The Other Virginia Colleges: VCU, ODU, GMU, CNU, UMW . . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from VCU in 2010, and was lucky to find a decent job right after graduation, which turned into a great career (Financial Analyst with a Fortune 500 company). I graduated with a 3.53 overall and a 3.73 in my majors (doubled in Finance and Real Estate), that being said, I am still stigmatized because of my VCU degree, particularly by graduates of top tier schools (UVA, W&M, UNC, UoR, etc...), and before landing my current position, potential employers. Maybe 10 years from now my degree might carry more weight (VCU is improving relatively quickly), but if I had to do it over again I would choose a different path. Community colleges offer guaranteed admissions programs to UVA or W&M, given you take the program's courses and maintain a high GPA, a 3.5 in most cases. You'll save money and end up with a degree from a top 40 university, which may open doors that VCU, GMU, JMU, or CNU could not. I know this is an unpopular choice with many high school graduates (I definitely did not want to go to community college), but it is a great alternative. Although, you do miss out on the freshman/sophomore social experience that were some of the best times of my life.

Bypassing the community college route, I would never select CNU over JMU or GMU. CNU was a community college not to long ago, but then a new president built a ton of new buildings and arbitrarily raised the admission requirements. Also, CNU is in Newport News (aka "Bad News"), a filthy suburban "city" where shopping malls are the most popular attractions. At least VCU and GMU offer urban perks and JMU offers beautiful mountains vistas...........................................................................

So, if you are living in NoVa, I'm guessing that you either work for Freddie Mac or Capital One.

No, Richmond, and I prefer not to name the company. Grew up in Hampton Roads, but spent summers in Washington DC. Worked in Washington DC for a year after college. Sometimes its better to have a perspective outside the NoVa eyeglass.

capital one. not that many dude

Altria, MeadWestVaco, Dominion Resources, CarMax, Owens and Minor...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from VCU in 2010, and was lucky to find a decent job right after graduation, which turned into a great career (Financial Analyst with a Fortune 500 company). I graduated with a 3.53 overall and a 3.73 in my majors (doubled in Finance and Real Estate), that being said, I am still stigmatized because of my VCU degree, particularly by graduates of top tier schools (UVA, W&M, UNC, UoR, etc...), and before landing my current position, potential employers. Maybe 10 years from now my degree might carry more weight (VCU is improving relatively quickly), but if I had to do it over again I would choose a different path. Community colleges offer guaranteed admissions programs to UVA or W&M, given you take the program's courses and maintain a high GPA, a 3.5 in most cases. You'll save money and end up with a degree from a top 40 university, which may open doors that VCU, GMU, JMU, or CNU could not. I know this is an unpopular choice with many high school graduates (I definitely did not want to go to community college), but it is a great alternative. Although, you do miss out on the freshman/sophomore social experience that were some of the best times of my life.

Bypassing the community college route, I would never select CNU over JMU or GMU. CNU was a community college not to long ago, but then a new president built a ton of new buildings and arbitrarily raised the admission requirements. Also, CNU is in Newport News (aka "Bad News"), a filthy suburban "city" where shopping malls are the most popular attractions. At least VCU and GMU offer urban perks and JMU offers beautiful mountains vistas...........................................................................

So, if you are living in NoVa, I'm guessing that you either work for Freddie Mac or Capital One.

No, Richmond, and I prefer not to name the company. Grew up in Hampton Roads, but spent summers in Washington DC. Worked in Washington DC for a year after college. Sometimes its better to have a perspective outside the NoVa eyeglass.

capital one. not that many dude

Altria, MeadWestVaco, Dominion Resources, CarMax, Owens and Minor...

how many of those are F500?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This ain't your grandpa's CNU. Our friends' daughter was indeed very excited to get into CNU and is there now. She had a 3.8 at her NoVA high school and was accepted at other schools. CNU is a different kind of school, but perfect for her. The school is very new and very small. Class sizes are smaller than at any other VA Public College and students really get to know the professors. This may not be for every one, but she loves it. Students live on campus all four years in beautiful new and spacious dorms. Almost all the buildings are new and the campus is nicely designed.
Granted the surrounding area isn't the best and CNU gets called the "Garden in the Ghetto" but the school itself is very safe. It's also notably conservative, which holds a lot of appeal for some kids.

And to the sometimes drunken poster, there isn't a straight-line US News-style ranking from best to worst of the VA schools, or any schools for that matter. Sure there are maybe 25 schools in the US that everybody is impressed with, but for the rest. Meh. Depends more on the kid and what they make of it.

