University of Mary Washington Top Questions

school is a little too small but still a good size, fredericksburg is ok its a lot different than va beach though. there is no school pride we don't have one sport which we rally on and a lot of our students are really wierd. teachers are good most of them try and seem to care, there is not enough university "togetherness"

well pretty much i love everything about mary wash. by far i am so glad that i came here. at first iwas totally against it but after iwas forced to go here i am sooooooo glad that i came. The classes are great and even though the food might suck at times it really is not as bad as they say it is. we have a wonderful gym that i tryed to put to use this year haha. so far i have had many great classes.. DONT TAKE THEATRE with MCCLUSKY u will die. but besides that i love this school. the campus is gorgeous and in the winter it is even more beautiful. The dorms are nice. if you a freshman live is mason hall and pray ur on the 5th floor. cause we got away with everything this year haha i never got written up and i was drink probably 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the weekends i was there..

The best thing about UMW is the community. It's a great size, and we're all very supportive of the groups and activities on and around our campus. F-burg is pretty welcoming (except when it comes to parking) and the community is fun. There are pretty good bars and shopping in the area. Also, President Frawly is not representative of our admin. or community... He's just some oops we try not to think about.

The best thing about UMW is the beautiful campus and the small size of the school. Having under 5,000 students makes it a real community and It would be rare to walk from one end of campus to the other without running into friends or aquaintances. Some complain that the school is too small but If you enjoy a close tight-knit campus community than UMW is perfect. The majority of UMW dorms were built in the 1960s and are very nice buildings. Dorm rooms are much larger than at many other schools with more recently constructed housing. As far as complaints go, the dinning services are subpar in my opinion. If you have a car on campus and the money to pay for gas both Washington DC and Richmond, VA are less than an hours drive from campus.

The best things about UMW are the amazing friends you will make, the professors who always have their doors open, and the beautiful campus. In my opinion, UMW is just the right size. It's small enough so that you can run into your friends strolling down campus walk and large enough for you to comment to your friends that you "have never seen any of these people in your life" when different students show up at a school sponsored event or activity. When I tell someone who is not familiar with our school that I go to Mary Washington, the response I get most often is, "Oh isn't that an all girls school?" Occasionally I get responses something like "Oh now that's a very good school. You must be really smart." I spend most of my time in Melchers Hall, which is the studio art and art history building, and in Chandler Hall, which is the Business building. A popular pasttime for many students, however, is benchsitting along campus walk and hanging out around the fountain. I think Fredericksburg is slowly becoming more of a college town. I wouldn't have considered it a college town when I first went to Mary Washington, but with the University's purchase of more land to build residence halls and shops geared toward students, the area will definitely become more student friendly. The bars downtown are also not known for being centralized hang-out spots for students either and usually cater to an older crowd. The administration is probably the largest downfall of the university. With the exception of those faculty who make a point to get to know students like acting President Richard Hurley, Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker, and Vice President of Student Affairs Bernard Chirico, the administration and the amount of red-tape students have to go through to get anything done are the biggest complaint causers among students. Some unusual things about UMW are that we don't have a football team and there is no Greek life at UMW. There is a decent amount of school pride considering we don't have a football team. Students line up to participate in school sponsored cook-outs and events such as Devil/Goat Day, an annual campus tradition where the even-numbered classes compete against the odd-numbered classes. Of course the line is probably more for the free food and tee-shirts ;) Homecoming weekend always show Eagle pride at it's best and the annual Underwear Run down campus walk is also rapidly gaining popularity.

The school is the perfect size but if you were looking for a big school then you would think this school is to small. A lot of people don't know where UMW is, so when I tell them where I attend they ask me where is it.

The best thing about UMW are the professors and the classes. Most of the classes are fairly small, especially upper-level classes. Students form a bond with their classmates and professors. If you come to UMW, expect to get a great education. Academically, UMW is a good size, but socially it is too small. Sometimes I wish I had went to a bigger school. I get tired of seeing the same people all the time. The administration at UMW is not the strongest. They always seem very disorganized and distant from the students. The biggest recent controversy at UMW was when a freshman student placed some racial discriminatory pictures in a public place in the residence halls. The situation was handled nicely. There was a town hall forum to discuss the issue and eventually the tension died down. The most frequent student complaints are campus police (including parking tickets), the dining halls, housing problems, and registration issues. I think the University has improved the dining halls, but the other remaining issues are yet to be resolved.

I like the school OK - not much party life, the parties are all lame. The frat house parties suck, and the parties in the dorms always risk getting busted. The academics are good, as long as you aren't going into the theater department! The town is OK - it's a mix between trucker stop, old towne (antique shops, basically), and Central Park, which is basically a giant confusing strip mall. Not much to do in the town, but if you're like me and just like to stay in with friends, it's a great fit.

