ODU and CNU

[Anonymous]

I have heard so much about how CNU is conservative, but my niece is a freshman there this year and she says it's not at all conservative other than a couple of the sports teams. Plenty of kids with blue hair, if that's your crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In addition to some of the differences cited above, ODU has a lot more second-career, military, and part-time students who work. I think it skews older and less traditional in comparison to a place like CNU. There are still younger students and it’s a large university but a certain contingent does fall into that category. They even tout it on their website.

https://www.odu.edu/educational-foundations-leadership/student-profiles

It’s a great thing but can certainly have an impact on the college experience. For example, ODU only has a 50% graduation rate. I think of CNU as being younger, less diverse, preppier, and more traditional. ODU much more diverse with over one-third of students identifying as Black or Hispanic.

This is my perception too. My DH and some of his family went to ODU because they were working class, lived in Norfolk and needed someplace they could commute to, some going part time while working FT. It worked well for DH who got an engineering degree there and a good career in DC.

We toured CNU with DD because she wanted a smaller school and we know a couple kids who go there. Her take on it was that CNU felt like the kind of place where the sporty, popular kids from her HS would go, kind of a mini UVA. It wasn't her vibe, she found UMW was a better fit (and preferred W&M to UVA).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In addition to some of the differences cited above, ODU has a lot more second-career, military, and part-time students who work. I think it skews older and less traditional in comparison to a place like CNU. There are still younger students and it’s a large university but a certain contingent does fall into that category. They even tout it on their website.

https://www.odu.edu/educational-foundations-leadership/student-profiles

It’s a great thing but can certainly have an impact on the college experience. For example, ODU only has a 50% graduation rate. I think of CNU as being younger, less diverse, preppier, and more traditional. ODU much more diverse with over one-third of students identifying as Black or Hispanic.

To be fair, this is in large part due to 55% of the student body being low/income. VA is great about providing higher ed opportunities for everyone

Yes, I recognize student demographics have a big impact on graduation rate. It can affect the school experience, which was why I mentioned it. Something to consider when looking at colleges and trying to get a sense for their vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty good working knowledge of colleges and universities and while I've mostly focused on small liberal arts schools for my kids, I have no idea what ODU and CNU stand for.

I am always sort of entertained by posts like these, as though they imply something about the schools rather than the person's lack of awareness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty good working knowledge of colleges and universities and while I've mostly focused on small liberal arts schools for my kids, I have no idea what ODU and CNU stand for.

I am always sort of entertained by posts like these, as though they imply something about the schools rather than the person's lack of awareness.

And it took longer to type PP’s statement than it would have to just google the colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone give me the back of a napkin on the differences/similarities between these two schools and the type of student they attract?

Size and location, and the resulting diversity or lack thereof, are the biggest differences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty good working knowledge of colleges and universities and while I've mostly focused on small liberal arts schools for my kids, I have no idea what ODU and CNU stand for.

I guess we found a gap in your knowledge. You might want to brush up a bit.

[Anonymous]

My daughter went to a dance intensive at ODU in summer 2022 and 2023 (my parents own a condo on the Bay). She really liked it there. We also did an open house in Fall 2023, and it was very well done.

Yes, they will have a lot of pt and/or mid-career students - nothing wrong with that. The military presence is prominent in that area.

My daughter didn't wind up there in the end (or a state school, for that matter), but I feel like people need to give it a look. Worth your time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty good working knowledge of colleges and universities and while I've mostly focused on small liberal arts schools for my kids, I have no idea what ODU and CNU stand for.

I guess we found a gap in your knowledge. You might want to brush up a bit.

Poster who didn't know what ODU or CNU stand for, do you know what UMW stands for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone give me the back of a napkin on the differences/similarities between these two schools and the type of student they attract?

Size and location, and the resulting diversity or lack thereof, are the biggest differences.

They aren't that far apart locationwise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty good working knowledge of colleges and universities and while I've mostly focused on small liberal arts schools for my kids, I have no idea what ODU and CNU stand for.

I guess we found a gap in your knowledge. You might want to brush up a bit.

Poster who didn't know what ODU or CNU stand for, do you know what UMW stands for?

NP. I don’t know how you can live in this area, have college aged kids, and not know what those three colleges are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty good working knowledge of colleges and universities and while I've mostly focused on small liberal arts schools for my kids, I have no idea what ODU and CNU stand for.

I guess we found a gap in your knowledge. You might want to brush up a bit.

Poster who didn't know what ODU or CNU stand for, do you know what UMW stands for?

NP. I don’t know how you can live in this area, have college aged kids, and not know what those three colleges are.

I think that PP knew full well what those acronyms stood for, but wanted to disparage the schools as being no-name institutions that companies haven't heard of. Pretty typical for DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty good working knowledge of colleges and universities and while I've mostly focused on small liberal arts schools for my kids, I have no idea what ODU and CNU stand for.

I guess we found a gap in your knowledge. You might want to brush up a bit.

Poster who didn't know what ODU or CNU stand for, do you know what UMW stands for?

NP. I don’t know how you can live in this area, have college aged kids, and not know what those three colleges are.

Right?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:.

We toured CNU with DD because she wanted a smaller school and we know a couple kids who go there. Her take on it was that CNU felt like the kind of place where the sporty, popular kids from her HS would go, kind of a mini UVA. It wasn't her vibe, she found UMW was a better fit (and preferred W&M to UVA).

DP. This is helpful - DC has W&M and UMW on the list and we’ve been wondering about CNU.

[Anonymous]

ODU is like Radford. Low tier college.