Your experiences at Va. public universities...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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)

CMDA. It's a great program with opportunities to build your resume while in school through the Databridge program and capstone with industry partners. One of his job offers was from the company he was assigned for his capstone project.

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2024/04/univlib-databridge-Mayfield.html
https://www.databridge.dev/

It also seems often overlooked and so has an easier acceptance rate than Engineering/CS so if it's appealing it makes more sense to apply to CMDA. A lot of the students also minor or double major in CS.

Oh wow! Congratulations! I'd love to talk more about this with you. Did your son live in Digerati LLC? This is my first and I love all the things the living learning Hypatia offers so what we worry about with her switching to CMDA is no CEED support and no Hypatia. Did he get support as a CMDA major?

Digerati didn't exist when he was a freshman so he was in Orion (College of Science). He didn't love it, CMDA is a bit of an outlier among science majors, so I think Digerati would be better. But I think all of them put the students in small groups that meet weekly which helps with getting to know others.
He seemed to get help when needed from professors and was himself a TA for a math professor. There's also a CMDA club which seems like it might be helpful. DS didn't do that one -- he started in the first post-covid year and things were weird. He also strongly recommends Databridge for building skills and relationships with professors. Says that's really how he got an internship last year, which turned into a post-grad job.

Is DataBridge a club? A class you take? A program you apply for. I looked at the link you provided and could not tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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)

CMDA. It's a great program with opportunities to build your resume while in school through the Databridge program and capstone with industry partners. One of his job offers was from the company he was assigned for his capstone project.

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2024/04/univlib-databridge-Mayfield.html
https://www.databridge.dev/

It also seems often overlooked and so has an easier acceptance rate than Engineering/CS so if it's appealing it makes more sense to apply to CMDA. A lot of the students also minor or double major in CS.

Oh wow! Congratulations! I'd love to talk more about this with you. Did your son live in Digerati LLC? This is my first and I love all the things the living learning Hypatia offers so what we worry about with her switching to CMDA is no CEED support and no Hypatia. Did he get support as a CMDA major?

Digerati didn't exist when he was a freshman so he was in Orion (College of Science). He didn't love it, CMDA is a bit of an outlier among science majors, so I think Digerati would be better. But I think all of them put the students in small groups that meet weekly which helps with getting to know others.
He seemed to get help when needed from professors and was himself a TA for a math professor. There's also a CMDA club which seems like it might be helpful. DS didn't do that one -- he started in the first post-covid year and things were weird. He also strongly recommends Databridge for building skills and relationships with professors. Says that's really how he got an internship last year, which turned into a post-grad job.

Is DataBridge a club? A class you take? A program you apply for. I looked at the link you provided and could not tell.

You sign up for it as a class, I think it's listed as something like "undergraduate research." DS started it sophomore year but I think you could do it as soon as 2nd semester freshman year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA, W&M, VT all have around 60-66% in state percentage, JMU, GMU, ODU, UMW, etc. all have 75-100% in state percentage.

Troll, cite your source. I don't think any of these schools have 100% in-state percentage.

https://research.schev.edu/enrollment/e19_report.asp

Radford: 91.8%
UMW: 89.7%
VCU: 91.0%
CNU: 94.4%

Would you rather I say 75-95?

DP. Weird that you chose different schools for your response, as opposed to the other three in your previous post.

NP:
JMU: 71%
GMU: 78%
ODU: 90%

But more critically, it’s not clear what magically happens between WM and Tech at 60% and JMU at 71% to somehow make JMU more high school-like.

[Anonymous]

I think the issue may be in your family’s attitude toward in-state options regarding them as “lesser than” the other options and this may contribute to your DC adjusting to the circumstance of “having to” stay in state.
Your DC can have a positive experience anywhere—but a lot of it is attitude and how you’ve set your child up to feel about attending that college. My kid had reason to believe based on stats that many options would be attainable but loved one of the more competitive state schools, decided to ED, and got in! Child is thrilled and so are we!
Some DC’s friends may still end up there through RD, but they may not be as excited about it because they have the same “I guess I may have to consider in state” experience that OP’s child is having. Hopefully they will adjust and be happy there because these are exceptional schools. But a lot of this process is about framing and mindset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oklahoma is an incredible school with national name recognition. JMU is fine but more regional name.

This is 100% true. (Mostly because of football—but it doesn’t make it any less true.)
I have lived in three other states as a child and adult and I never heard of JMU until moving to Virginia ten years ago.
That’s not a knock on the school. Went on a tour there with my kid and it seems like a great place. But definitely a regionally-known school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA, W&M, VT all have around 60-66% in state percentage, JMU, GMU, ODU, UMW, etc. all have 75-100% in state percentage.

Troll, cite your source. I don't think any of these schools have 100% in-state percentage.

https://research.schev.edu/enrollment/e19_report.asp

Radford: 91.8%
UMW: 89.7%
VCU: 91.0%
CNU: 94.4%

Would you rather I say 75-95?

DP. Weird that you chose different schools for your response, as opposed to the other three in your previous post.

