Tell me about experiences at large Va. public universities -- easy to get lost in the crowd?

[Anonymous]

Let me just say that I went to a large mid-western state university for undergrad and I went to law school at UVa. I got a taste of what the UVa. experience is like, but not so much as an undergrad. At my undergrad, there were 20K students... most classes were 300 students in the first two years, then down to 50-100 in the upper grades. I only got to know one professor b/c I helped him with research (paid position). Otherwise, I would have gone the whole time without having any faculty relationships. There weren't opportunities to be known unless you were the type to talk to the teacher after every class for 15 min. (I was usually rushing to my next class).

With the price of tuition going up and up, I can't see how we would pay out of state tuition for our kids. So, I'd like to hear what the college experience is like at the state institutions -- Va. Tech, JMU, William/Mary, UVa., and GMU. (While we think our kids are smart, we can't assume that they will get into UVa or W/M b/c it is so competitive. The others -- big as they are--- are very likely.)

Is the experience pretty much what it was when I was in school? Just float along, doing your own thing until you graduate? A relatively annonymous experience?

[Anonymous]

Interesting...I also went to a large mid-western university and had a very different experience than you. I guess it may depend on majors? I have a feeling business and pre-med majors didn't have it as well. I double majored in liberal arts and then was approached by the J-school. Also, I signed myself up for plenty of honors classes - they were small and with excellent profs. I felt mentored all along the way and across departments by my professors, most of whom had graduate degrees from Ivy schools.

Now that we are in VA with college bound kids, I'm curious to see the replies.

[Anonymous]

OP here -- I'm guessing the honors classes would have been different at my large university. I didn't apply for them, and was such a turnip off the truck that I had no idea that I should/could have. We didn't have honors in HS, so I just figured it wasn't for kids like me. I probably didn't even know about it until I was half way through.

So, I'm just asking about the regular student experience, at any Va. state schools, excluding honor track.

[Anonymous]

JMU grad here with a nephew who's a senior there now. FWIW, both of us love the place. Like you, I didn't have particularly close relationships with most of my professors, but I also didn't go out of my way to seek them out. I did, however, get involved in several extracurriculars that became my "home base," and my nephew has done the same. Can't speak to the other VA schools, but JMU is big enough that you don't feel claustrophobic, but not so large that you don't encounter folks you know regularly on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JMU grad here with a nephew who's a senior there now. FWIW, both of us love the place. Like you, I didn't have particularly close relationships with most of my professors, but I also didn't go out of my way to seek them out. I did, however, get involved in several extracurriculars that became my "home base," and my nephew has done the same. Can't speak to the other VA schools, but JMU is big enough that you don't feel claustrophobic, but not so large that you don't encounter folks you know regularly on campus.

OP here again. I have heard from several people who really had positive experiences at JMU -- which is great to hear. Not being from this state, I'm unfamiliar with what a JMU degree means to employers. Not that this is a requirement, but I'm just wondering what JMU's reputation is and whether the name was irrelevant to employers or whether it was helpful. I know UVa has a pretty good reputation, but I don't know as much about the other Va. schools.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

if I can give just one piece of advice it's stop worrying about what imaginary future employers might think about the college your child went to, and help them find the place where they will be happy, where they will thrive, where they will learn inside and outside of the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU grad here with a nephew who's a senior there now. FWIW, both of us love the place. Like you, I didn't have particularly close relationships with most of my professors, but I also didn't go out of my way to seek them out. I did, however, get involved in several extracurriculars that became my "home base," and my nephew has done the same. Can't speak to the other VA schools, but JMU is big enough that you don't feel claustrophobic, but not so large that you don't encounter folks you know regularly on campus.

OP here again. I have heard from several people who really had positive experiences at JMU -- which is great to hear. Not being from this state, I'm unfamiliar with what a JMU degree means to employers. Not that this is a requirement, but I'm just wondering what JMU's reputation is and whether the name was irrelevant to employers or whether it was helpful. I know UVa has a pretty good reputation, but I don't know as much about the other Va. schools.

Thanks.

As an employer the school is not as important as the degree. The order of school public reputation is uva, William Mary, vtech and gmu / jmu. Gmu acceptance rate.is slight less.than jmu. Gnu has really changed a lot in the last 10 years.

[Anonymous]

I graduated from JMU back in 2006, I absolutely loved it. The on campus experience was very positive and once I moved off campus I did not have any complaints. I graduated with a Business Degree and found the program challenging and extremely rewarding. I would agree that it really does come down to the field you are concentrating in, let's say a business graduate may have an easier time finding employment versus a psychology major. Any college experience ends up being what you make of it, and the effort you put into your own education. It's a balancing act between enjoying the social life and freedom while achievening your academic goals at any school. However, speaking from my personal experience the people I encountered at JMU were an added bonus to the school itself.

[Anonymous]

It's been many years since I graduated from college, but I chose a medium sized school (JMU) over a large school like VT because I didn't want to feel 'like a number'. JMU was large enough to provide a variety of academic and social experiences, but small enough where I did see people I knew almost every time I walked across campus. It's nice to feel a part of a community, instead of feeling surrounded by a bunch of people you have no connection to, especially when you come from a smaller high school, as I did. I have a relative at VT who is part of greek life, and because of that does have the experience of knowing lots and lots of other students, but admits that were it not for the greek connection, they would not feel a part of things in the same way.

When it came to interacting with my professors, I had an advisor that I met with several times a year, and several professors in my later years that I came to know quite well because of their open office hours, where I could (and did) go for assistance. My DH went to a large school and said that he never got to know any of his teachers and never met with an advisor.

The large schools my DC has been touring seem to emphasize how they provide a small school feel while still having a large number of students, so I think that universities are trying to do a better job of providing opportunities for students to connect so that they won't feel 'lost in the crowd'. How well they are doing, though, I don't know.

[Anonymous]

UVA here. its pretty much raging as fuck and its like totally work hard party hard. you drink like 5 nights of the week your first year, and then once you pledge a frat that becomes every night. I was probably drunk 70% of the time. shit was awesome.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, the GH trial gave us a glimpse of the drinking and partying that goes on at UVA. My kid had no interest in JMU because he didn't want to go to a school in the middle of nowhere where there's nothing to do but drink, smoke and have sex. But he is enjoying the college life in Boston. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA here. its pretty much raging as fuck and its like totally work hard party hard. you drink like 5 nights of the week your first year, and then once you pledge a frat that becomes every night. I was probably drunk 70% of the time. shit was awesome.

A "man" (or "woman") after my own heart! You sound like one cool dude! I should have gone to UVA!