Your experiences at Va. public universities...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks know UVa is a public Ivy. If UVA doesn’t work the best alternative is an out of state flagship with merit.

Trolly McTrollster, hard at work on a Sunday evening.

NP. "Public Ivies" is a real
term snd has been in use 40 years. We college counselors use it: Read wiki and here is AI on it whoch you will find if you google:

Public Ivy schools are highly regarded public universities that are considered to be comparable to the Ivy League:
University of California, Berkeley: A top Public Ivy
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: A top Public Ivy
University of Virginia: A top Public Ivy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A top Public Ivy
University of Texas at Austin: A leading research institution with a lively campus culture
College of William & Mary: A historic and prestigious school with a strong tradition of public service
Other Public Ivy schools include ....

UT UNC are the same schools just slapped in different states

UF/UGA

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Have you considered OOS auto merit awards?

Oklahoma

http://www.ou.edu/admissions/affordability/scholarships.html

Alabama

https://afford.ua.edu/scholarships/out-of-state-freshman/

Arizona (The Arizona Tuition Award)

https://financialaid.arizona.edu/2025-2026-terms-and-conditions

lol why would you send your kid to college in Oklahoma instead of JMU? you people have truly lost the plot.

Because Oklahoma’s merit makes COA competitive while also offering more programs, sports, etc. So it’s an option for some who want to go OOS - oh and it’s higher ranked than JMU (132 vs 148).

That’s the point - it’s demented to put so much store in going out of state and on rankings like that.

"Demented" seems a bit extreme.
Some people WANT a change of scenery. Going to a school where 40 other kids from your class, plus dozens of others that you know from church, out of school ECs, etc. isn't what everyone wants.

DP. My kids attend two of the VA in-state schools and in no way are there "40 other kids" from their class. There are maybe 5-10 from their high school - and they never, ever see any of them.

NP here - 40 other kids was an exaggeration but you could be pushing 30 at VCU and JMU from each large NoVa high school. VT has 20 from many NoVA high schools.

Which high schools send that many to those schools? Post your citations.

Don’t know of hard enrolled numbers but Arlington Magazine posts admitted numbers for each of the three Arlington high schools. You can multiply by each colleges yield to get a rough idea.

https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/college-applications-arlington-va-2024/

For example, WL had 130 get into JMU and Yorktown had 119. JMU’s yield is 20% so estimate 26 from WL and 24 from Yorktown. VT had 116 and 85, respectively, but VT’s yield is 27% so works out to 31 enrolled from WL and 23 enrolled from Yorktown.

I’ve never seen equivalent data for FCPS but the applicant quality is similar and also Fcps schools are typically bigger than APS.

You don’t have to refer to some bullshit magazine with questionable numbers. SCHEV (Virginia’s official reporter for higher ed data) provides plenty of info.

Taking JMU as an example, the current undergrad enrollment is a little over 21k. 2600 of these students are from Fairfax and 350 are from Arlington. So basically we are talking about 14 percent of JMU students coming from dozens of high schools both public and private from Arlington and Fairfax combined. Hardly high school 2.0.

Weirdos

There are 30 FCPS high schools. Even if 25% of the Fairfax number is private (it’s almost certainly lower) that averages 65 JMU students per FCPS high school. Citing SCHEV yields higher than what I calculated from the Arlington Magazine numbers and near the original declaration of 40 students from each fcps school.

For the record, I’m not the “high school 2.0” poster, but I don’t deserve being called “weirdo” for trying to bring some quantitative analysis to the conversation.

The SCHEV numbers are for all four years, not just the entering class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks know UVa is a public Ivy. If UVA doesn’t work the best alternative is an out of state flagship with merit.

Trolly McTrollster, hard at work on a Sunday evening.