And FWIW, out our son's high school had far more kids got rejected by GMU than JMU. His high school sent a large group to JMU but only a few, top students to GMU.

Ok fun flame bait. But let's be honest. No "top students" go to geo mason. JMU is no great shakes, nor is VT or MW...but they are all a tier above GMU. According to every ranking of public colleges out there.

Axe to grind?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mason sucks

Care to elaborate? Are you or were you a student there? Otherwise you just sound like a troll.

I don't think Mason looks good on a resume.

Locally, it's fine. You might have to graduate closer to the top at Mason for some positions than might be the case if you'd attended more prestigious schools. But I've hired many Mason graduates (undergraduate/law) and generally find them practical and hard-working.

Equating GMU Law to GMU undergrad is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This ain't your grandpa's CNU. Our friends' daughter was indeed very excited to get into CNU and is there now. She had a 3.8 at her NoVA high school and was accepted at other schools. CNU is a different kind of school, but perfect for her. The school is very new and very small. Class sizes are smaller than at any other VA Public College and students really get to know the professors. This may not be for every one, but she loves it. Students live on campus all four years in beautiful new and spacious dorms. Almost all the buildings are new and the campus is nicely designed.
Granted the surrounding area isn't the best and CNU gets called the "Garden in the Ghetto" but the school itself is very safe. It's also notably conservative, which holds a lot of appeal for some kids.

And to the sometimes drunken poster, there isn't a straight-line US News-style ranking from best to worst of the VA schools, or any schools for that matter. Sure there are maybe 25 schools in the US that everybody is impressed with, but for the rest. Meh. Depends more on the kid and what they make of it.

And FWIW, out our son's high school had far more kids got rejected by GMU than JMU. His high school sent a large group to JMU but only a few, top students to GMU.

Ok fun flame bait. But let's be honest. No "top students" go to geo mason. JMU is no great shakes, nor is VT or MW...but they are all a tier above GMU. According to every ranking of public colleges out there.

Axe to grind?

Have you seen rankings this century? Let's be honest. Because you are wrong about GMU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This ain't your grandpa's CNU. Our friends' daughter was indeed very excited to get into CNU and is there now. She had a 3.8 at her NoVA high school and was accepted at other schools. CNU is a different kind of school, but perfect for her. The school is very new and very small. Class sizes are smaller than at any other VA Public College and students really get to know the professors. This may not be for every one, but she loves it. Students live on campus all four years in beautiful new and spacious dorms. Almost all the buildings are new and the campus is nicely designed.
Granted the surrounding area isn't the best and CNU gets called the "Garden in the Ghetto" but the school itself is very safe. It's also notably conservative, which holds a lot of appeal for some kids.

And to the sometimes drunken poster, there isn't a straight-line US News-style ranking from best to worst of the VA schools, or any schools for that matter. Sure there are maybe 25 schools in the US that everybody is impressed with, but for the rest. Meh. Depends more on the kid and what they make of it.

And FWIW, out our son's high school had far more kids got rejected by GMU than JMU. His high school sent a large group to JMU but only a few, top students to GMU.

Ok fun flame bait. But let's be honest. No "top students" go to geo mason. JMU is no great shakes, nor is VT or MW...but they are all a tier above GMU. According to every ranking of public colleges out there.

Axe to grind?

Have you seen rankings this century? Let's be honest. Because you are wrong about GMU.

Actually I've just seen the latest kiplinger rankings. UVA, WM, JMU, VT are the Virginia schools in the top 50...in that order.

Http://www.kiplinger.com

[Anonymous]

Looks like the students disagree. Even by Kiplinger's numbers, GMU's admit rate (53%)is lower than Va Tech (67%) and JMU (60%).

And by the way, Kiplinger's list is designed to measure " the best value" in public education, not the top schools. Please do some minimal research and analysis before posting. And please post correct links.

The real link is here. http://www.kiplinger.com/article/college/T014-C000-S002-best-values-in-public-colleges-2013.html

[Anonymous]

No one in their right mind would rank JMU ahead of VT. Lots of people wouldn't rank JMU ahead of GMU, but that's more debatable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one in their right mind would rank JMU ahead of VT. Lots of people wouldn't rank JMU ahead of GMU, but that's more debatable.

Please note that JMU's business school ranks far above VT's in Businessweek rankings.

GMU is still considered an "up and coming" school, so I don't think you can really compare its programs to JMU or VT at this point.

