University of Mary Washington, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was founded in 1908 and named after George Washington's mother. In the mid-20th century, it was the women's college of the University of Virginia, and became independent when it went coed in the 70's. It's now a smaller public option in Virginia with around 3000 undergraduate students, and a maximum class size of 70. And women still do outnumber the men: the student body is 63% female. The focus here really is on undergraduate education and a student has the chance to stand out. Students are required to live on campus for 2 years and most live on campus for 4.

Last year, the university received a gift of $30M, and all of it is going to scholarships and student research opportunities. The out-of-state all-in price is under $46K, DROPPING by $46K this year! In addition, out-of-state students can receive merit packages of up $29K or for a select few, a full-ride scholarship. But those students must apply early action or early decision and opt into the honors program. Free tip: they give a $1-2K non-renewable scholarship to anyone who interviews. But sign up early! There's lots of room on their schedule in the fall but they fill up by December! Furthermore, unlike other Virginia public institutions, there is no limit to the number of out-of-state state students they will admit, although most students do come from Virginia.

The University of Mary Washington has fantastic programs in Historic Preservation and Digital Studies. Some other interesting majors include Creative Writing, Environmental Geology, Conservation Biology, Cybersecurity, and International Business. Some unique minors are Actuarial Science, Arts Administration, Arabic Studies, Entrepreneurship, Linguistics, Practical Ethics, Urban Studies, and Security & Conflict Studies.

The only downside I'll mention is that I don't think the campus showed well. It's not that anything was in need of repair, but the grass looked like it hadn't been mown in weeks. I don't know why. But it did make it look like a poor cousin of the well manicured lawns of UVA and William and Mary. I imagine they're operating under a very different budget. But the value is sound, as Washington monthly noted when they awarded Mary Washington a "Best Bang for the Buck" institution.