UMW has great academics, but can be a little lacking on the social side of the college experience. The campus is absolutely beautiful, but forfeits some functionality; such as parking. Living on campus leaves something to be desired, particularly with all the great off campus locations. Fredericksburg as a town is great, especially for history majors, and with Central Park (the local mega-complex) there's nothing you can't find.

Its the right size for me, but the town is not very student friendly, the food is lousy and overpriced, there's no school pride at all, and the administration is inaccessible at times. I like the academic programs a lot and the teachers and class sizes have been good. the best part about my school are my friends.

when i told people i went to UMW, almost always they'd say "thats private, right?" no, its not, but i can see why people think that because its less known and it is smaller. it does have that private feel to it. the second thing people would say when i told them i went to UMW was "oh, thats the all girl one." wrong again. i don't know if its the name or the history but i'm constantly explaining to people that UMW is co-ed. i loved going to mary wash. in my opinion it was the perfect size, not too big or too small. all the people were really nice and down-to-earth and the professors are fun and accessible. depending on where you go in fredericksburg, the locals can be nice or not so nice. the campus is absolutely gorgeous.

The size of the school is perfect, not too many people to not be known but small enough to know people anywhere you go out. The surrounding town sucks.

UMW is a place to lern and study rather than party

The school is small enough to have that "close-knit" feeling, but there is no sense of closeness or comradery to speak of. For those who don't fit the mold of the "stereotypical" student, it is extremely hard to find a niche to fit into. If you are thinking about transferring in, I highly advise against it. The campus is gorgeous, which is its main selling point. Located in Fredericksburg, VA, it really does not exist in a "college town" environment. It exists in the middle of what's left of historic Fredericksburg, while surrounded by traffic-ridden suburbia.

The biggest recent controversy on campus was when some freshmen put a racist poster in a kitchen, which was found by the cleaning staff (who were mainly minorities). The school was very split on their opinion - some felt that the students involved should not be punished because they are exercising their right to free speech and others felt that racism should not be tolerated in any form on campus. I had never really encountered racism before, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that Mary Washington is a racist campus, it is more likely because I came from a smaller high school. In no way did this event diminish my opinion of Mary Washington, but it made me realize that there are still some "backwards" people out there.

UMW is too small. There is just about no diversity whatsoever on campus.Until recently there were very few things to actually do on campus and even still it is not enough.Not many people know about Mary Washington except that we had a drunk for a President.The administration is not very friendly and not helpful at all.There's very little school pride...I mean really what is there to be proud of?? They are way too uptight alcohol violations...they will get you in trouble if you put up pics of yourself in the dorm holding a drink that may or may not be alcohol.Whether it really is or weather your rights have been violated doesn't really matter.

If you're looking for a school that's small but not too small, UMW is a good place to go. A lot of students complain about how our administration doesn't really listen to the students (which is true to some extent), but the administration is no different than at any other school. They get student input and then go on to do whatever they want to do. I would say that UMW is sort of a college town. Downtown has a lot of places to grab food and coffee and places to hang out. We also have great places to play football, Frisbee, or soccer in front of the dorms/academic buildings.

For a state school with a limited budget I think UMW is hard to beat. The lack of Greek Life keeps the students more focused on academics and the course load is rigorous so that is important. As a male student the ratio of Female to Male students was a huge plus. Also the student body and faculty are very respective of everyone's individual viewpoints for the most part. It is not a party school although with some effort there is always something to do. Also GREAT LOCATION!

Theres no greek life, the town pretty much sucks and their isn't much to do if you don't drink. Students complain about the town and how everything closes early.

The best thing about Mary Wash is the campus i gorgeous in the spring. It is small, so you do not feel like a number. However, there are a few number of cliques around school, that most people avoid. The athletic teams are very outgoing and friendly. The town around campus is filled with activities. Most students will go to Central Park to eat, see a movie, or laser tag. The most frequent student complaints are with the dining services. The Nest and the dining hall are filled most of the time and it takes a while to eat in both places. The latest controversy has been over our incoming president, we have been without one for a year because he got into trouble with the law. Also, the curriculum has been changed to get your degree and the required courses have been changed to allow the students to use their major requirements to fulfill their degree requirements. That is a plus about our administration; they listen to student complaints and will change to adjust to student needs.

The best thing about UMW is the campus and the professors. I have (quite literally) spent hours talking with my professors during their office hours. It is a great feeling to walk into their office and have them call you out by name. I would change the meal plan (nobody really knows what is going on) and the slow internet. Just like in Goldilocks, the school is just right. It is big enough to accomplish what you need to but small enough to be personal.