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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Ffx Cty and graduated from hs in the 90s and had never heard of Christopher Newport University. What is it and where is it?

see, here's the problem. No name recognition whatsoever. Apparently it's very good, however, if you major in sculpture or Nursing - Anesthesia.

Hmm, ok, thank you. I do not work in either of those fields so maybe that explains it. Thank you!

Do you people enjoy being such arrogant twits?

Signed, Double-Ivy Graduate Who Has Lived in Real World (where attitude and dedication count for more than degrees).

you must have had good grades and very high test scores.
See if you have those you don’t have to worry about going to some second or third tier uni, like CNU or Mary Washington or whatever.

tell your kids to study hard and get good grades so they aren’t stuck at the type of places on this list

[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.

+1
Both my kids were accepted to UVA, though they both ultimately turned it down for JMU. UVA just didn't appeal to them, for a variety of reasons, and neither did VT. Personal preference should trump all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are uninformed about JMU, PP. Even in the 80's, the business school was developing a great name for itself, and recruiters from the large consulting firms and from major corporations were eagerly hiring Madison graduates. In the 2012 Businessweek rankings for undergraduate business schools, JMU's College of Business is ranked 32nd in the nation (compare to University of Maryland at 38 and VT at 52), and 12th among public universities in the nation. They also have an excellent job placement rate for business graduates. This is one reason the school has become such a popular option for VA students who aren't UVA material.

Yes. I am a JMU business school grad and had 7 offers coming out of college - almost everyone I know had multiple offers. Job market is much tougher now, but the business school there is very solid. I didn't even apply to UVA b/c my brother was there - I got into William and Mary but chose to avoid the pressure cooker vibe there. FYI - JMU also has an excellent music program, and I was very interested in taking some music courses on the side. Also it has a very low percentage of students who choose to join frats/sororities, and I was highly interested in avoiding that whole scene. There are lots of people that go there who ARE UVA material and perhaps just looking for something different.

Exactly; very well said. It's a fallacy that students who attend JMU must have been rejected from UVA or W&M. Many kids simply prefer the vibe and offerings at JMU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a biglaw partner and see hundreds of resumes at a time. Law school, law school grades, work experience and writing sample are most important. Undergrad, not so much.

But a person has a tough time going from a mediocre state school to a top grad school. Top law schools have many more applicants than spaces. the is s study about this in the NYT.

Here are the entering class profiles for Yale and Harvard Law Schools - I'm seeing several "mediocre" colleges
http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm
http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/apply/undergrads.html

No one from W&M at Harvard? Oh no!

look again - under "C"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a biglaw partner and see hundreds of resumes at a time. Law school, law school grades, work experience and writing sample are most important. Undergrad, not so much.

But a person has a tough time going from a mediocre state school to a top grad school. Top law schools have many more applicants than spaces. the is s study about this in the NYT.

Here are the entering class profiles for Yale and Harvard Law Schools - I'm seeing several "mediocre" colleges
http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm
http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/apply/undergrads.html

No one from W&M at Harvard? Oh no!

look again - under "C"

Whew! Now I can feel good again about DC's choice to attend W&M next year.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Fit” is getting to be a euphemism for can’t get into any of the better schools.
The only reason to even consider most of those schools is that you don’t have good grades and test scores.

That is what "fit" means for some kids. For most it means a school that combines academic opportunities, social opportunities, size, location, financial situation and more(yes where you can get in does factor but it may not be the largest one). So while some want the best school they can possibly get into others do not. Just because you can get into UVA doesn't mean you want to go there. My school sends 15-20 students to UVA each year and I'm sure there are more at my school with UVA potential and grades that just aren't interested. Some students prefer smaller schools or schools farther away from home or closer to home or schools in a different setting. Personally, I despise the mountains and it's certainly affected my college search. Another option that I've seen students take is to go to a less competitive college and participate in an honors program in which they get scholarships, internships, and can study abroad. These programs provide fantastic opportunities to learn and make connections for after college. So not everyone who looks at a "lower tier" school is an awful student.

Stop being pretentious and start being realistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Ffx Cty and graduated from hs in the 90s and had never heard of Christopher Newport University. What is it and where is it?

see, here's the problem. No name recognition whatsoever. Apparently it's very good, however, if you major in sculpture or Nursing - Anesthesia.

Hmm, ok, thank you. I do not work in either of those fields so maybe that explains it. Thank you!

Do you people enjoy being such arrogant twits?

Signed, Double-Ivy Graduate Who Has Lived in Real World (where attitude and dedication count for more than degrees).

you must have had good grades and very high test scores.
See if you have those you don’t have to worry about going to some second or third tier uni, like CNU or Mary Washington or whatever.

tell your kids to study hard and get good grades so they aren’t stuck at the type of places on this list

I did, thanks. There was also less competition to get into Ivies and other schools then.

You must be quite insecure to keep harping on this.

