Washington and Lee University

Overview

Think freely, creatively, and humanely. That’s the crux of the academic mission at Washington and Lee University. W&L will empower you to own your unique perspective. Enjoy the flexibility in the majors and minors you choose to pursue, and be surprised by the connections you’ll draw between subjects. You’ll have multiple opportunities to deepen your knowledge through research with a professor or expand your worldview while studying abroad. As a W&L student, you’ll seek out the big problems and learn to analyze them from all sides, with an eye toward real-world applications and solutions.

Conduct yourself with honor, integrity, and civility. The W&L community thrives under an honor system that will impact your life every day in small but significant ways. You’ll be trusted to take exams and complete assignments on your schedule, pledging that your work is your own. Treat every individual and idea you encounter with an open mind, endeavoring to understand a perspective informed by experiences as unique as yours.

Prepare for lifelong learning and personal achievement. Liberal arts students learn ways of thinking that are more important than memorizing discrete facts or theories. How you analyze a problem, draw conclusions, test your hypothesis, and communicate your findings are skills you can and will use continuously as you progress in your career. Keep in mind, given the rate of technological evolution, the job title you may hold someday may be in a role or industry that simply doesn’t exist today. W&L will help you acquire the skills to be a natural investigator and problem-solver so that you can seize the opportunity in the challenges the evolving world will present.

Practice responsible leadership, service to others, and engaged citizenship. Washington and Lee University seeks to understand its place in an increasingly global and diverse society. They examine our past and use it to inform their future plans. They invest in resources and support services that allow their students to thrive. They are actively seeking to increase access to their distinctive education for students and families underrepresented in higher education today. They endeavor to make a W&L education affordable to every admitted student through financial aid that does not include loans. They care about sustainability and our relationship with the town of Lexington and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia they call home. They take care of each other, and that extends to their 28,000 alumni who — in addition to embodying W&L's mission as business leaders, policymakers, healthcare providers, educators, artists, and everything in between — are eager to be mentors to the newest members of the W&L community.

Learn more about W&L. W&L hopes you’ll take the time while researching the 50 amazing QuestBridge Partner Colleges to find the places that will challenge you, support you, and propel you forward to the career you desire and deserve.

If you want to know more about W&L, you can DIVE deeper by applying to W&L's fly-in program or by contacting their campus QuestBridge Admissions Coordinator.

Fun Fact: W&L’s special four-week Spring Term allows students to participate in a single immersive course exploring a topic of diverse interest. For example, recent classes have taken students to Paris to relive the excitement of expatriate African American authors like Josephine Baker and Richard Wright. Other classes have had students examining flowing lava on the big island of Hawaii, tracking buffalo migration in the American West, and studying the culture of Japan through anime in Tokyo. The goal of the Spring Term is for students to proclaim: “This course changed my life,” which is to say that many students find their true passion in these deeply engaging courses.

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