The Other VA publics: CNU, GM, JMU, Radford, ODU, UMW, VCU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two thoughts on this thread: GMU is a very good school, but its proximity the DC area (local/commuter potential) make it a non-started. DD will not consider it because my wife's helicopter would be there every day (8 miles from our house).

In terms of rankings, it depends on what you want to study. In some science disciplines, ODU/VCU is actually good. JMU is best for non-technical.

This is such a real post, it made me crack up. Agree 100% on GMU. However, CS and engineering are fantastic at GMU, and could be reasons to stay close by for a NOVA kid.

+1. Anything computer. Anything engineering. Also game design. DS lived in the dorms all four years (we're 30 min. away).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worse thing GMU did was align the university with the Koch brothers (noted for their political activities donating to conservative and Republican Party causes)

Of all Virginia schools, I think only GMU has had any Nobel Prize winners associated with them at the time of their awards. This is a bit of a black eye on the state.

It was those scary Koch-supported economics professors that pp didn't want their kids to be exposed to.

https://www2.gmu.edu/news/311896

THINK. Donations = prestige. I know students who go to GMU just because the Econ department is so strong. Any large gift to any university is welcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Excluding UVA, W&M, and Virginia Tech, my brief take on the other institutions is as follows:

VCU - A higher percentage of students seem to be interested in urban, diverse environments and VCU is the best situated in the state for that. It also is fortunate to have the hospital/medical/dental school tie in that adds some career opportunities in healthcare. It is pretty widely recognized in art, which is also rare. I think this has been a school on the rise in some respects, but admission rate is high which suggests they are having difficulty filling some spots (it is a big school). Urban campus has some interesting buildings (many acquired rather than built).

GMU - should have a lot going for it being located in the most affluent area of the state which also has the biggest economy and jobs. Has moved to become more residential, but still has too much of a feel of a commuter school, although it is much improved. Campus is nice, modern, but might lack character some want. Despite being in heavily populated area, it doesn't have the urban feel some want. For people in NOVA, it is probably too familiar to appeal to a wider segment. It feels like there should be substantial upside here, but that has been the case for a long time.

ODU -- is urban but not as interesting of an area as VCU. ODU seems to take seriously a role of giving area students from less affluent backgrounds a chance to advance themselves. It is focused on the region (military, shipbuilding, etc.) Does not seem to have much appeal outside as a first choice. Campus is pretty nondescript.

JMU -- Although now large, it is a different type of school to the above, located in a more remote area. This has pluses and minuses. It probably started to distinguish itself somewhat from the above schools by having better completion rates than the urban schools (which used to be typical), but it now seems to lack appeal for some because of its location. Good business school, interesting directions with CISAT, pretty undergraduate-focused despite size, but lacks a trendy draw like Virginia Tech engineering. Better school spirit than the schools above.

CNU - is perhaps an up-and-comer. Attractive campus is a big draw. It seems to model itself after W&M to some extent (residential, liberal arts & sciences). Has probably had the biggest improvement in selectivity among the schools listed here. It is much smaller than the schools above. I think it has stolen some of the thunder from Mary Washington. Strong undergraduate focus compared to VCU, GMU, ODU.

Mary Washington -- was essentially the women's branch of UVA, so it has some pedigree and it has an attractive campus. Location not too far from DC or Richmond should be good. Still, it seems to have struggled to create a more modern identity. It still may be a hidden gem, though, that could become more popular in the future.

Radford and Longwood struggle with their locations and creating an identity. I haven't visited either recently so won't comment further.

VMI is a great school for the right type of student. I've seen them take students (obviously mostly men) that need a push and some shaping and turn them into disciplined, quality individuals.

VCU is renowned -- outside of Virginia. They have multiple Nobel affiliations, their Arts, Sciences, and Med programs are all Global 100 and ARWU 100, and their size is considered to be so much of an advantage that they're intentionally expanding even further. If you look at global rankings, VCU is actually considered to be ahead of all other VA schools (public or private) except UVA and VT. VCU doesn't have any difficulty at all filling undergraduate slots - they intentionally structure themselves to be able to accept all qualified in-state applicants. That's a decision that they made a good 25+ years ago when they started to expanded they actually has some sort of multi-year project to study the issue before deciding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worse thing GMU did was align the university with the Koch brothers (noted for their political activities donating to conservative and Republican Party causes)

Of all Virginia schools, I think only GMU has had any Nobel Prize winners associated with them at the time of their awards. This is a bit of a black eye on the state.

It was those scary Koch-supported economics professors that pp didn't want their kids to be exposed to.

https://www2.gmu.edu/news/311896

THINK. Donations = prestige. I know students who go to GMU just because the Econ department is so strong. Any large gift to any university is welcome.