NP. "Public Ivies" is a real
term snd has been in use 40 years. We college counselors use it: Read wiki and here is AI on it whoch you will find if you google:

Public Ivy schools are highly regarded public universities that are considered to be comparable to the Ivy League:
University of California, Berkeley: A top Public Ivy
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: A top Public Ivy
University of Virginia: A top Public Ivy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A top Public Ivy
University of Texas at Austin: A leading research institution with a lively campus culture
College of William & Mary: A historic and prestigious school with a strong tradition of public service
Other Public Ivy schools include ....

University of Maryland at College Park

keep dreaming

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks know UVa is a public Ivy. If UVA doesn’t work the best alternative is an out of state flagship with merit.

Trolly McTrollster, hard at work on a Sunday evening.

NP. "Public Ivies" is a real
term snd has been in use 40 years. We college counselors use it: Read wiki and here is AI on it whoch you will find if you google:

Public Ivy schools are highly regarded public universities that are considered to be comparable to the Ivy League:
University of California, Berkeley: A top Public Ivy
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: A top Public Ivy
University of Virginia: A top Public Ivy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A top Public Ivy
University of Texas at Austin: A leading research institution with a lively campus culture
College of William & Mary: A historic and prestigious school with a strong tradition of public service
Other Public Ivy schools include ....

Oh, goodness. Now you're claiming to be a college counselor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks know UVa is a public Ivy. If UVA doesn’t work the best alternative is an out of state flagship with merit.

Trolly McTrollster, hard at work on a Sunday evening.

NP. "Public Ivies" is a real
term snd has been in use 40 years. We college counselors use it: Read wiki and here is AI on it whoch you will find if you google:

Public Ivy schools are highly regarded public universities that are considered to be comparable to the Ivy League:
University of California, Berkeley: A top Public Ivy
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: A top Public Ivy
University of Virginia: A top Public Ivy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A top Public Ivy
University of Texas at Austin: A leading research institution with a lively campus culture
College of William & Mary: A historic and prestigious school with a strong tradition of public service
Other Public Ivy schools include ....

I find it hilarious that you didn't bother to include the other schools included in this silly list - lots of 80-90% acceptance rates. But sure - "Ivies!"

Indiana - 80%
Miami U. - 81%
Michigan State - 87%
Arizona - 86%
Boulder - 81%
Iowa - 85%
https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/public-ivies/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks know UVa is a public Ivy. If UVA doesn’t work the best alternative is an out of state flagship with merit.

Trolly McTrollster, hard at work on a Sunday evening.

NP. "Public Ivies" is a real
term snd has been in use 40 years. We college counselors use it: Read wiki and here is AI on it whoch you will find if you google:

Public Ivy schools are highly regarded public universities that are considered to be comparable to the Ivy League:
University of California, Berkeley: A top Public Ivy
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: A top Public Ivy
University of Virginia: A top Public Ivy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A top Public Ivy
University of Texas at Austin: A leading research institution with a lively campus culture
College of William & Mary: A historic and prestigious school with a strong tradition of public service
Other Public Ivy schools include ....

I find it hilarious that you didn't bother to include the other schools included in this silly list - lots of 80-90% acceptance rates. But sure - "Ivies!"

Indiana - 80%
Miami U. - 81%
Michigan State - 87%
Arizona - 86%
Boulder - 81%
Iowa - 85%
https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/public-ivies/

Why would acceptance rate matter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks know UVa is a public Ivy. If UVA doesn’t work the best alternative is an out of state flagship with merit.

Trolly McTrollster, hard at work on a Sunday evening.

NP. "Public Ivies" is a real
term snd has been in use 40 years. We college counselors use it: Read wiki and here is AI on it whoch you will find if you google:

Public Ivy schools are highly regarded public universities that are considered to be comparable to the Ivy League:
University of California, Berkeley: A top Public Ivy
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: A top Public Ivy
University of Virginia: A top Public Ivy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A top Public Ivy
University of Texas at Austin: A leading research institution with a lively campus culture
College of William & Mary: A historic and prestigious school with a strong tradition of public service
Other Public Ivy schools include ....

I find it hilarious that you didn't bother to include the other schools included in this silly list - lots of 80-90% acceptance rates. But sure - "Ivies!"

