Medium to Large School - easy admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: we're in the DMV. By "easy" I don't mean open admissions, but where a 3.2 GPA can get in.
The post about 1/2 the kids getting turned down from West Virginia is depressing. I was banking on that one.

PP again - yeah I was shocked. But to be honest, not sure who the kids were that didn’t get in. Could’ve been kids with borderline stats that just weren’t strong enough or perhaps kids with too high stats they didn’t think would come - who knows. They have some strong programs and good location only about 3.5 hours from DC and do offer good OOS merit money. We went on a tour and we’re offered an admission fee waiver so might be worth a try. They also had at least one date where you could come for a visit and get a same-day application decision (not binding).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you all. I was hesitant to post because I didn’t want to hear all the unsupportive remarks. So thank you for all the positivity.

Do you think Delaware is doable, it looked to have higher stats.

I also was thinking about West Chester but was concerned that only 3% of students live on campus.

Also, a bit worried about the party atmosphere at WVU, Radford and Ohio U. Maybe I just need to get over that.

Interesting about west Chester. I was investigating it a little bit recently, and they have dorms that resemble apartment towers, so I assumed more students on campus.

[Anonymous]

JMU may be off the table and definitely not UVM. If Maryland consider Towson (if education major) If your kid has good course rigor than UMBC (esp if stem). Temple and U Delaware and Elon reaches. WVU should be a sure thing. All the above are fine options so good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How easy?

In VA, VCU or GMU
In MD, Towson or UMBC

But these aren't 'open admissions' level of easy, just not as competitive as some other state options.

True, but OP needs to know that the 75th percentile at GMU last fall had a 4.0 and a 30 ACT. It's not as easy to get in to as some on DCUM think. And it's the largest research university in the Commonwealth, so actually HUGE. https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Yes, I didn't know how to interpret their question-- whether it was somewhere between medium and large, or just bigger than 8k. GMU has 27k undergraduates so a lot of its size comes from grad students. But, yes, it's very big.

Who is the poster who obsessed over the SCHEV 75th percentile all the time? That means that THREE QUARTERS of entering students have lower numbers.

Because if you are applying from Nova and not a URM or First Generation that’s where you need to aim. The rest is for legacies (yes GMU has them); And band stars (scholarships if willing to play in pep band); athletes, especially basketball; OOS and international for diversity; Korean students to encourage a flow of students to and from Mason Korea; first generation; URM; financially needy students and the brilliant kids going for the lucrative cybersecurity major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you all. I was hesitant to post because I didn’t want to hear all the unsupportive remarks. So thank you for all the positivity.

Do you think Delaware is doable, it looked to have higher stats.

I also was thinking about West Chester but was concerned that only 3% of students live on campus.

Also, a bit worried about the party atmosphere at WVU, Radford and Ohio U. Maybe I just need to get over that.

Plenty of kids not interested in the party lifestyle find their home at these schools. If that is a major concern, you may want to consider smaller schools like Roanoke, Bridgewater, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you all. I was hesitant to post because I didn’t want to hear all the unsupportive remarks. So thank you for all the positivity.

Do you think Delaware is doable, it looked to have higher stats.

I also was thinking about West Chester but was concerned that only 3% of students live on campus.

Also, a bit worried about the party atmosphere at WVU, Radford and Ohio U. Maybe I just need to get over that.

Interesting about west Chester. I was investigating it a little bit recently, and they have dorms that resemble apartment towers, so I assumed more students on campus.

I don't think that housing stat is correct for West Chester (though it looks like that's what's reported in US News). They have numerous large dorms and their housing webpage says they have 5,300 students on campus. Most freshman live on campus, though its not required. I have a niece there now and it seems like a great option.

[Anonymous]

What about Florida Atlantic? Anyone know anyone who went there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How easy?

In VA, VCU or GMU
In MD, Towson or UMBC

But these aren't 'open admissions' level of easy, just not as competitive as some other state options.

True, but OP needs to know that the 75th percentile at GMU last fall had a 4.0 and a 30 ACT. It's not as easy to get in to as some on DCUM think. And it's the largest research university in the Commonwealth, so actually HUGE. https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Yes, I didn't know how to interpret their question-- whether it was somewhere between medium and large, or just bigger than 8k. GMU has 27k undergraduates so a lot of its size comes from grad students. But, yes, it's very big.

Who is the poster who obsessed over the SCHEV 75th percentile all the time? That means that THREE QUARTERS of entering students have lower numbers.

Because if you are applying from Nova and not a URM or First Generation that’s where you need to aim. The rest is for legacies (yes GMU has them); And band stars (scholarships if willing to play in pep band); athletes, especially basketball; OOS and international for diversity; Korean students to encourage a flow of students to and from Mason Korea; first generation; URM; financially needy students and the brilliant kids going for the lucrative cybersecurity major.

