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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.
Heather Alum
-The best thing about UMW is the campus, in my opinion. In addition to the many acres of beautiful buildings and lawns, UMW has some awesome professors, and also a great weekend social life. -If I could change one thing about UMW, it would be to have Gre
OramJ Sophomore
UMW is an insanely beautiful campus with a student life administration dedicated to making college life as fun as possible in spite of the half-antique shop/half-crack house town in which it is located. If you don't have a car, or know someone with a car, you'll be stuck on campus for the most part because the bus service is incredibly slow and full of very sketch townsfolk. If you get acquainted with the Office of Student Activities, you can organize events so that you'd never need to leave campus anyway.
Mike Junior
Granted our school is small and in a very quiet and historically important area of Virginia, therefore we can accept the lable of being a more conservative campus in terms of typical college campuses. We don't have greek life, but it's also not needed because of our small 4,000 population. We dont have a football team, but plenty of sport teams on multiple levels (varsity, club, intermural) to join, and we dont have huge raging parties, but that's why I decided UMW would be a good fit for me. The size leads to a tight close community where all students are involved in extracurriculars and therefore everyones social circle is huge. You know at least 5 people when leaving your room, and you can bet on having friends in every class you take. It makes the transition into college a little easier when you can make friends easily. On the down side being a smaller liberal arts school we dont have as much funding as larger schools would have so it leads to only two choices for food on campus, 40 majors, limited campus jobs and a library and gym that close "early".
della Senior
The best thing about UMW is the sense of community. Since it is a small school, when you walk on campus, you'll more than likely know more people that you don't. This is great because you always see your friends and everyone is very friendly. Unless you like to disappear in crowds, you'll feel right at home at UMW. One thing I'd change about UMW is the course offerings. Although a good variety of courses are offered, when I look at the courses offered at schools such as UVA, there seem to be far more mind-expanding and unique classes offered, instead of general educational topics. UMW is small, but it is just right for me and most everyone I know, even people who had considered going to larger schools, are very happy with it. When I tell people that I go to Mary Washington, most people don't know where it is, and often confuse it with Mary Baldwin, a big mistake, as they are nothing alike. The old town section of Fredericksburg definitely has the feel of a college town, but the city in no way depends on the University to function. The administration has received a great deal of criticism lately with the scandal with Dr. Frawley, but other than his mess-ups, we have a very strong administration that strives to be personal with the students, which I feel is an important aspect of being a part of the University. The biggest recent controversy on campus was definitely President Frawley's repeated DUI's. However, to my knowledge he in no way damaged the University as a whole. There isn't the strongest sense of school pride at UMW since we don't have a football team, but nearly everyone that I have known to have gone to UMW loved it and considers the time spent there some of the best times of their life. There is nothing unusual about UMW that I can think of. An experience I will always remember is my first event as a member of Class Council my freshman year. As a member, we preserve the traditions of UMW and my event was Devil Goat Day, one of the biggest events of the year. It is a carnival-like celebration spent outside in the spring when it gets warm. Students always love to come out and play games and eat free pizza and I was proud to have planned such a big event for the student body. The most frequent student complaints are the food. UMW does not by any means have the best quality or selection of food, but you get used to it, and it only makes you look forward to home-cooked meals that much more.
Chelsea Junior
In one word I can define Mary Washington: Community. Usually a college community is associated with schools with less than a thousand students, but at 4000 strong, Mary Wash has a sense of unbreakable community. You may not know everyone you pass, but the ones you do know will say hello as you go by them on campus walk. When something happens, you can count on the students of UMW to bond together for support, whether it be honoring the memory of Virginia Tech or coming out to watch the Annual Underwear Run. In our community, there is also a sense of trust. A student can leave their bookbag/laptop/jacket sitting around at Seacobeck (the main cafeteria) and it will still be exactly how you left it when you return. A community is a powerful thing, and with each person, they are able to find their niche and blend seamlessly in the community that is Mary Washington.
Katy Sophomore
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