Academics
Mary Baldwin University is a small and "beautiful" liberal arts school with "rolling hills and Greek revival buildings" in the Shenandoah Valley. Students "are able, even required, to pursue all areas of study available." But not all areas of study are equal in students’ eyes. "If you go to Mary Baldwin, the best education is going to be in psychology or sociology." Math, on the other hand, is "terrible." As a former all-women’s college, it’s hardly surprising that "Mary Baldwin is all about women’s empowerment and leadership." And they start that empowerment especially early: The PEG [Program for the Exceptionally Gifted] allows students to skip as many as four years of high school and enroll directly in college. While some traditional students find the program innovative, many of them "question the validity of taking girls out of high school to place them in the harsh world of college academics." The students of Mary Baldwin can count on "individual attention" from professors and administrators alike. "It is not uncommon to be given your professor's home or cell phone numbers, and they really do want you to call if you need to." But professors are not pushovers. "Teachers are understanding, yet they push us to succeed no matter what program we are apart of, ethnicity, religion, or age." Additionally, "Everyone knows the President by face and name and are constantly invited to her house for a variety of events."