Yes, I've heard this same tired refrain from you as well, the data says it's not true, and you have nothing to back up your opinion. The overwhelming majority of GMU in state undergrads are from NOVA, with almost 10,000 of them from Fairfax County alone. It's mathematically impossible for the typical NOVA student to be in the top 25 percent of enrolled GMU students stat wise given the percentage of the student body that is from the area.

Your argument might -- might -- work if you're talking about UVA, but not GMU.

[Anonymous]

appalachian state

[Anonymous]

A little farther away: University of TN

Rutgers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you all. I was hesitant to post because I didn’t want to hear all the unsupportive remarks. So thank you for all the positivity.

Do you think Delaware is doable, it looked to have higher stats.

I also was thinking about West Chester but was concerned that only 3% of students live on campus.

Also, a bit worried about the party atmosphere at WVU, Radford and Ohio U. Maybe I just need to get over that.

Interesting about west Chester. I was investigating it a little bit recently, and they have dorms that resemble apartment towers, so I assumed more students on campus.

I don't think that housing stat is correct for West Chester (though it looks like that's what's reported in US News). They have numerous large dorms and their housing webpage says they have 5,300 students on campus. Most freshman live on campus, though its not required. I have a niece there now and it seems like a great option.

I agree that that doesn't seem right for West Chester.

IMO, Temple, Delaware, and Rutgers are a little more selective than what you're seeking. Lots of other good ideas, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How easy?

In VA, VCU or GMU
In MD, Towson or UMBC

But these aren't 'open admissions' level of easy, just not as competitive as some other state options.

True, but OP needs to know that the 75th percentile at GMU last fall had a 4.0 and a 30 ACT. It's not as easy to get in to as some on DCUM think. And it's the largest research university in the Commonwealth, so actually HUGE. https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Yes, I didn't know how to interpret their question-- whether it was somewhere between medium and large, or just bigger than 8k. GMU has 27k undergraduates so a lot of its size comes from grad students. But, yes, it's very big.

And while there are a lot of strong students at GMU-hence the high 75th percentile, it has a high acceptance rate--86%. So you might be one of the weaker students in the school, but you can often still get in with a lower academic level.

You must be looking at old stats. GMU’s acceptance rate for 2022 was 77 percent. But what you don’t know is that all VA university acceptance rates are high because students self select to apply to certain schools at the direction of their public high school counselors, whose job it is to show the student and parents the SCHEV scores and Naviance for their particular high schools. Students who aren’t UVA candidates are steered to those schools that are a better match = higher chance of getting in. Even UVA and W&M’s acceptance scores are “ high” when compared to other privates attracting the same caliber of student. Always remember the high school counselor is a publicly available paid employee. Their credibility is on the line if they don’t do a good job of matching students to universities. And with SCHEV that matching is easily achieved

This poster shows up on every thread about VA state colleges and says the same thing without backing any of it up. I do think a 3.2 GPA is low for GMU though. I'd look closely at VCU. It's a great school and admissions standards are lower.

Can you or anyone here say more about VCU? I feel like it’s rarely mentioned in this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVM

Hmmm, I'm not so sure. They're the new Pitt for many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVM

Hmmm, I'm not so sure. They're the new Pitt for many.

Applications are way up and Burlington is really nice these days. Is 3.2 weighted or unweighted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How easy?

In VA, VCU or GMU
In MD, Towson or UMBC

But these aren't 'open admissions' level of easy, just not as competitive as some other state options.

True, but OP needs to know that the 75th percentile at GMU last fall had a 4.0 and a 30 ACT. It's not as easy to get in to as some on DCUM think. And it's the largest research university in the Commonwealth, so actually HUGE. https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Yes, I didn't know how to interpret their question-- whether it was somewhere between medium and large, or just bigger than 8k. GMU has 27k undergraduates so a lot of its size comes from grad students. But, yes, it's very big.

And while there are a lot of strong students at GMU-hence the high 75th percentile, it has a high acceptance rate--86%. So you might be one of the weaker students in the school, but you can often still get in with a lower academic level.

You must be looking at old stats. GMU’s acceptance rate for 2022 was 77 percent. But what you don’t know is that all VA university acceptance rates are high because students self select to apply to certain schools at the direction of their public high school counselors, whose job it is to show the student and parents the SCHEV scores and Naviance for their particular high schools. Students who aren’t UVA candidates are steered to those schools that are a better match = higher chance of getting in. Even UVA and W&M’s acceptance scores are “ high” when compared to other privates attracting the same caliber of student. Always remember the high school counselor is a publicly available paid employee. Their credibility is on the line if they don’t do a good job of matching students to universities. And with SCHEV that matching is easily achieved

This poster shows up on every thread about VA state colleges and says the same thing without backing any of it up. I do think a 3.2 GPA is low for GMU though. I'd look closely at VCU. It's a great school and admissions standards are lower.

Can you or anyone here say more about VCU? I feel like it’s rarely mentioned in this forum.

Fun, big school for people who want a more urban campus. Top notch for art and medicine, fine for everything else.