Gotcha. So...white nationalists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Excluding UVA, W&M, and Virginia Tech, my brief take on the other institutions is as follows:

VCU - A higher percentage of students seem to be interested in urban, diverse environments and VCU is the best situated in the state for that. It also is fortunate to have the hospital/medical/dental school tie in that adds some career opportunities in healthcare. It is pretty widely recognized in art, which is also rare. I think this has been a school on the rise in some respects, but admission rate is high which suggests they are having difficulty filling some spots (it is a big school). Urban campus has some interesting buildings (many acquired rather than built).

GMU - should have a lot going for it being located in the most affluent area of the state which also has the biggest economy and jobs. Has moved to become more residential, but still has too much of a feel of a commuter school, although it is much improved. Campus is nice, modern, but might lack character some want. Despite being in heavily populated area, it doesn't have the urban feel some want. For people in NOVA, it is probably too familiar to appeal to a wider segment. It feels like there should be substantial upside here, but that has been the case for a long time.

ODU -- is urban but not as interesting of an area as VCU. ODU seems to take seriously a role of giving area students from less affluent backgrounds a chance to advance themselves. It is focused on the region (military, shipbuilding, etc.) Does not seem to have much appeal outside as a first choice. Campus is pretty nondescript.

JMU -- Although now large, it is a different type of school to the above, located in a more remote area. This has pluses and minuses. It probably started to distinguish itself somewhat from the above schools by having better completion rates than the urban schools (which used to be typical), but it now seems to lack appeal for some because of its location. Good business school, interesting directions with CISAT, pretty undergraduate-focused despite size, but lacks a trendy draw like Virginia Tech engineering. Better school spirit than the schools above.

CNU - is perhaps an up-and-comer. Attractive campus is a big draw. It seems to model itself after W&M to some extent (residential, liberal arts & sciences). Has probably had the biggest improvement in selectivity among the schools listed here. It is much smaller than the schools above. I think it has stolen some of the thunder from Mary Washington. Strong undergraduate focus compared to VCU, GMU, ODU.

Mary Washington -- was essentially the women's branch of UVA, so it has some pedigree and it has an attractive campus. Location not too far from DC or Richmond should be good. Still, it seems to have struggled to create a more modern identity. It still may be a hidden gem, though, that could become more popular in the future.

Radford and Longwood struggle with their locations and creating an identity. I haven't visited either recently so won't comment further.

VMI is a great school for the right type of student. I've seen them take students (obviously mostly men) that need a push and some shaping and turn them into disciplined, quality individuals.

VCU is renowned -- outside of Virginia. They have multiple Nobel affiliations, their Arts, Sciences, and Med programs are all Global 100 and ARWU 100, and their size is considered to be so much of an advantage that they're intentionally expanding even further. If you look at global rankings, VCU is actually considered to be ahead of all other VA schools (public or private) except UVA and VT. VCU doesn't have any difficulty at all filling undergraduate slots - they intentionally structure themselves to be able to accept all qualified in-state applicants. That's a decision that they made a good 25+ years ago when they started to expanded they actually has some sort of multi-year project to study the issue before deciding.

Me think he doth protest too much. What are you talking about? I am from the Northeast and never heard of VCU until I moved to NoVA. And then I have never met a graduate in my line of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Excluding UVA, W&M, and Virginia Tech, my brief take on the other institutions is as follows:

VCU - A higher percentage of students seem to be interested in urban, diverse environments and VCU is the best situated in the state for that. It also is fortunate to have the hospital/medical/dental school tie in that adds some career opportunities in healthcare. It is pretty widely recognized in art, which is also rare. I think this has been a school on the rise in some respects, but admission rate is high which suggests they are having difficulty filling some spots (it is a big school). Urban campus has some interesting buildings (many acquired rather than built).

GMU - should have a lot going for it being located in the most affluent area of the state which also has the biggest economy and jobs. Has moved to become more residential, but still has too much of a feel of a commuter school, although it is much improved. Campus is nice, modern, but might lack character some want. Despite being in heavily populated area, it doesn't have the urban feel some want. For people in NOVA, it is probably too familiar to appeal to a wider segment. It feels like there should be substantial upside here, but that has been the case for a long time.

ODU -- is urban but not as interesting of an area as VCU. ODU seems to take seriously a role of giving area students from less affluent backgrounds a chance to advance themselves. It is focused on the region (military, shipbuilding, etc.) Does not seem to have much appeal outside as a first choice. Campus is pretty nondescript.

JMU -- Although now large, it is a different type of school to the above, located in a more remote area. This has pluses and minuses. It probably started to distinguish itself somewhat from the above schools by having better completion rates than the urban schools (which used to be typical), but it now seems to lack appeal for some because of its location. Good business school, interesting directions with CISAT, pretty undergraduate-focused despite size, but lacks a trendy draw like Virginia Tech engineering. Better school spirit than the schools above.

