I am late to see this and see he has made a decision, but will offer some information about this specific honors program since my DD is in it. 1. You can opt out later easily. My DD is consider doing it as she has reached a point where it is not useful to her. They actually have an issue with students doing this and are trying to encourage them to stay. 2. The early move in was nice, but honestly the 3 days of honors activities and then the regular orientation exhausted my introvert. It was just a lot all at once and really she didn't feel like there was actually time to rest and recover. She did get to pick her side of the room though. 3. Priority registration is definitely the biggest benefit there. Especially the first two years, since it normally goes by seniority. 4. My DD was not super impressed with the city as text course. It will be hit or miss whether you like the people you are grouped with. She felt like it was kind of a waste of time. 5. Anyone there can take honor classes if there are spaces when they register, so that's not really a benefit. Also, I think you mentioned he would be studying business and there are not any business honors classes (or haven't been up to this point). The honors lounge is nice if you want a quiet place to study and they usually have snacks. If you enter in honors program then the honors advisor is the one who will set up your classes and they were easy for my daughter to reach out to. If he fills out the form where he lists classes he would like to take, make sure he looks at the fall schedule, sees what classes have spaces, and is very specific. It will help the advisor make decisions.

I saw that your DS 2 is attending the school my daughter attends. Unless things have changed in the last two years, his dorm (and therefore bathroom style) will be based on his fsem. (Unless he is picking an fsem by what dorm he wants to live in, which many students did!) She lived in the renovated dorm (Virginia) and didn't mind the hall bathrooms, but didn't feel they were always cleaned the best. She, however, did feel like it was the best freshman dorm after seeing the others and would pick that one again.

My DD at UMW went random her freshman year and had issues with her roommate mainly due to very different sleep schedules. She goes to bed pretty early for a college student and her roommate stayed up most of the night. I don't think it was the school's selection process at fault, just the roommate's habits changed after she came to school. This year was much better since she got to know people and make a more informed decision. If I remember correctly the students at UMW are assigned to dorms based on their fsems, so that does limit the people you can live with there. Unless you've lived with that person before there are no guarantees either way. I don't think it matters which way a student goes.

My daughter just finished her first semester at Mary Washington and really loves it there. It's been a great experience for her so far.

The IKEA bags were great for move in. The tool kit has not been touched so far. Surge protector strips and an Ethernet cable in case they are in a dorm with spotty wifi. Rain gear for sure. Maybe an electric kettle. Some card games - not a necessity, but they don't take up much room and are a good way to get to know people.

@ShepCarlin For her the scholarship application came after she was admitted. She actually didn't complete it since she decided to attend a different school, so I don't remember much about it. Actually, it looks like some (Academic Scholarships) are automatically considered with the application and Merit and Need-based Foundation scholarships require an additional application. https://www.wcu.edu/apply/scholarships/wcu-scholarships.aspx I didn't feel like they were the best at communicating compared to the other schools she applied to, but it was in the middle of Covid-19. Even without scholarships and as an out of state student it would have been a cheaper option than many of our in state (VA) schools. She really wasn't crazy about the location and decided she wanted to attend a more urban campus. For a student who likes outdoor activities it would be excellent, I think. I'm sure you know more about their biology department than I do!

The extra info might actually be more important on the the scholarship application than the admission application. They were separate forms for us.

My daughter was accepted into the honors college without any further documentation. Her scores were fine, 28 ACT, but not amazing. She did have dual enrollment courses and we did send those transcripts, and an excellent GPA. We are out of state.

My daughter also applied and was accepted. No course descriptions needed. Very straightforward, though I didn't feel they were the best about communicating. She did not choose to attend.

You are probably right. My DD marked it off her list pretty quickly, but they did offer excellent aid! The others I listed might be too small and/or rural as well.

My daughter applied to several of your closer to home schools this year and chose Mary Washington. It feels very LBGTQ friendly and the merit aid there is listed upfront for specific GPAs/test scores. Longwood might be a bit more conservative than she is looking for. Elon is beautiful, but does not offer a large amount of financial aid compared to some privates. We found Christopher Newport to feel very sterile and you need to be in their honors or PLP program to get any merit aid. If you look at Lynchburg College, you might want to check Randolph College while you are there since they are very close to each other. There is also Randolph Macon closer to Richmond and Bridgewater (which offers excellent aid) near Harrisonburg. Emory and Henry is near Abingdon. I'm not sure if any of these offer her major interests or would fit her needs.