The State of Virginia Colleges

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I had studied these Virginia schools when our kids were little and invested in prepaid tuition.
We toured VCU, JMU, VT, UVA, W&M, CNU, GMU, and UMW.
Each one had great things about them.
We told our kids that they will be going instate only.
So our kids are in 2 of these schools.
We have amazing options here in Virginia.

+1
We told our kids long ago that they would be going instate only. It just makes financial sense, considering the range of options VA offers.

We told our kids we would pay for in-state, or the equivalent cost at an OOS. If they wanted OOS, they would need merit aid or loans for the remainder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, I think there are spots at state schools for VA students - many just feel anything below JMU is too crappy for THEIR child ;p

God forbid their snowflake have to consider Mason, VCU, UMW or CNU

Longwood, Radford or ODU? Oh, the horror!

This is so true. My friend was really mad/frustrated that her kid (3.0 -- FCPS) did not get into VT or JMU (non-stem). Kid/parents were not willing to consider GMU, UMW, VCU, Rad, or anything else in VA. So, they, like many others, ended up at WVU. The big-rah-rah U atmosphere was really important to them ... more than the academics or financial side of it.

To be fair, I think a lot of other states have big-rah-rah-Universities that pretty much anyone with a 3.0 and above can go to. In the case of VA, that would be GMU and VCU --- it's just that GMU doesn't have a football team or college-town aspect to it. And VCU doesn't have that dedicated sense of location/college town. So, I do understand why people really want their kids to go to UVA, VT, and JMU. But, a 3.0 isn't going to cut it... and it's crazy when parents think it should be a legit option.

+1
I really don't think a 3.0 would cut it at either GMU or VCU though.

Definitely not. The 75th percentile for f incoming students last year had a 4.0 weight; the median had a 3.76 and bottom 25th percentile had a 3.46

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, ODU has a football team...that has beaten VT several times

By several times, I think you mean once.

I was already corrected upthread - it was twice. Which is more than once.

I have no skin in the game. I was just pointing out that ODU does have football and the team is decent.

I think football is why my child is leaning more towards ODU vs Radford. Could also be water vs mountains.

Only 3 of the instate options have the mix of programs/degrees she wants, and she doesn’t have a shot of being accepted at the third academically. We would be perfectly happy for her to go to either of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also researched a few of the Cal States (sounds like that is pointless now, though), CO Mesa, NV-Reno and NM

Honestly, the best curriculum in the country for what my child wants to do can be found at…University of Wyoming. No, seriously-Wyoming! She’s not going there, for so many reasons, but she could maybe replicate the curriculum elsewhere.

I also discovered a couple interesting schools in UT, of all places. Put UT Tech on my kid’s radar-it’s apparently in the desert part of the state, right next to AZ and about an hour from NV. Another long shot, but so fun to research options

Utah allows students to get instate tuition after freshman year.

I recall U of New Mexico being relatively cheap OOS?

Yes, apparently Utah makes it easy to establish residency by year 2 vs many other states. Utah Tech also has pretty significant aid programs even as low as a 2.3 GPA, iirc.

UNM I believe gives in state tuition to anyone who graduates HS with a 3.0 or above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think students should start thinking about trades if they're not top students. Welders, plumbers, electricians all can be interesting careers.

and pay very, very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's the COMMONWEALTH of Virginia

This.


There's a popular adage in VA that I hear from folks with 200-300k HHI who live in $1.5m+ mcmansions:

"We will just send our kids to UVA."

"UVA" will evolve into whatever is the best state college they can get into. Not every snowflake in a new build will get into UVA. So yeah, I anticipate it will just get more and more competitive at VA universities, and it's driven by the high housing prices.

If you earn 200k hhi and are living in a $1.5 million house you have big financial issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's the COMMONWEALTH of Virginia

This.


There's a popular adage in VA that I hear from folks with 200-300k HHI who live in $1.5m+ mcmansions:

"We will just send our kids to UVA."

"UVA" will evolve into whatever is the best state college they can get into. Not every snowflake in a new build will get into UVA. So yeah, I anticipate it will just get more and more competitive at VA universities, and it's driven by the high housing prices.

If you earn 200k hhi and are living in a $1.5 million house you have big financial issues.

You don't know that, PP.

We have a 200K HHI and our house has NO mortgage, nor do we have any car loans or other loans, and we are paying for our kids college without FA. Our house is not quite $1.5mil -- more like $1.2mil. So I don't think we have "big financial issues." I think YOU have issues understanding finances if you think people can't live responsibly and have a decent house. You assume that a person who earns $200K must have a gigantic mortgage in order to afford their home.... which maybe is a reflection of your financial decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, I think there are spots at state schools for VA students - many just feel anything below JMU is too crappy for THEIR child ;p

God forbid their snowflake have to consider Mason, VCU, UMW or CNU

Longwood, Radford or ODU? Oh, the horror!

