Dilemma

[Anonymous]

Go to JMU, make friends, find great professors, and report back in 4 years.

[Anonymous]

I commented on another thread where a parent of a student from "Yorktown/McLean/Langley" was unhappy with going to JMU as an "also ran" and suggested it was a common feeling and posters jumped all over me and called me a snob who knew nothing about anything. Clearly, as this thread confirms, I'm not wrong. It happens all the time, and it's sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS did not get into UVA or VT Early Action and will likely not be getting into W&M regular decision. He did get into JMU EA but isn't excited about attending.

If you were in his situation, would you take a year or two off at a CC then transfer, or go to JMU for a few semesters and then transfer? He probably wouldn't be doing guaranteed CC transfer if he went the CC route. Any advice?

If I were him I'd go to JMU, do well in my classes, and see how it goes. Imo, living at home and going to CC isn't the answer to not getting into the school you want unless there is a financial or maturity issue. It is an option of course, but creates a very different kind of life for a kid who otherwise might be ready to launch.

[Anonymous]

Why did he apply there if he definitely doesn’t want to go there?

Applying to schools you hate is a recipe for disaster.

[Anonymous]

He will like JMU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did he apply there if he definitely doesn’t want to go there?

Applying to schools you hate is a recipe for disaster.

It's called a safety school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did he apply there if he definitely doesn’t want to go there?

Applying to schools you hate is a recipe for disaster.

It's called a safety school.

You should put in the time to find safety schools you like and would be happy to go to.

[Anonymous]

Why did he apply there if he definitely doesn’t want to go there?

Applying to schools you hate is a recipe for disaster.

Said by someone who is not from Northern Virginia
and no one said anything about "hate"
pp, you ramping-up the drama is idiotic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS did not get into UVA or VT Early Action and will likely not be getting into W&M regular decision. He did get into JMU EA but isn't excited about attending.

If you were in his situation, would you take a year or two off at a CC then transfer, or go to JMU for a few semesters and then transfer? He probably wouldn't be doing guaranteed CC transfer if he went the CC route. Any advice?

Your situation is sadly too common. Your kid would choose any of UVA, VT and W&M over JMU for the sole reason that they're all higher ranked and more prestigious than JMU notwithstanding that they couldn't be more different from one another and clearly would ALL be a better fit. JMU is much closer to both Tech and UVA than it is to JMU.

I'd let the kid do whatever he wants. It's his life. And a couple years of CC would save you money, so there's that. But I find it very hard to believe that he'd ultimately be happier going that route than giving JMU a try. And that's exactly what I'd tell him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU, with the attitude of putting down roots there and staying. Going with the attitude that he's too good for the school and isn't going to stay is just going to make everyone unhappy.

Although he will be surrounded with peers who have similar attitudes. It’s a great school, especially for undergraduates, but it unfortunately does have a reputation as a consolation prize for kids who couldn’t get into the higher ranked state universities.

My kid didn’t experience this at all. Many of the kids at JMU had it as their first choice and loved being there. It’s a great school filled with happy kids.

Yes, there are plenty of kids at JMU who had it as their first choice. But the higher achieving NOVA students typically don't. Apparently OP's kid is among them.

[Anonymous]

A major in engineering being the exception, from Northern Virginia, the students going to JMU and VT have equivalent stats. I find it curious that student don't, usually, get into both. A student gets accepted to one or the other, but not usually both. Like the two universities are in cahoots. Maybe HS counselors are signaling somehow - this batch for VT, this batch for JMU. It's just a little strange

I advised my own DCs, between JMU and VT: know enough to have a preference, state it and be clear about in the application. And certainly mention it to your HS counselor.

I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did he apply there if he definitely doesn’t want to go there?

Applying to schools you hate is a recipe for disaster.

It's called a safety school.

Apparently it was a match, not a safety, and the other schools were reaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A major in engineering being the exception, from Northern Virginia, the students going to JMU and VT have equivalent stats. I find it curious that student don't, usually, get into both. A student gets accepted to one or the other, but not usually both. Like the two universities are in cahoots. Maybe HS counselors are signaling somehow - this batch for VT, this batch for JMU. It's just a little strange

I advised my own DCs, between JMU and VT: know enough to have a preference, state it and be clear about in the application. And certainly mention it to your HS counselor.

I

This isn't true anymore. VT is a tougher all around admit for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU, with the attitude of putting down roots there and staying. Going with the attitude that he's too good for the school and isn't going to stay is just going to make everyone unhappy.

Although he will be surrounded with peers who have similar attitudes. It’s a great school, especially for undergraduates, but it unfortunately does have a reputation as a consolation prize for kids who couldn’t get into the higher ranked state universities.

My kid didn’t experience this at all. Many of the kids at JMU had it as their first choice and loved being there. It’s a great school filled with happy kids.

Yes, there are plenty of kids at JMU who had it as their first choice. But the higher achieving NOVA students typically don't. Apparently OP's kid is among them.

Plenty of higher achieving NOVA student go to JMU and crash academically the first year. USNWR ranks VA 15th for its education system. NOVA isn’t special compared to the Northeast.

[Anonymous]

VT is a tougher all around admit for sure.

We just don't believe you. You would need to support this statement. And it needs to be stats of students from Northern Virginia publics.