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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Were you at Simmons? Or maybe Lesley?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

What are you looking for -- Scattergrams?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

What are you looking for -- Scattergrams?

That would be interesting but probably awkward to post. Applied/admitted/attends would be interesting for UVa/ WM/ Tech/ VCU/ JMU and I suppose CNU and/or GMU.
Or average sats and gpa. I think Fairfax county only lists weighted GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Were you at Simmons? Or maybe Lesley?

How cute. You don't know what "Boston" is code for.

[Anonymous]

Look I am the Boston person. I actually go crazy with this odd obsession with VA publics and everyone freaking out about their kid getting into UVA vs VCU vs whatever. Frankly, I would be happy if my child went to Simmons or Lesley or Wentworth or Curry or even VCU. I want my child to go some place where they are happy. And everyone here gets so uptight about prestige and numbers for X or Y and miss the point about fit and find a place where your child will flourish. So stop playing the prestige obsession game and pay attention to your child's well being.

And I want sure of Lesley/Simlons person was being obtuse or serious.....if they think VCU is renowned outside VA I assumed they were being serious.

Also civility? Do you live in NoVA? People here are anything but!

[Anonymous]

JMU is right on I81! Hate the location! Town is dumpy. Mall sucks!

[Anonymous]

JMU, VCU, and GMU...

Hope they accept a 1260/4.0 student. 8 APs 7 Honors

Should we look at CNU and UMW just in case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JMU, VCU, and GMU...

Hope they accept a 1260/4.0 student. 8 APs 7 Honors

Should we look at CNU and UMW just in case?

Should be fine at all 3. No need for further back-ups IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JMU, VCU, and GMU...

Hope they accept a 1260/4.0 student. 8 APs 7 Honors

Should we look at CNU and UMW just in case?

Good for VCU and JMU. Well over the top layer for GMU, so much so as to knock out any need for a safety.

[Anonymous]

If you're going to limit your kid to instate, why not give them more choices. Applications are a drop in the bucket in terms of what you're going to be spending on tuition. Their preference may change come April/May. Throw in a few more ~

[Anonymous]

UVA has white supremacists on it's lawn...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU, VCU, and GMU...

Hope they accept a 1260/4.0 student. 8 APs 7 Honors

Should we look at CNU and UMW just in case?

Good for VCU and JMU. Well over the top layer for GMU, so much so as to knock out any need for a safety.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

PP here...our reaches are W&M, UVA, and UF (OOS requirements a bit tougher).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA has white supremacists on it's lawn...

UVA graduates know the difference between its and it's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA has white supremacists on it's lawn...

UVA graduates know the difference between its and it's

As do most HS graduates.