The University of Mary Washington

I want to kill myself everyday that i wake up at this school. it sucks. the people are weird, there is absolutely nothing to do, and you have to completely lower your standards for guys. If you do happen to go out on a weekend the parties are so lame. they are overcrowded and just stupid. not to mention that you are surrounded by 108424874837 old people. Fredericksburg is the mecca for old/retired people. Also, there is NO SCHOOL SPIRIT. i honestly don't think there is one positive thing that i could say about this school after spending a year here. it was definitely the most miserable year of my 18 year old life and i am not alone in saying that. I am 100% transferring and pretty much all of my friends are as well. I would have to say that high school is better than this school. SAVE YOURSELVES, don't ever come here. better yet, don't even apply.

1st Year Female -- Class 2011

I would recommend against coming to UMW. I acknowledge that this school may be the perfect place for some, but I can't say that I am amongst those. My grievances with the school lie in the poor social life, "cliquish" high school extracurriculars, poor undergraduate advising, and the bureaucracy.

The parties at UMW are off-campus, but are usually broken up so it is pointless to go to them. Therefore, if you are a big-parties I would advise you not to come here. If you liked social "cliques" in high school then you will love Mary Washington as it is a 4,000 strong high school with a few sets of individuals running the extracurriculars and making it awkward for new members to join. For example, I was in debate but quit after it became apparent that it felt more like a high school extracurricular than the "typical high school experience." I did not want to do activities just to fill time and make myself attractive to prospective colleges which is essentially what I did by joining debate. Therefore, it was time-consuming and very unenjoyable.

As a Freshman, I understand that I can not declare a major. I, however, did fill out a form prior to Preview that specified my interest as history and that I would be paired up with someone from the history department. What I got, however, was a biology advisor and felt mislead from day one. I hardly ever talk to my advisor about stuff relating to declaring majors, courses, etc. as she does not know anything outside of what is necessary for bio. majors. Therefore, I have learned only to rely on myself in finding out what courses I need for my major.

The bureacracy here true to what the Princeton Review reports is definitely a nightmare. Finding the right person to talk to about a specific economic problem is very difficult. For that very reason, it is best to look elsewhere if you want a smooth transition to college. Overall, I can't wait to transfer to another college (probably UVA) fairly soon. Avoid this school if you are into getting the "typical college experience." If you want a good liberal arts education, then come here. However, if you want a school that has a good academic reputation along with a good social scene, go elsewhere.

1st Year Male -- Class 2009

I don't want to completely bash on UMW. I'm going to talk about the negative things and then the positive things. However, as a senior applying to schools- there are things you need to know before applying. The negative reviews about UMW are 100% true- but the positive reviews are true as well. Let me explain...

Negative:
1) THIS SCHOOL IS BORING. I cannot exaggerate on that because it's true. It is *SO* boring and people go home on the weekends all the time. The campus is dead and SAE (the group in charge of making events) makes mediocre events. I've tried going, seriously. There are a few parties- but you have to make connections and sometimes they are really exclusive due to the athletic teams being annoying.

2) The students in the athletic department are really snooty, honestly. I met a few nice people, but they are just overall really exclusive. They have parties the majority of the time- but only THEY can go. I had a group of my friends somehow go to one of their parties, and one of the people said, "What are you doing here? This is an athlete party only." Like what??? That's just rude.

3) There's +100 clubs to join, but some of them are exclusive. And they hardly do anything. Ever. And it's hard to be active when you're focusing on classes. But it is possible to get involved.

4) THIS FREAKED ME OUT SO MUCH- one person wrote a negative review about the food with finding metal in it. One day, I was eating a wrap from The Nest (one of 3 dining options) and I found plastic inside of it. And I've also found plastic in ice cream from Seacobeck (another dining hall). It freaked me out so much that I got a panic attack.

5) Fredericksburg was not a college town at all. There is no "UMW pride" at all in the school or in Fredericksburg. Some of the local people are rude to the students, but some are friendly. There's NOTHING to due in Fredericksburg unless you have a car. And most people go home on the weekends, as mentioned.

6) I wanted to have a car my 2nd semester so I could take some classes at the community college so I could have the college experience, but get some of the classes I needed. However- I WAS DENIED. Apparently I couldn't have a car because it was "work or medical" related. That's not fair at all- I needed to have a car to take additional classes!

7) BE CAREFUL WITH CHOOSING CLASSES. There are certain classes you *NEED* before transferring: Math, Science w/ Lab, English, and History. These classes fill up, and sometimes not offered in the Fall or Spring. They also don't transfer sometimes. For an example: UMW's Biology 101 does not transfer to ECU, but a community college biology class will. It doesn't make sense.

8) The school is just way too small, and if you like that- awesome! But if not- I would highly suggest looking at places.

9) The food is not good. At all. There was a sickness spreading around at one point. Freaky.
10) NO SCHOOL SPIRIT OR PRIDE. At all. It was horrible. No one goes to any of the games because they are busy with school work, or just too lazy. I saw more VT apparel versus UMW apparel.

11) For dorm requests, they don't read them. They literally do it by random. It was kinda frustrating getting a choice not even listed on the request.

12) The administration is not very understanding about events on campus. They tend to shut down everything.

13) The police is worse. They bust parties before 12am 90% of the time.
14) Most parties are off campus and a 30 minute walk at least.
Now for the positives:
1) Even though Fredericksburg is boring, I felt safe there. I walked around at 3 am with a buddy- you just need to have a friend with you. There was only two UMW alert about a homeless drunken guy walking around on campus, and a rumored shooting off campus.

2) Some of the friends I've made here I still communicate with. They were really supportive about my dislike for the college. And about 80% of the people here are very nice and friendly. The people at UMW either LOVE THE SCHOOL MORE THAN LIFE or just HATE it.

3) Without a doubt, I loved the professors at this university. They were so helpful, kind, understanding, and always answered my emails. If you work hard, you can do well. This college is notoriously known to have the work load of UVA and W&M. I was failing Psychology half way in the semester, and managed to get a B with the class because the professor offered so much extra credit opportunities. My previous roommate transferred to GMU, and said she missed the professors at UMW.

4) Even though the food sucks, there is plenty of food at the bookstore and there's a grocery store across the street from UMW. That was pretty nice.

5) The dorms are either pretty nice or kinda gross, but honestly it didn't bother me much. I lived in a no-AC dorm, and was fine.

6) The campus is BEAUTIFUL. So pretty, and enjoyable to walk around in the fall/ spring.
7) If you're +21 there are a few clubs, but not much in the area.
8) If you want to leave UMW and transfer to another school- it's not hard. The staff is so supportive if the school isn't for you. The dean is so wonderful and he's great. He will schedule a meeting with you and have you explain on why UMW isn't for you. The staff will provide transcripts when you request them, and they are helpful. Just get the best grades you can, and GET ABOVE A 3.0 for transferring.

Those are my negative and positive points about UMW. I tried not to be too mean, but I wanted to be honest about the school. If you go to UMW, you will either love it or hate it. Good luck with the college process. If you are at UMW for one semester, and hate it- I would go to community college the second semester, or apply to other schools.

Good luck!

1st Year Female -- Class 2018

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Social Life: F