NP:
JMU: 71%
GMU: 78%
ODU: 90%

But more critically, it’s not clear what magically happens between WM and Tech at 60% and JMU at 71% to somehow make JMU more high school-like.

Cost and popularity (campus, athletics, vibe).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oklahoma is an incredible school with national name recognition. JMU is fine but more regional name.

This is 100% true. (Mostly because of football—but it doesn’t make it any less true.)
I have lived in three other states as a child and adult and I never heard of JMU until moving to Virginia ten years ago.
That’s not a knock on the school. Went on a tour there with my kid and it seems like a great place. But definitely a regionally-known school.

But we live here where nobody has heard of University of Oklahoma and it certainly has no “prestige” advantages over JMU. If your kid wants to relocate to the south or Midwest sure why not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oklahoma is an incredible school with national name recognition. JMU is fine but more regional name.

This is 100% true. (Mostly because of football—but it doesn’t make it any less true.)
I have lived in three other states as a child and adult and I never heard of JMU until moving to Virginia ten years ago.
That’s not a knock on the school. Went on a tour there with my kid and it seems like a great place. But definitely a regionally-known school.

But we live here where nobody has heard of University of Oklahoma and it certainly has no “prestige” advantages over JMU. If your kid wants to relocate to the south or Midwest sure why not.

Both my husband and I went to JMU from NYC suburbs - 30+ years ago. Our towns were very small; one high school in town with 200 in a graduating class. His mom was a guidance counselor and sent kids to JMU regularly. We both went to JMU with kids from our small high schools when it was a school of 12,000. We knew plenty of people from Jersey and CT at JMU. Like my anecdote, yours is one person’s experience. And it’s laughable to think Oklahoma will open more doors than JMU in the northeast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oklahoma is an incredible school with national name recognition. JMU is fine but more regional name.

This is 100% true. (Mostly because of football—but it doesn’t make it any less true.)
I have lived in three other states as a child and adult and I never heard of JMU until moving to Virginia ten years ago.
That’s not a knock on the school. Went on a tour there with my kid and it seems like a great place. But definitely a regionally-known school.

DP. This is such a silly argument. Any school with a state in its name will be better known - UNebraska, UKansas, UNorth Dakota, UNew Mexico, etc. That doesn’t mean they’re better simply because “people have heard of them.” I’m sure Oklahoma is fine, but the people claiming it’s an “incredible” school sound silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA, W&M, VT all have around 60-66% in state percentage, JMU, GMU, ODU, UMW, etc. all have 75-100% in state percentage.

Troll, cite your source. I don't think any of these schools have 100% in-state percentage.

https://research.schev.edu/enrollment/e19_report.asp

Radford: 91.8%
UMW: 89.7%
VCU: 91.0%
CNU: 94.4%

Would you rather I say 75-95?

DP. Weird that you chose different schools for your response, as opposed to the other three in your previous post.

NP:
JMU: 71%
GMU: 78%
ODU: 90%

But more critically, it’s not clear what magically happens between WM and Tech at 60% and JMU at 71% to somehow make JMU more high school-like.

Cost and popularity (campus, athletics, vibe).

DP. None of that makes one school “high school like” as opposed to the other school. As the PP points out, basically the same number of kids are in-state between VT, WM, UVA, JMU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oklahoma is an incredible school with national name recognition. JMU is fine but more regional name.

This is 100% true. (Mostly because of football—but it doesn’t make it any less true.)
I have lived in three other states as a child and adult and I never heard of JMU until moving to Virginia ten years ago.
That’s not a knock on the school. Went on a tour there with my kid and it seems like a great place. But definitely a regionally-known school.

But we live here where nobody has heard of University of Oklahoma and it certainly has no “prestige” advantages over JMU. If your kid wants to relocate to the south or Midwest sure why not.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Why are we talking about Oklahoma on a thread about VA publics???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are we talking about Oklahoma on a thread about VA publics???

Because OP mentioned needing merit and Oklahoma is an example of an OOS public that offers heavy academic merit

Va Tech, JMU, W&M, UVA, GMU, CNU, ODU, VCU, etc. It's looking like DC will have to stay in-state barring any huge merit packages from OOS publics or privates. Did you or your DC regret staying in-state or did they love it? Why? At places like GMU, JMU, etc. was it easy to get lost in the crowd?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are we talking about Oklahoma on a thread about VA publics???

Very good question. This thread was taken in an inane direction by someone weirdly promoting Oklahoma when the OP's question had nothing to do with OOS schools in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are we talking about Oklahoma on a thread about VA publics???

Because OP mentioned needing merit and Oklahoma is an example of an OOS public that offers heavy academic merit

Va Tech, JMU, W&M, UVA, GMU, CNU, ODU, VCU, etc. It's looking like DC will have to stay in-state barring any huge merit packages from OOS publics or privates. Did you or your DC regret staying in-state or did they love it? Why? At places like GMU, JMU, etc. was it easy to get lost in the crowd?

Ok but that could have been one mention, not a derail of the entire thread.