This is so true. My friend was really mad/frustrated that her kid (3.0 -- FCPS) did not get into VT or JMU (non-stem). Kid/parents were not willing to consider GMU, UMW, VCU, Rad, or anything else in VA. So, they, like many others, ended up at WVU. The big-rah-rah U atmosphere was really important to them ... more than the academics or financial side of it.

To be fair, I think a lot of other states have big-rah-rah-Universities that pretty much anyone with a 3.0 and above can go to. In the case of VA, that would be GMU and VCU --- it's just that GMU doesn't have a football team or college-town aspect to it. And VCU doesn't have that dedicated sense of location/college town. So, I do understand why people really want their kids to go to UVA, VT, and JMU. But, a 3.0 isn't going to cut it... and it's crazy when parents think it should be a legit option.

+1
I really don't think a 3.0 would cut it at either GMU or VCU though.

Definitely not. The 75th percentile for f incoming students last year had a 4.0 weight; the median had a 3.76 and bottom 25th percentile had a 3.46

If you've looked at Naviance, you can see that kids with a 3.0 or better are getting into GMU and VCU pretty much across the board. Obviously, a lot of kids with higher GPAs apply to both schools as a back up plan. And kids in comsci/engineering have higher GPAs. But, if someone from FCPS applies with a 3.0 gpa... they are almost certain to get in -- even when the SAT was in the upper 800s (total score!) -- true for both GMU and VCU. And there were even kids admitted in the 2.5-3.0 gpa range.

The original point is that parents (and kids?) think they are entitled to go to the big, traditional, rah-rah Universities -- and unfortunately, they are becoming very exclusive in VA. The other schools are less rah-rah-U, but are certainly options for the 3.0-3.25 crowd... but that assumes that the most important aspect of the college choice is EDUCATION, not sports/spirit/college town. For many NoVA parents, the school scene is the priority... which means they have to look outside of VA, and that creates frustration.

WVU is taking kids with a 2.5 and up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's the COMMONWEALTH of Virginia

This.


There's a popular adage in VA that I hear from folks with 200-300k HHI who live in $1.5m+ mcmansions:

"We will just send our kids to UVA."

"UVA" will evolve into whatever is the best state college they can get into. Not every snowflake in a new build will get into UVA. So yeah, I anticipate it will just get more and more competitive at VA universities, and it's driven by the high housing prices.

If you earn 200k hhi and are living in a $1.5 million house you have big financial issues.

You don't know that, PP.

We have a 200K HHI and our house has NO mortgage, nor do we have any car loans or other loans, and we are paying for our kids college without FA. Our house is not quite $1.5mil -- more like $1.2mil. So I don't think we have "big financial issues." I think YOU have issues understanding finances if you think people can't live responsibly and have a decent house. You assume that a person who earns $200K must have a gigantic mortgage in order to afford their home.... which maybe is a reflection of your financial decisions.

+1
Well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, I think there are spots at state schools for VA students - many just feel anything below JMU is too crappy for THEIR child ;p

God forbid their snowflake have to consider Mason, VCU, UMW or CNU

Longwood, Radford or ODU? Oh, the horror!

This is so true. My friend was really mad/frustrated that her kid (3.0 -- FCPS) did not get into VT or JMU (non-stem). Kid/parents were not willing to consider GMU, UMW, VCU, Rad, or anything else in VA. So, they, like many others, ended up at WVU. The big-rah-rah U atmosphere was really important to them ... more than the academics or financial side of it.

To be fair, I think a lot of other states have big-rah-rah-Universities that pretty much anyone with a 3.0 and above can go to. In the case of VA, that would be GMU and VCU --- it's just that GMU doesn't have a football team or college-town aspect to it. And VCU doesn't have that dedicated sense of location/college town. So, I do understand why people really want their kids to go to UVA, VT, and JMU. But, a 3.0 isn't going to cut it... and it's crazy when parents think it should be a legit option.

+1
I really don't think a 3.0 would cut it at either GMU or VCU though.

I know of several kids who got into VCU with a 3.0. One even had a 2.9. Just regular students with nothing “special to offer the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, I think there are spots at state schools for VA students - many just feel anything below JMU is too crappy for THEIR child ;p

God forbid their snowflake have to consider Mason, VCU, UMW or CNU

Longwood, Radford or ODU? Oh, the horror!

This is so true. My friend was really mad/frustrated that her kid (3.0 -- FCPS) did not get into VT or JMU (non-stem). Kid/parents were not willing to consider GMU, UMW, VCU, Rad, or anything else in VA. So, they, like many others, ended up at WVU. The big-rah-rah U atmosphere was really important to them ... more than the academics or financial side of it.