Indiana - 80%
Miami U. - 81%
Michigan State - 87%
Arizona - 86%
Boulder - 81%
Iowa - 85%
https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/public-ivies/

Why would acceptance rate matter?

Hoo boy.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma has way more prestige. JMU is ranked in the 150s. If you want the prestige factor, go to Oklahoma. Not as much prestige as some schools like Penn State but still

^^demented thinking on display

Wow you are rude. Ever consider being nice? Also, it's trues. Oklahoma prestige is on par with most prestigious southern schools.

"Prestigious southern schools?" What is a prestigious southern school? Most "prestige" is in the NE/Ivies/specific other private and state schools....none of which are "southern." The South is not really known for its prestigious academic institutions. They may be very old and very well known, some may have strong football teams.

You know what? 100% correct, as long as you’re also placing Virginia in the south!

Sure. But I'd list W&M along with those other prestigious southern schools.
UVA is only prestigious in Virginia and to UVA alumnae.

W&M is in no way comparable to Duke.

I know, W&M alums are way less annoying.

Not on this forum. They now equal the officious UVA boosters.

Those aren’t alums. Those are parents of current students. There is no one more annoying than a NOVA parent of a kid at UVA or W&M.

Yes there is - the bitter parent of a kid who didn't get into those schools. Determined to fling poo on them in every college thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma has way more prestige. JMU is ranked in the 150s. If you want the prestige factor, go to Oklahoma. Not as much prestige as some schools like Penn State but still

^^demented thinking on display

Wow you are rude. Ever consider being nice? Also, it's trues. Oklahoma prestige is on par with most prestigious southern schools.

"Prestigious southern schools?" What is a prestigious southern school? Most "prestige" is in the NE/Ivies/specific other private and state schools....none of which are "southern." The South is not really known for its prestigious academic institutions. They may be very old and very well known, some may have strong football teams.

You know what? 100% correct, as long as you’re also placing Virginia in the south!

Sure. But I'd list W&M along with those other prestigious southern schools.
UVA is only prestigious in Virginia and to UVA alumnae.

W&M is in no way comparable to Duke.

I know, W&M alums are way less annoying.

Not on this forum. They now equal the officious UVA boosters.

Those aren’t alums. Those are parents of current students. There is no one more annoying than a NOVA parent of a kid at UVA or W&M.

Yes there is - the bitter parent of a kid who didn't get into those schools. Determined to fling poo on them in every college thread.

No, honey. People are simply reacting to the obnoxious boosterism which almost always seems to come from those two schools on this forum. Sorry, you can't trot out your "sour grapes" excuse whenever boosters are called out.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma has way more prestige. JMU is ranked in the 150s. If you want the prestige factor, go to Oklahoma. Not as much prestige as some schools like Penn State but still

^^demented thinking on display

Wow you are rude. Ever consider being nice? Also, it's trues. Oklahoma prestige is on par with most prestigious southern schools.

"Prestigious southern schools?" What is a prestigious southern school? Most "prestige" is in the NE/Ivies/specific other private and state schools....none of which are "southern." The South is not really known for its prestigious academic institutions. They may be very old and very well known, some may have strong football teams.

You know what? 100% correct, as long as you’re also placing Virginia in the south!

Sure. But I'd list W&M along with those other prestigious southern schools.
UVA is only prestigious in Virginia and to UVA alumnae.

W&M is in no way comparable to Duke.

I know, W&M alums are way less annoying.

Not on this forum. They now equal the officious UVA boosters.

Those aren’t alums. Those are parents of current students. There is no one more annoying than a NOVA parent of a kid at UVA or W&M.

Yes there is - the bitter parent of a kid who didn't get into those schools. Determined to fling poo on them in every college thread.

No, honey. People are simply reacting to the obnoxious boosterism which almost always seems to come from those two schools on this forum. Sorry, you can't trot out your "sour grapes" excuse whenever boosters are called out.
DP

I'm sorry your kid didn't get in.

