University of Mary Washington, Take 2
Univ. of Mary Washington (visited 12/8/23) (click here for notes and pictures from my previous visit).
Fun fact: this campus is literally on a battlefield; their sports fields are called the Battleground.
I continue to love what Mary Washington offers. This school hits a sweet spot for a lot of students – it’s large enough to offer students a great “bigger experience” but small enough to limit class sizes, give personalized attention, and not let students fall through the cracks. The students get to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond in a way that’s often not possible in bigger schools. Fredericksburg’s also a draw: it’s an accessible, small city with plenty to do near campus as well as being less than an hour out of DC on the train.
Their badge of honor is that people take care of each other, “and we’re normalizing talking about it. This is a collaborative environment. People help others without expecting anything in return” – and demonstrated at all levels of the school. For example, the president hosts monthly dinners at his house to talk to students, see how they’re doing, and what the school could be doing better.
They aren’t looking to grow past about 4000 students; that’s the right spot for them and what they want to – and can – offer students at a high level of quality. They bring in 800-850 first year students a year, and have a large transfer population (about 300) for a school their size. Much of this aligns with being a public institution and the mission to provide a transfer pathway for students from the state’s community colleges. They’re intentional and holistic in admissions, making sure to bring in students who will thrive in this environment. They even have Faculty Fellows, professors who help to answer applicant’s questions or want connections in specific programs. These Fellows can address the nitty-gritty details and questions.
Admission is truly test-optional. They look at rigor in context of the high school when awarding merit scholarships. They don’t recalculate GPA; they use what’s provided by the high school. They give students the option to interview online for 15-20 minutes; these are used to evaluate applicants for an additional $1000-2000 1-year scholarships. “You’re basically guaranteed at least the $1,000 so there’s no reason not to!”
They wrap their arms around students needing academic support. “The academics aren’t easier; all students complete the same program, but we provide all needed accommodations, helping them advocate and learn how to be a college student.” They’re also increasing racial and ethnic diversity; in the 2022-23 school year, 33% of students overall (and 37% of the incoming class) self-identified as BiPOC. They provide a great deal of support for historically marginalized populations (First in family/First Gen, BiPOC/geographically diverse, and PELL recipients) through cohorts like Presidential Emerging Leaders, IMPACT, Rappahannock Scholars, and the Student Transition Program. They’ve recently received a $4m grant to support students from recruitment through completion. “Students who elect to take part in these programs have a higher graduation rate than the rest of UMW’s population.”
They offer 2 full-ride scholarship programs: Washington Scholars (Virginia residents) and Alvey Scholars (out-of-state residents); to be eligible for these, students must apply to – and be accepted into – the Honors Program. Another Honors benefit is potential access to an Early Selection Program to med school. However, University Honors isn’t the only option for a challenge – most majors also offer Departmental Honors. I met up with a former student; she’s in the process of applying for Biology Honors and recommends that path. “Departmental is worth it! Some friends realized that the university program wasn’t worth it for them.” All Honors students complete a capstone project; many majors also offer it, and non-honors students can opt into it. There’s no separate honors dorm; students are all mixed together (another way to build community).
“The academics here are not as intense as at William & Mary. Students are busy and it’s academically rigorous, but students choose to come here for the balance.” My former student agrees. “It’s challenging. I have definitely have to study, but I have time for a lot of other things, too.” The students we spoke to all had high praise for the professors: “they’re awesome!” UMW keeps classes small. One students said that his Gen Chem lecture section had 60 students, “which isn’t all that unusual for those popular first year classes,” but the group was broken up into 15-person lab sections. On the other end of the spectrum, his smallest class had 4 students in it.
They hold fast their Liberal Arts founding: “Liberal Arts is a practical education. These aren’t in conflict. Students are set up for success.” They’ve started a Life After MW initiative: “We’re conscious in thinking about plans and how to implement those over the 4 years to set students up for success.” They’re heavily focused on opportunities, including a long-term summer research program that’s fully internally funded (including free R&B and a stipend). A $30M alumni gift went both to fund research and to scholarships. “I don’t know of other schools in the country with $50m invested in the student experiences. If you want to do it, we’ll guarantee money to do it.” There’s been so much research that they’re offering more symposia in the fall in addition to the big spring one.
We got to spend some time in the newly remodeled Comp Sci department, talking to professors and students. Over 300 students major in Comp Sci (Software Development focus) or Cyber Security (software-security focus) – or in the Data Science minor. Classes remain capped at 30 so there’s lots of interaction. “They get access to a larger school while maintaining individualized attention. Faculty focus on undergrad experiences.” The program’s designed so they can graduate in 4 years with no prior background, but AP CS classes can help. They have grad school partnerships with VTech (4+1) and George Mason (3+2); they start grad programs here. There are a ton of internship connections (70% do at least 1), many of which are paid. Grant programs for unpaid internships cover expenses like travel and lunch so they aren’t paying to do the internship. Their FCC connection provides a remote internship opportunity that’s not paid but gives class credit. On-campus activities give them Programming contests/hackathons on and off campus. Partnerships with Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, National Center for Women and Info Tech, EC-Council on Ethical Hacking.
This is a residential – and social – campus. In any given year, 85-89% of freshman live on campus; the rest come from a 30-mile radius (the commuter range). More than half of students overall live on campus. Students tend to get very involved, usually because of the first-year residential requirement. There’s no official Greek Life; a few informal and unsanctioned/unrecognized groups are off campus. One student I spoke with said that his favorite part of the school was being part of the community. “It’s not uncommon to eat meals – even off campus – with professors. Some of us went out to dinner with a Psych Professor recently.” Like all school, there are beloved traditions such as jumping into the fountain at least once before graduation and “Duck It Day” which we got to witness since the counselor event fell on that day. A professor hides mini ducks around campus (with some evil ducks mixed in). At the end of the day, you can adopt a duck.
They get lots of out-of-state recruited athletes (we got to speak to a student from Dallas who came for lacrosse). Lots of international students come for Rugby. They also now have esports teams, varsity equestrian, and club rowing and cheerleading. Their swimming and lax teams are strong, as is men’s soccer (they just lost in the Elite 8 round) and women’s volleyball (they made it to Sweet 16).
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