I think it's fair to say that a lot of students who are interested in JMU don't even apply to VT, and vice-versa. There are some kids who don't want to go to a school as large as VT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like the students disagree. Even by Kiplinger's numbers, GMU's admit rate (53%)is lower than Va Tech (67%) and JMU (60%).

And by the way, Kiplinger's list is designed to measure " the best value" in public education, not the top schools. Please do some minimal research and analysis before posting. And please post correct links.

The real link is here. http://www.kiplinger.com/article/college/T014-C000-S002-best-values-in-public-colleges-2013.html

You keep posting acceptance rates as if to cover up for the fact that the pool of students who apply to JMU and VPI have higher GPAs and SATs in the first place.

Using your logic, farnsboro state college is no. 1 in TN because its admit rate is lower than Vanderbilt

W and M and UVA rank top 10, JMU is #20 and VPI is #28 among all public colleges in the nation according to the link. CNU and GMU are not even in the top 50. And all cost within 1000 dollars per year of one another.

Are you suggesting that UVA, W and M, JMU and VPI are not the best bang for the buck in the state? Do some Minimal research next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one in their right mind would rank JMU ahead of VT. Lots of people wouldn't rank JMU ahead of GMU, but that's more debatable.

No one in there right mind would place JMU ahead of VPI except most published rankings out there, including the latest rankings.

As for GMU, we all get you have an axe to grind. I happen to be an alum....sorry but we have an inferiority complex that is rarely openly discussed.

[Anonymous]

I am not an alum of either, but I just don't get the desire to knock GMU and tout that other school in the hollers. GMU has progressed by leaps and bounds recently.

DS graduated from high school last year. While not scientific, I can say that most of the kids who got wait listed at UVA, which was quite a few, ended up going to JMU and not Tech. There were also a handful of students who had GMU as their first choice.

UVA and William and Mary are still the top two schools. Same as it ever was. But there is now a real battle for #3 with no clear winner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one in their right mind would rank JMU ahead of VT. Lots of people wouldn't rank JMU ahead of GMU, but that's more debatable.

Please note that JMU's business school ranks far above VT's in Businessweek rankings.

GMU is still considered an "up and coming" school, so I don't think you can really compare its programs to JMU or VT at this point.

I think it's fair to say that a lot of students who are interested in JMU don't even apply to VT, and vice-versa. There are some kids who don't want to go to a school as large as VT.

These two schools are not that much different in size. JMU has 19,000 undergrads while VPI has 23,000. Size of the student body is probably not keeping that many JMU kids from applying to Tech. Tech is known for having massive 300-student classes, though. And Tech's location in a tiny, far-away mountain town is probably more of a hinderance.

Another real difference seems to be gender. JMU is very female-heavy while Tech is a sausage-fest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from VCU in 2010, and was lucky to find a decent job right after graduation, which turned into a great career (Financial Analyst with a Fortune 500 company). I graduated with a 3.53 overall and a 3.73 in my majors (doubled in Finance and Real Estate), that being said, I am still stigmatized because of my VCU degree, particularly by graduates of top tier schools (UVA, W&M, UNC, UoR, etc...), and before landing my current position, potential employers. Maybe 10 years from now my degree might carry more weight (VCU is improving relatively quickly), but if I had to do it over again I would choose a different path. Community colleges offer guaranteed admissions programs to UVA or W&M, given you take the program's courses and maintain a high GPA, a 3.5 in most cases. You'll save money and end up with a degree from a top 40 university, which may open doors that VCU, GMU, JMU, or CNU could not. I know this is an unpopular choice with many high school graduates (I definitely did not want to go to community college), but it is a great alternative. Although, you do miss out on the freshman/sophomore social experience that were some of the best times of my life.

Bypassing the community college route, I would never select CNU over JMU or GMU. CNU was a community college not to long ago, but then a new president built a ton of new buildings and arbitrarily raised the admission requirements. Also, CNU is in Newport News (aka "Bad News"), a filthy suburban "city" where shopping malls are the most popular attractions. At least VCU and GMU offer urban perks and JMU offers beautiful mountains vistas...........................................................................

So, if you are living in NoVa, I'm guessing that you either work for Freddie Mac or Capital One.

No, Richmond, and I prefer not to name the company. Grew up in Hampton Roads, but spent summers in Washington DC. Worked in Washington DC for a year after college. Sometimes its better to have a perspective outside the NoVa eyeglass.

capital one. not that many dude

Altria, MeadWestVaco, Dominion Resources, CarMax, Owens and Minor...

how many of those are F500?

Why don't you look them up?

[Anonymous]

Mason is better then uva and william and mary




at basketball enhhhhhh yoooooooooo