"Sorry, you can't trot out your "sour grapes" excuse whenever boosters are called out."

Why would you need to "call out boosters" if you weren't mad about something? But what could it be, hmmmm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma has way more prestige. JMU is ranked in the 150s. If you want the prestige factor, go to Oklahoma. Not as much prestige as some schools like Penn State but still

^^demented thinking on display

Wow you are rude. Ever consider being nice? Also, it's trues. Oklahoma prestige is on par with most prestigious southern schools.

"Prestigious southern schools?" What is a prestigious southern school? Most "prestige" is in the NE/Ivies/specific other private and state schools....none of which are "southern." The South is not really known for its prestigious academic institutions. They may be very old and very well known, some may have strong football teams.

You know what? 100% correct, as long as you’re also placing Virginia in the south!

Sure. But I'd list W&M along with those other prestigious southern schools.
UVA is only prestigious in Virginia and to UVA alumnae.

W&M is in no way comparable to Duke.

I know, W&M alums are way less annoying.

Not on this forum. They now equal the officious UVA boosters.

Those aren’t alums. Those are parents of current students. There is no one more annoying than a NOVA parent of a kid at UVA or W&M.

Yes there is - the bitter parent of a kid who didn't get into those schools. Determined to fling poo on them in every college thread.

I went to one of those schools and my kids aren’t old enough to apply yet, so it’s not that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:VT, JMU and even UVA

the outcomes after 4 years are mixed.

Besides govt or big 4 consulting or fed contractors - most graduates have a hard time finding jobs ( yeah.. a few smart coolies get into amazon etc)

for that reason alone I would not send dc in state in Virginia.

Much better outcomes in mid west and west coast/tx

cookies..noy coolies

no really would like to hear from parents whose kids graduated from vt, jmu, uva - where did the kids go after graduation? was it the intended outcome?

why not ask about all the University of Oklahoma grads who go into management consulting?

are you actually trying to imply that students graduating from the Virginia public university system don’t get good jobs?

This is such a ridiculous idea. All you have to do is look around your neighborhoods and workplaces. Doesn't take long to see how many VT, JMU, UVA grads there are, all doing fine

FWIW VT publishes a lot of details on employers and salaries by major so you can see what jobs they get
https://fds.career.vt.edu/EmployerList?cohort=2022-2023

Yes, DC-area consulting, govt contractors are big recruiters since that's the local industry.

DS just graduated from VT and is starting a job as a data scientist at a government contractor doing something in data analytics systems for the military. Chose it over a couple other offers that were not in DC because those jobs sounded less interesting and he'd prefer to stay in DC.

What did you son major in at VT? My junior is debating between CS or CMDA (https://data.science.vt.edu/programs/cmda.html)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma has way more prestige. JMU is ranked in the 150s. If you want the prestige factor, go to Oklahoma. Not as much prestige as some schools like Penn State but still

^^demented thinking on display

Wow you are rude. Ever consider being nice? Also, it's trues. Oklahoma prestige is on par with most prestigious southern schools.

"Prestigious southern schools?" What is a prestigious southern school? Most "prestige" is in the NE/Ivies/specific other private and state schools....none of which are "southern." The South is not really known for its prestigious academic institutions. They may be very old and very well known, some may have strong football teams.

You know what? 100% correct, as long as you’re also placing Virginia in the south!

Sure. But I'd list W&M along with those other prestigious southern schools.
UVA is only prestigious in Virginia and to UVA alumnae.

W&M is in no way comparable to Duke.

I know, W&M alums are way less annoying.

Not on this forum. They now equal the officious UVA boosters.

Those aren’t alums. Those are parents of current students. There is no one more annoying than a NOVA parent of a kid at UVA or W&M.

Yes there is - the bitter parent of a kid who didn't get into those schools. Determined to fling poo on them in every college thread.

No, honey. People are simply reacting to the obnoxious boosterism which almost always seems to come from those two schools on this forum. Sorry, you can't trot out your "sour grapes" excuse whenever boosters are called out.
DP

I'm sorry your kid didn't get in.