To be fair, I think a lot of other states have big-rah-rah-Universities that pretty much anyone with a 3.0 and above can go to. In the case of VA, that would be GMU and VCU --- it's just that GMU doesn't have a football team or college-town aspect to it. And VCU doesn't have that dedicated sense of location/college town. So, I do understand why people really want their kids to go to UVA, VT, and JMU. But, a 3.0 isn't going to cut it... and it's crazy when parents think it should be a legit option.

+1
I really don't think a 3.0 would cut it at either GMU or VCU though.

I know of several kids who got into VCU with a 3.0. One even had a 2.9. Just regular students with nothing “special to offer the school.

Well perhaps they were unbeknownst to you first generation because the 75th percentile of accepted students last year had a 4.12; median had a 3.88 and bottom 25th of the class had a 3.31

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia ranks fourth nationally for K-12 education. You guys seem to forget that ALL of Virginia has VERY strong schools, from Bristol up to Roanoke over to Virginia Beach up to Winchester. Admission into Virginia's colleges and universities isn't just about you in NOVA. Your kids are competing against the students of ROVA (Rest of Virginia) who are very strong, as well. You dismiss them as invisible. But come application time, they are there and they are getting into all the schools. I can see how it's a wake-up call.

It does? Citation please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, I think there are spots at state schools for VA students - many just feel anything below JMU is too crappy for THEIR child ;p

God forbid their snowflake have to consider Mason, VCU, UMW or CNU

Longwood, Radford or ODU? Oh, the horror!

This is so true. My friend was really mad/frustrated that her kid (3.0 -- FCPS) did not get into VT or JMU (non-stem). Kid/parents were not willing to consider GMU, UMW, VCU, Rad, or anything else in VA. So, they, like many others, ended up at WVU. The big-rah-rah U atmosphere was really important to them ... more than the academics or financial side of it.

To be fair, I think a lot of other states have big-rah-rah-Universities that pretty much anyone with a 3.0 and above can go to. In the case of VA, that would be GMU and VCU --- it's just that GMU doesn't have a football team or college-town aspect to it. And VCU doesn't have that dedicated sense of location/college town. So, I do understand why people really want their kids to go to UVA, VT, and JMU. But, a 3.0 isn't going to cut it... and it's crazy when parents think it should be a legit option.

+1
I really don't think a 3.0 would cut it at either GMU or VCU though.

Definitely not. The 75th percentile for f incoming students last year had a 4.0 weight; the median had a 3.76 and bottom 25th percentile had a 3.46

At VCU? They have a 93% admit rate. That is definitely not the vibe we got when we toured either. I live in Richmond, and I like VCU. It does have sports that finally seem to have put it on the map, but I’d never call it a “Rah Rah” school, which is what I like about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's the COMMONWEALTH of Virginia

This.


There's a popular adage in VA that I hear from folks with 200-300k HHI who live in $1.5m+ mcmansions:

"We will just send our kids to UVA."

"UVA" will evolve into whatever is the best state college they can get into. Not every snowflake in a new build will get into UVA. So yeah, I anticipate it will just get more and more competitive at VA universities, and it's driven by the high housing prices.

If you earn 200k hhi and are living in a $1.5 million house you have big financial issues.

You don't know that, PP.

We have a 200K HHI and our house has NO mortgage, nor do we have any car loans or other loans, and we are paying for our kids college without FA. Our house is not quite $1.5mil -- more like $1.2mil. So I don't think we have "big financial issues." I think YOU have issues understanding finances if you think people can't live responsibly and have a decent house. You assume that a person who earns $200K must have a gigantic mortgage in order to afford their home.... which maybe is a reflection of your financial decisions.

No it isn’t. I was perhaps thinking that the post referred to buying such s house on that relatively low income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The consequence will be that schools like VCU, CNU and JMU will continue to “gentrify” and become more desirable as students get shut out of VT, W&M and UVa.

This was my point! It will make it impossible for these students to get into one of these schools because more kids will only have them as an option. Unless you have a senior in a NOVA high school you don't know what I am talking about. Kids with 4.0's not getting into VT, their only option is JMU or out of state because they don't want to go to one of the other schools. Now JMU is becoming harder to get into because kids with 4.0's have to stay in state and JMU is recognized as a strong school. Some parents don't want to spend 100K on a Radford education!

As we, look ahead, my HS Junior (URM) with a current GPA of 3.5 just said to me, mom if I don't make it into JMU or GMU don't waste your money, I'll go to NVCC and then transfer.
He probably will have chances at VCU and CNU among others B+ Colleges but doesn't want to go there.
We certainly don't want to waste 100K in a college he's not happy either.

It is sad that these, still smart, kids are getting shout out as well.