Washington and Lee or William and Mary? Forum

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overkillhsc

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Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by overkillhsc » Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:20 am

Going into my eighth semester of undergrad, 3.66/166. I'm a VA resident and have been offered significant deals at both schools. The finances are not currently 100% finished yet, but it's looking like either one would be a steal as far as law school goes. My question is this: all other things being equal, which one would you prefer to go to?

asdflawyer

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by asdflawyer » Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:22 am

overkillhsc wrote:Going into my eighth semester of undergrad, 3.66/166. I'm a VA resident and have been offered significant deals at both schools. The finances are not currently 100% finished yet, but it's looking like either one would be a steal as far as law school goes. My question is this: all other things being equal, which one would you prefer to go to?

W&L

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AreJay711

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by AreJay711 » Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:34 am

I liked William and Mary better. Lexington is in the middle of nowhere way more than Williamsburg and W&M is more widely known

(Full disclosure: I never visited W&L for law school but I visited VMI for undergrad and thought that the Rat Line for 9 months wouldn't suck that bad because it's not like the town looks a lot better)

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soitgoes9

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by soitgoes9 » Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:05 am

I like W&M more but I think you should visit and see where you feel more comfortable.

Nate895

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by Nate895 » Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:44 pm

I'd flip a coin. I seriously would. Of course, I wouldn't mind being in the middle of nowhere (Roanoke has most of the amenities of a big city and isn't too far away). But, I really like Williamsburg. Ugg...This would be a tough decision all things being equal, and there is a good chance I'll have to make the same one next year. However, if there were little-to-no scholarships for either, I'd have to go with William and Mary.

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CanadianWolf

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by CanadianWolf » Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:46 pm

In my opinion, the choice should be easy due to the different campus environments. Visit both & you are likely to prefer one over the other.

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Grizz

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by Grizz » Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:52 pm

Whatever's cheaper

Nate895

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by Nate895 » Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:05 pm

CanadianWolf wrote:In my opinion, the choice should be easy due to the different campus environments. Visit both & you are likely to prefer one over the other.
There could be reasons to like both. Both have relatively small class sizes (W&L has a major advantage on that one, though) and are surrounded by history. William and Mary has an advantage if you are averse to living in a small town, and Washington and Lee has an advantage if you like being in the middle-of-nowhere. Also, W&L is more conservative than W&M, but both have their fair share of liberals and conservatives. I can see where someone would be comfortable going to either.

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top30man

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by top30man » Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:16 pm

If they are the same price, I'd say W & M. If W and L is much cheaper, do that. I believe W & M has slightly better placement and more reach to DC .

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overkillhsc

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by overkillhsc » Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:17 pm

Any comments on w & L's 3L program? Honestly neither one has a markedly better environment as far as I'm concerned. The one thing I really don't want is a highly urban setting, but Williamsburg isn't too big for my taste.

WSJ_Law

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by WSJ_Law » Sun Dec 18, 2011 12:12 am

W&L for lay prestige ( at least in the south )

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cinephile

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by cinephile » Sun Dec 18, 2011 2:48 am

If you're in-state, shouldn't W&M be cheaper? If so, that's what I'd go with.

overkillhsc

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by overkillhsc » Sun Dec 18, 2011 2:51 am

cinephile wrote:If you're in-state, shouldn't W&M be cheaper? If so, that's what I'd go with.
Actually no, at least, not as things stand. They start out at 52 w & m, 62 w & l. Knock 10 off of w & m's figure for in-state tuition, and then another 10 because of an academic award, and you're down to 32 a year. W & L, meanwhile, has offered a 40k/year academic award, which takes the cost down to about 22 a year. Now, w & m DOES offer need-based grants, and w & l does not, so because I can't fill out the FAFSA yet I don't know what kind of extra money w & m will pony up in need-based aid. But as things stand, w & l is 10 grand a year cheaper.

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cinephile

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by cinephile » Sun Dec 18, 2011 12:45 pm

overkillhsc wrote:
cinephile wrote:If you're in-state, shouldn't W&M be cheaper? If so, that's what I'd go with.
Actually no, at least, not as things stand. They start out at 52 w & m, 62 w & l. Knock 10 off of w & m's figure for in-state tuition, and then another 10 because of an academic award, and you're down to 32 a year. W & L, meanwhile, has offered a 40k/year academic award, which takes the cost down to about 22 a year. Now, w & m DOES offer need-based grants, and w & l does not, so because I can't fill out the FAFSA yet I don't know what kind of extra money w & m will pony up in need-based aid. But as things stand, w & l is 10 grand a year cheaper.
The difference isn't huge, so really it could come down to which you like better. You should visit both.

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Cornelius

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by Cornelius » Mon Dec 19, 2011 12:52 pm

overkillhsc wrote:
cinephile wrote:If you're in-state, shouldn't W&M be cheaper? If so, that's what I'd go with.
Actually no, at least, not as things stand. They start out at 52 w & m, 62 w & l. Knock 10 off of w & m's figure for in-state tuition, and then another 10 because of an academic award, and you're down to 32 a year. W & L, meanwhile, has offered a 40k/year academic award, which takes the cost down to about 22 a year. Now, w & m DOES offer need-based grants, and w & l does not, so because I can't fill out the FAFSA yet I don't know what kind of extra money w & m will pony up in need-based aid. But as things stand, w & l is 10 grand a year cheaper.
I think at some point you need to try and negotiate aid with W&M as well, given the 40k/year award at W&L.

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Lwoods

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by Lwoods » Mon Dec 19, 2011 12:59 pm

overkillhsc wrote:
cinephile wrote:If you're in-state, shouldn't W&M be cheaper? If so, that's what I'd go with.
Actually no, at least, not as things stand. They start out at 52 w & m, 62 w & l. Knock 10 off of w & m's figure for in-state tuition, and then another 10 because of an academic award, and you're down to 32 a year. W & L, meanwhile, has offered a 40k/year academic award, which takes the cost down to about 22 a year. Now, w & m DOES offer need-based grants, and w & l does not, so because I can't fill out the FAFSA yet I don't know what kind of extra money w & m will pony up in need-based aid. But as things stand, w & l is 10 grand a year cheaper.
What about stipulations? W&L had the most stringent award stipulations of any scholarships I was offered last year (median GPA, as opposed to "good academic standing" for the others). That's something worth considering as well.

Congrats on great offers from two very good schools!

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JDizzle2015

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by JDizzle2015 » Mon Dec 19, 2011 3:05 pm

Considering asking for stips to be removed from your offers. W&L GPA stips are typically higher IIRC and W&M scholarships often come with the "fellowship" program where you'd have to work for them 8 hours/week. HTH.

overkillhsc

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Re: Washington and Lee or William and Mary?

Post by overkillhsc » Mon Dec 19, 2011 3:13 pm

Cornelius: I have a friend with, I suspect, a fair amount of ability to put his shoulder to the wheel for me at w & m, and I am informing him that w & l has currently extended the better offer. I don't want to seem to blase about what is, in effect, expecting still more money.

Lwoods: The expectation is a 3.25. However, looking at their GPA statistics, that expectation would simply mean I have to stay above the bottom 20% of a given class--very few people get under that. They also provide the total number of people who have had their scholarships reduced or revoked in the last three years and (if I recall correctly) the aggregate number of both together is still under 10.

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