CNU - is perhaps an up-and-comer. Attractive campus is a big draw. It seems to model itself after W&M to some extent (residential, liberal arts & sciences). Has probably had the biggest improvement in selectivity among the schools listed here. It is much smaller than the schools above. I think it has stolen some of the thunder from Mary Washington. Strong undergraduate focus compared to VCU, GMU, ODU.

Mary Washington -- was essentially the women's branch of UVA, so it has some pedigree and it has an attractive campus. Location not too far from DC or Richmond should be good. Still, it seems to have struggled to create a more modern identity. It still may be a hidden gem, though, that could become more popular in the future.

Radford and Longwood struggle with their locations and creating an identity. I haven't visited either recently so won't comment further.

VMI is a great school for the right type of student. I've seen them take students (obviously mostly men) that need a push and some shaping and turn them into disciplined, quality individuals.

VCU is renowned -- outside of Virginia. They have multiple Nobel affiliations, their Arts, Sciences, and Med programs are all Global 100 and ARWU 100, and their size is considered to be so much of an advantage that they're intentionally expanding even further. If you look at global rankings, VCU is actually considered to be ahead of all other VA schools (public or private) except UVA and VT. VCU doesn't have any difficulty at all filling undergraduate slots - they intentionally structure themselves to be able to accept all qualified in-state applicants. That's a decision that they made a good 25+ years ago when they started to expanded they actually has some sort of multi-year project to study the issue before deciding.

Me think he doth protest too much. What are you talking about? I am from the Northeast and never heard of VCU until I moved to NoVA. And then I have never met a graduate in my line of work.

Not unusual. But would be very unusual if you were in higher education, or if you were in the arts, the hard sciences, or medicine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worse thing GMU did was align the university with the Koch brothers (noted for their political activities donating to conservative and Republican Party causes)

Of all Virginia schools, I think only GMU has had any Nobel Prize winners associated with them at the time of their awards. This is a bit of a black eye on the state.

It was those scary Koch-supported economics professors that pp didn't want their kids to be exposed to.

https://www2.gmu.edu/news/311896

THINK. Donations = prestige. I know students who go to GMU just because the Econ department is so strong. Any large gift to any university is welcome.

Gotcha. So...white nationalists?

Not even worth responding to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worse thing GMU did was align the university with the Koch brothers (noted for their political activities donating to conservative and Republican Party causes)

Of all Virginia schools, I think only GMU has had any Nobel Prize winners associated with them at the time of their awards. This is a bit of a black eye on the state.

It was those scary Koch-supported economics professors that pp didn't want their kids to be exposed to.

https://www2.gmu.edu/news/311896

THINK. Donations = prestige. I know students who go to GMU just because the Econ department is so strong. Any large gift to any university is welcome.

+1
The Econ dept. at GMU is extremely highly-thought of. I would be thrilled for my son to study Econ there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worse thing GMU did was align the university with the Koch brothers (noted for their political activities donating to conservative and Republican Party causes)

Of all Virginia schools, I think only GMU has had any Nobel Prize winners associated with them at the time of their awards. This is a bit of a black eye on the state.

It was those scary Koch-supported economics professors that pp didn't want their kids to be exposed to.

https://www2.gmu.edu/news/311896

THINK. Donations = prestige. I know students who go to GMU just because the Econ department is so strong. Any large gift to any university is welcome.

Gotcha. So...white nationalists?

Not the PP, but this is just idiotic. Newsflash: "white nationalists" may be your trendy buzzword, but labeling anything and everything you're even slightly suspicious of is beyond absurd. And exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worse thing GMU did was align the university with the Koch brothers (noted for their political activities donating to conservative and Republican Party causes)

Of all Virginia schools, I think only GMU has had any Nobel Prize winners associated with them at the time of their awards. This is a bit of a black eye on the state.

It was those scary Koch-supported economics professors that pp didn't want their kids to be exposed to.

https://www2.gmu.edu/news/311896

THINK. Donations = prestige. I know students who go to GMU just because the Econ department is so strong. Any large gift to any university is welcome.

Gotcha. So...white nationalists?

Not the PP, but this is just idiotic. Newsflash: "white nationalists" may be your trendy buzzword, but labeling anything and everything you're even slightly suspicious of is beyond absurd. And exhausting.

