WVU or CNU?

[Anonymous]

DC is interested in applying to both these schools next year (major not quite decided). They want a sport atmosphere but aren't (yet) party people. They like the small town vibe of Morgantown but find the rest of WVA unappealing even though they enjoy outdoor pursuits. They liked CNU but are concerned they might miss out on the rah-rah and some of the academic opportunities one can find at a bigger state school once they settle on a course of study. Their grades are such that they won't get a lot of merit at WVU. Is one of these schools a better option than the other?

[Anonymous]

CNU is D3, so it will never ever compare to D1 sports from a rah rah spectator perspective.

WVU is aggressively trying to attract students because their enrollment has declined by like 1/3 over the last 10 years. You may be surprised what merit they will provide. Obviously, just apply and see what happens.

[Anonymous]

CNU is a no name no fun school. I can’t even.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CNU is D3, so it will never ever compare to D1 sports from a rah rah spectator perspective.

WVU is aggressively trying to attract students because their enrollment has declined by like 1/3 over the last 10 years. You may be surprised what merit they will provide. Obviously, just apply and see what happens.

Very interesting. Is there a graph of the student body population you know of? I had no idea this was happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CNU is a no name no fun school. I can’t even.

Looks like someone finished their AP exam early today!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CNU is a no name no fun school. I can’t even.

You say this as if WVU is any more of a name brand school. #236 WVU vs. #366 CNU per Forbes is not significant at all.

[Anonymous]

WVU's party culture is unmatched (IMO). I've seen straight laced students struggle just to keep up with the balance of partying vs grades. And many loose their merit aid after the first year.

If you are looking for something in between, maybe consider VCU. VCU still has a large sports presence, but no football team, so freshman have time to settle into school for a few months. Once basketball season starts, you still get a great sports scene (alone with other sports, just naming the main sports appeal).

[Anonymous]

WVU is for guys who like to party and wear boots. Why not JMU?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WVU is for guys who like to party and wear boots. Why not JMU?

Sounds like maybe their student’s grades won’t make the cut for JMU.

OP, have you given any thought to somewhere like Loyola MD or St. Joe’s in Philly? They may be appealing options for your student. Solid medium-sized schools that are less competitive for admissions and have D1 sports teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WVU's party culture is unmatched (IMO). I've seen straight laced students struggle just to keep up with the balance of partying vs grades. And many loose their merit aid after the first year.

If you are looking for something in between, maybe consider VCU. VCU still has a large sports presence, but no football team, so freshman have time to settle into school for a few months. Once basketball season starts, you still get a great sports scene (alone with other sports, just naming the main sports appeal).

VCU is urban which is a major negative for DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WVU is for guys who like to party and wear boots. Why not JMU?

Sounds like maybe their student’s grades won’t make the cut for JMU.

OP, have you given any thought to somewhere like Loyola MD or St. Joe’s in Philly? They may be appealing options for your student. Solid medium-sized schools that are less competitive for admissions and have D1 sports teams.

OP here. I will look into Loyola MD but St. Joe is too urban. I don't know anything about Loyola, MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CNU is a no name no fun school. I can’t even.

You say this as if WVU is any more of a name brand school. #236 WVU vs. #366 CNU per Forbes is not significant at all.

People have at least HEARD of WVU. And it’s definitely fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CNU is D3, so it will never ever compare to D1 sports from a rah rah spectator perspective.

WVU is aggressively trying to attract students because their enrollment has declined by like 1/3 over the last 10 years. You may be surprised what merit they will provide. Obviously, just apply and see what happens.

Very interesting. Is there a graph of the student body population you know of? I had no idea this was happening.

So, there are many negative news articles about WVU if you do a search...they are cutting a number of programs and professors.

Yes, never good...but they are still making a big push to increase enrollment and the normal popular majors are not really impacted. Here is a blurb from an article:https://newrepublic.com/article/176202/west-virginia-university-higher-education-enrollment-cliff-cuts

Some, though, were in outright denial—perhaps none more so than Gee of West Virginia. In 2017, he announced a plan to grow WVU enrollment from 28,409—after a decade of holding steady between 28,000 and 29,700—to 40,000 by 2020, and spent accordingly on debt-financed building projects and industry partnerships. “Of course, we will be careful with our growth,” Gee said at the time. “We will protect the quality of life that we love in this community, and we will not overburden our infrastructure.” The opposite has come true: WVU had a little over 26,000 students in 2023 and was $33 million in debt during the last fiscal year—yet has continued to spend. The future is no brighter: The university projects a loss of 5,000 students over the next decade due to reduced enrollment, costing it $72.5 million.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WVU's party culture is unmatched (IMO). I've seen straight laced students struggle just to keep up with the balance of partying vs grades. And many loose their merit aid after the first year.

If you are looking for something in between, maybe consider VCU. VCU still has a large sports presence, but no football team, so freshman have time to settle into school for a few months. Once basketball season starts, you still get a great sports scene (alone with other sports, just naming the main sports appeal).

How many WVU students do you actually know who lost their merit aid? What are you, a stalker?

I call bullshit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CNU is D3, so it will never ever compare to D1 sports from a rah rah spectator perspective.

WVU is aggressively trying to attract students because their enrollment has declined by like 1/3 over the last 10 years. You may be surprised what merit they will provide. Obviously, just apply and see what happens.

Very interesting. Is there a graph of the student body population you know of? I had no idea this was happening.

The enrollment decline and financial struggles at WVU has been reported in the news. This article has some numbers, it’s been declining for the past decade.

https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/wvu-fall-2024-enrollment-declines-challenges-and-strategic-plans-for-growth/article_8bf8fdd0-b105-11ef-a462-f3e460b5f904.html#:~:text=WVU%20photo,admissions%20standards%2C%20and%20retention%20rates.

You can also easily pull data from the WVU database and see the trend. I do think this means there are favorable merit opportunities to attract students.

https://dataoffice.wvu.edu/reports-analytics/enrollment-overview-board