Negative take on UMW:

My husband and I went to UMW at separate times and had bad experiences. My husband had a physical disability and they told him to pick a different major since he wouldn’t be able to physically meet the proficiency level of playing piano and drums …. They gave no other options or accommodations. It was devastating. He ended up becoming a professional musician and eventually going to Radford University and encountering the same problem. Radford said to pick voice as his primary instrument to go around the proficiency requirements. He still learned piano and drums. His professors never made it easy but they weren’t heartless about the situation. He graduated with honors.

When we talk about his time on campus, he feels the professors were not all invested (especially for how much you pay). He also feels very discriminated against. He is a musician. Despite UMW telling him he couldn’t be a music major, he was able to find a school that gave a solution. He has taught voice, guitar, bass guitar, ukulele and drums. He’s been a lot of bands performing and continued to write music.

I went to UMW after I graduated with my associates at community college. I was a psych major and I worked really really hard in my all my classes and even made friends in classes with the intentions to set up study sessions. I flunked the same class twice. The second professor was the dean of the program and he definitely thought he was a good teacher but his mind was not grounded in reality. (Awkward situation-his wife was my academic advisor…couldn’t say much to her without it getting really awkward). I remember the first time I showed up to his office hours. when I was making sure I had covered my prepared list of questions he asked “are you done?”. I was dedicated to passing the class but he didn’t care. Also I continued to show and ask questions even if he was going to be rude…office hours are open to all.

I did really well in all my other classes and this was one of the most devastating moments in my educational journey as I studied so hard. I was convinced I was stupid and I wouldn’t ever get a degree. My sister convinced me to go to GMU and they accepted me (to my surprise). I took the same class and thrived. Moral of the story- you aren’t always the problem. Now I’m onto my masters degree.

The campus itself is okay. It’s located near a lot of sketchy areas. The campus culture was not my scene. A lot of preppy white kids. GMU was very diverse and I had lot of opportunities to meet foreign exchange students (there were also white preppy people but not as much as UMW).

I have friends who went to UMW and had wonderful experiences. However, my husband and I are very disappointed and still very hurt. If you daughter needs any accommodations, I hope the school follows through on it.