+1. Hate the ignorance on DCUM. And BTW the Koch Bros are Libertarian, not conservatives and not Trumpers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Excluding UVA, W&M, and Virginia Tech, my brief take on the other institutions is as follows:

VCU - A higher percentage of students seem to be interested in urban, diverse environments and VCU is the best situated in the state for that. It also is fortunate to have the hospital/medical/dental school tie in that adds some career opportunities in healthcare. It is pretty widely recognized in art, which is also rare. I think this has been a school on the rise in some respects, but admission rate is high which suggests they are having difficulty filling some spots (it is a big school). Urban campus has some interesting buildings (many acquired rather than built).

GMU - should have a lot going for it being located in the most affluent area of the state which also has the biggest economy and jobs. Has moved to become more residential, but still has too much of a feel of a commuter school, although it is much improved. Campus is nice, modern, but might lack character some want. Despite being in heavily populated area, it doesn't have the urban feel some want. For people in NOVA, it is probably too familiar to appeal to a wider segment. It feels like there should be substantial upside here, but that has been the case for a long time.

ODU -- is urban but not as interesting of an area as VCU. ODU seems to take seriously a role of giving area students from less affluent backgrounds a chance to advance themselves. It is focused on the region (military, shipbuilding, etc.) Does not seem to have much appeal outside as a first choice. Campus is pretty nondescript.

JMU -- Although now large, it is a different type of school to the above, located in a more remote area. This has pluses and minuses. It probably started to distinguish itself somewhat from the above schools by having better completion rates than the urban schools (which used to be typical), but it now seems to lack appeal for some because of its location. Good business school, interesting directions with CISAT, pretty undergraduate-focused despite size, but lacks a trendy draw like Virginia Tech engineering. Better school spirit than the schools above.

CNU - is perhaps an up-and-comer. Attractive campus is a big draw. It seems to model itself after W&M to some extent (residential, liberal arts & sciences). Has probably had the biggest improvement in selectivity among the schools listed here. It is much smaller than the schools above. I think it has stolen some of the thunder from Mary Washington. Strong undergraduate focus compared to VCU, GMU, ODU.

Mary Washington -- was essentially the women's branch of UVA, so it has some pedigree and it has an attractive campus. Location not too far from DC or Richmond should be good. Still, it seems to have struggled to create a more modern identity. It still may be a hidden gem, though, that could become more popular in the future.

Radford and Longwood struggle with their locations and creating an identity. I haven't visited either recently so won't comment further.

VMI is a great school for the right type of student. I've seen them take students (obviously mostly men) that need a push and some shaping and turn them into disciplined, quality individuals.

VCU is renowned -- outside of Virginia. They have multiple Nobel affiliations, their Arts, Sciences, and Med programs are all Global 100 and ARWU 100, and their size is considered to be so much of an advantage that they're intentionally expanding even further. If you look at global rankings, VCU is actually considered to be ahead of all other VA schools (public or private) except UVA and VT. VCU doesn't have any difficulty at all filling undergraduate slots - they intentionally structure themselves to be able to accept all qualified in-state applicants. That's a decision that they made a good 25+ years ago when they started to expanded they actually has some sort of multi-year project to study the issue before deciding.

Me think he doth protest too much. What are you talking about? I am from the Northeast and never heard of VCU until I moved to NoVA. And then I have never met a graduate in my line of work.

Not unusual. But would be very unusual if you were in higher education, or if you were in the arts, the hard sciences, or medicine.

Yeah I worked in higher ed in Boston for a decade before moving to VA
Never heard of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worse thing GMU did was align the university with the Koch brothers (noted for their political activities donating to conservative and Republican Party causes)

Of all Virginia schools, I think only GMU has had any Nobel Prize winners associated with them at the time of their awards. This is a bit of a black eye on the state.

It was those scary Koch-supported economics professors that pp didn't want their kids to be exposed to.

https://www2.gmu.edu/news/311896

THINK. Donations = prestige. I know students who go to GMU just because the Econ department is so strong. Any large gift to any university is welcome.

Gotcha. So...white nationalists?

Not the PP, but this is just idiotic. Newsflash: "white nationalists" may be your trendy buzzword, but labeling anything and everything you're even slightly suspicious of is beyond absurd. And exhausting.

+1. Hate the ignorance on DCUM. And BTW the Koch Bros are Libertarian, not conservatives and not Trumpers.

Didn’t say the Koch’s were. The poster said “any”, so I was trusting that the poster understood words and how to use them. Do you think “any” large gift is welcome? I don’t. Do you understand now? Turns out you were the ignorant one.

[Anonymous]

If you live in VA because of the state colleges but your kid can’t get into UVA or W&M, well, that was a mistake because there are better places to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you live in VA because of the state colleges but your kid can’t get into UVA or W&M, well, that was a mistake because there are better places to live.

?? So it’s better to live in a state with worse public school? Try again.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have naviance stats from nova for the state schools from this past year? There seemed to be different trends, but once my kid graduated, I wasn’t able to see them and replace my impressions with data. Thanks.