"Sorry, you can't trot out your "sour grapes" excuse whenever boosters are called out."

Why would you need to "call out boosters" if you weren't mad about something? But what could it be, hmmmm?

My kids haven't yet applied to colleges, but neither have any interest in those two particular schools. And when you read obnoxious posts by boosters - the Northeastern booster, for instance - don't you get irritated and/or call them out? Sure you do. Stop being so defensive that you have to insist someone's kid didn't get in. It just makes you look desperate and frankly, is a turn off for those of us with future college students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma has way more prestige. JMU is ranked in the 150s. If you want the prestige factor, go to Oklahoma. Not as much prestige as some schools like Penn State but still

^^demented thinking on display

Wow you are rude. Ever consider being nice? Also, it's trues. Oklahoma prestige is on par with most prestigious southern schools.

"Prestigious southern schools?" What is a prestigious southern school? Most "prestige" is in the NE/Ivies/specific other private and state schools....none of which are "southern." The South is not really known for its prestigious academic institutions. They may be very old and very well known, some may have strong football teams.

You know what? 100% correct, as long as you’re also placing Virginia in the south!

Sure. But I'd list W&M along with those other prestigious southern schools.
UVA is only prestigious in Virginia and to UVA alumnae.

W&M is in no way comparable to Duke.

I know, W&M alums are way less annoying.

Not on this forum. They now equal the officious UVA boosters.

Those aren’t alums. Those are parents of current students. There is no one more annoying than a NOVA parent of a kid at UVA or W&M.

Yes there is - the bitter parent of a kid who didn't get into those schools. Determined to fling poo on them in every college thread.

I went to one of those schools and my kids aren’t old enough to apply yet, so it’s not that.

Exactly.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma has way more prestige. JMU is ranked in the 150s. If you want the prestige factor, go to Oklahoma. Not as much prestige as some schools like Penn State but still

^^demented thinking on display

Wow you are rude. Ever consider being nice? Also, it's trues. Oklahoma prestige is on par with most prestigious southern schools.

"Prestigious southern schools?" What is a prestigious southern school? Most "prestige" is in the NE/Ivies/specific other private and state schools....none of which are "southern." The South is not really known for its prestigious academic institutions. They may be very old and very well known, some may have strong football teams.

You know what? 100% correct, as long as you’re also placing Virginia in the south!

Sure. But I'd list W&M along with those other prestigious southern schools.
UVA is only prestigious in Virginia and to UVA alumnae.

W&M is in no way comparable to Duke.

I know, W&M alums are way less annoying.

Not on this forum. They now equal the officious UVA boosters.

Those aren’t alums. Those are parents of current students. There is no one more annoying than a NOVA parent of a kid at UVA or W&M.

Yes there is - the bitter parent of a kid who didn't get into those schools. Determined to fling poo on them in every college thread.

No, honey. People are simply reacting to the obnoxious boosterism which almost always seems to come from those two schools on this forum. Sorry, you can't trot out your "sour grapes" excuse whenever boosters are called out.
DP

I'm sorry your kid didn't get in.

"Sorry, you can't trot out your "sour grapes" excuse whenever boosters are called out."

Why would you need to "call out boosters" if you weren't mad about something? But what could it be, hmmmm?

My kids haven't yet applied to colleges, but neither have any interest in those two particular schools. And when you read obnoxious posts by boosters - the Northeastern booster, for instance - don't you get irritated and/or call them out? Sure you do. Stop being so defensive that you have to insist someone's kid didn't get in. It just makes you look desperate and frankly, is a turn off for those of us with future college students.

I have no connection to Northeastern so I don’t care at all when someone boosts them. Nothing they say about that school can trigger any reaction in me. If you feel the need to “call out” the boosters of a particular school, then it’s obvious that something about that school is triggering you emotionally. And there aren’t many things that could be.

If you prevent your kids from applying to a school because of something that was said on DCUM, I pity your kids for having such a dumb parent.