my parents coming down to speak to multiple Deans and letters from all of my specialists (don't think I'm some paraplegic either, I guarantee I would whoop you in a 1-1 game of basketball), but I will give you a simple example. After all the paper work it takes to get classroom accommodations, the accommodations say that they are in the end up to the teacher to decide if they want to allow them, and the administration will not interfere in the classroom in any way, not even to tell the teacher "Hey this kid really was sick this semester, could you try and help him out?" What's even more ironic is the fact that if you have some lesser handicap like you need help note taking, or you need extra time on exams, they have no problem doing their job and telling the teachers that they need to do this. But God have mercy on you if you get Cancer, or MS, or even Ulcerative Colitis, because they couldn't give help you any fucking less if they tried. I tried to give you some of the up sides of Mary Wash in the first few areas, but I really don't see that many, which is why it seems so one-sided. I can't keep you from going to Mary Wash, and I wouldn't think less of you if you did, but just keep this one thing in mind: Last year a national survey was taken of almost all colleges and universities in the US. The administration began porrading around the fact it was considered one of the prettiest campus in the country. They put it on their website, brochures and in the alumni maganize. What they didn't mention was the headline of the student run newspaper (the Bullet) regarding another result from the same nation-wide survey: "Mary Washington has the third most depressed students in the county." Not a sermon, just a thought ;).

Brian

Im transferring to UVa. I enjoyed UMW because I came from a small high school and wanted a small close community. I'm leaving because I worked hard got great grades from great professors and got a great opportunity. After a couple years I wanted the bigger more competitive environment, but am glad I was at UMW first. I recommend it to friends and family and will still visit with frequency. Its a good school and I would recommend it over similar schools like GMU, JMU, Vt, CNU unless you want to drink yourself into oblivion and dont care about an education

Lindsay

I love UMW, but if it's not the right fit for you, don't try to make it work. If you're not serious about academics and you want to get lost in the crowd, UMW is probably not the best place for you.

Mike

Don't believe anything the tour guides tell you. There's plenty that makes UMW amazing, but the tour guides don't say any of it.

Cody

I'm glad I chose this school

Kate

Construction on campus is a pain, no one is afraid of waking you up at 6 am for the sake of campus expansion, and don't think it stops during exam week!

Devin

lots of people transfer

Kat

The food over here isn't that great, except for breakfast and Saturday and Sunday brunches. The meat hear is awful. But it definitely beats many other univerisities for its food, since it's not all awful. We have gluten-free dining for anybody who has food allergies. Overall, UMW is a great place to get an education and to really learn. Sure, the social life might not be the greatest, but we have some good good events on campus, and we should be focusing more on our academics anyhow. I feel UMW was the perfect fit for me.

Andrew

Thing i said it all above

Samantha

My first year at Mary Wash was pretty fun, I met some great people in my freshman building, but not as many as some other dorms did...aka do NOT live in Alvey. Sophomore, Junior year.....horrible. I should have transferred. Senior year - now that the end is near, I don't hate the school as much as I previoulsy had.

Mary

The food is okay. The variety they have becomes monotonous after a while... The food also is very expensive - so get a meal plan that fits your needs. Fortunately there are places that deliver to the campus (chinese, pizza, barbeque, and italian) and there's a Mac Donalds close by. Also, I love how you can walk from one end of campus to the other in 12 minutes. Definitely a plus and there's no major streets to have to cross. I feel safe here on campus all the time.

brittany

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE mary wash.. Best school ever:)

Jennifer

I love it.

Heather

I graduated this year and cried on my entire drive home (it's a 2.5 hour trip!). I am going to miss everyone thereso much, including my friends and the professors who also became my friends and the campus.

Micah

UMW is a great school academically. If you want to party, don't come here!

Danny

Parking is an extreme issue at UMW, not having a car is as easy as having one. Many things that one may need are within walking distance, such as groceries, restaurants, and other miscellaneous needs, so it is recommended that you do not bring a car unless you plan on living off campus.

Sarah

Never take the Fred! Actually, take it once just to have a story to tell about how long you and your friends were stranded at a parking lot for some odd number of hours in the pouring rain.

Ashley

I suggest that if you have any choice don't waste your money on UMW.

Blake

If you're thinking about transferring into UMW, know that you're probably going to lose some credits or have a lot of your credits entered as elective credits. Also, make sure you know about the gened requirements and what's required for your major before you transfer/select classes. Your advisor on Preview Day (when you select classes for the first time) will probably not be too helpful on those matters.

Stephan

Only downside right now is the constant construction but hopefully that will be completed soon. This University is growing more esteemed by the year and your degree will be worth more as an alumn with each passing year.

Jim

I love it here, but if you aren't a very outgoing person or don't play a sport you are going to have a tough time finding much to do.

sarah

Don't forget to bring air fresheners and lots of quarters. The laundry machines can be kind of tricky.