[Anonymous]

What about Sweet Briar?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Sweet Briar?

Sweet Briar is a private college, so it's not in the same category as these public colleges.

[Anonymous]

If you're thinking that your child might eventually want to be employed in DC, I'd concur about the great internship opportunities if you were at George Mason. In addition, I've met a lot of working adults in government who have gotten their own graduate degrees in econ, public policy, etc. at GMU which ought to help out with the name recognition. Finally, I know that they have top notch programs in two 'hot' topics these days -- biological warfare and cyberwarfare. The kid who chimed in earlier is right -- the important thing is to find the right school for you to achieve your goals. Everything else is irrelevant.
I keep thinking how the impossible parents who are concerned about the prestige of the school, bragging rights etc. are going to react when their kids get engaged, married, etc. Are they all going to be like the Princeton mom, concerned that the potential spouse doesn't have the right pedigree? My dad was like that until I reminded him that I was the person who would have to wake up next to the person every day for the rest of my life, not him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:generally speaking, if you think you might end up living and working somewhere else, I'd advise going to a shitty national type state school over a decent regional school. That means I prefer schools like WVU, NC State and Ole Miss over places like VCU, ODU and UMBC. If you apply in San Diego, at least they will have heard of where you went to school.

I actually think JMU falls into this category as well. I don't think it has the national name recognition that UVa, VT and W & M have.

VT has national name recognition? In football, maybe. Barely at that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a biglaw partner and see hundreds of resumes at a time. Law school, law school grades, work experience and writing sample are most important. Undergrad, not so much.

But a person has a tough time going from a mediocre state school to a top grad school. Top law schools have many more applicants than spaces. the is s study about this in the NYT.

Here are the entering class profiles for Yale and Harvard Law Schools - I'm seeing several "mediocre" colleges
http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm
http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/apply/undergrads.html

No one from W&M at Harvard? Oh no!

look again - under "C"

And don't worry: law school applications are down almost everywhere else. So act fast. It's a going out of business sale!


Whew! Now I can feel good again about DC's choice to attend W&M next year.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are uninformed about JMU, PP. Even in the 80's, the business school was developing a great name for itself, and recruiters from the large consulting firms and from major corporations were eagerly hiring Madison graduates. In the 2012 Businessweek rankings for undergraduate business schools, JMU's College of Business is ranked 32nd in the nation (compare to University of Maryland at 38 and VT at 52), and 12th among public universities in the nation. They also have an excellent job placement rate for business graduates. This is one reason the school has become such a popular option for VA students who aren't UVA material.

Yes. I am a JMU business school grad and had 7 offers coming out of college - almost everyone I know had multiple offers. Job market is much tougher now, but the business school there is very solid. I didn't even apply to UVA b/c my brother was there - I got into William and Mary but chose to avoid the pressure cooker vibe there. FYI - JMU also has an excellent music program, and I was very interested in taking some music courses on the side. Also it has a very low percentage of students who choose to join frats/sororities, and I was highly interested in avoiding that whole scene. There are lots of people that go there who ARE UVA material and perhaps just looking for something different.

Exactly; very well said. It's a fallacy that students who attend JMU must have been rejected from UVA or W&M. Many kids simply prefer the vibe and offerings at JMU.

drinking and sex

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are uninformed about JMU, PP. Even in the 80's, the business school was developing a great name for itself, and recruiters from the large consulting firms and from major corporations were eagerly hiring Madison graduates. In the 2012 Businessweek rankings for undergraduate business schools, JMU's College of Business is ranked 32nd in the nation (compare to University of Maryland at 38 and VT at 52), and 12th among public universities in the nation. They also have an excellent job placement rate for business graduates. This is one reason the school has become such a popular option for VA students who aren't UVA material.

Yes. I am a JMU business school grad and had 7 offers coming out of college - almost everyone I know had multiple offers. Job market is much tougher now, but the business school there is very solid. I didn't even apply to UVA b/c my brother was there - I got into William and Mary but chose to avoid the pressure cooker vibe there. FYI - JMU also has an excellent music program, and I was very interested in taking some music courses on the side. Also it has a very low percentage of students who choose to join frats/sororities, and I was highly interested in avoiding that whole scene. There are lots of people that go there who ARE UVA material and perhaps just looking for something different.

Exactly; very well said. It's a fallacy that students who attend JMU must have been rejected from UVA or W&M. Many kids simply prefer the vibe and offerings at JMU.

drinking and sex

Thanks for calling her out. Yeah, Harrisonburg - famous for it’s vibe!!
But let’s be fair. I understand the music dept. is very good. Oh, and the undergrad business school.
I’m sure many people turn down UVa and W&M for JMU’s “vibe"

[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.

For Langley, the naviNce data shows a much higher GPA for JMU than GMU but close SAT. JMU has a slightly higher yield % from NOVA which explains higher number of kids.