NoVa/JMU--Rejections

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son from mcps got into JMU with 3.5 unweighted and a sub-1200 SAT.

I think visiting the school and demonstrating a real interest is important.

He opted for another school. Some of his classmates didn’t get in, and we were surprised.

I think it was a crapshoot last year with a lot of schools. I know kids who didn’t get into the “easy” schools in the SEC and the south but DID get into Penn State (main campus), Delaware, etc. I wonder if some of the VA schools were caught up in the popularity of the south and tried to protect the yield.

Stop. Public schools don’t use demonstrated interest of yield protection.

I don’t know about yield protection, but demonstrated interest is a category on each school’s CDS. JMU checks the considered box. As does another public school I’ve looked at (AppState)
https://analytics.appstate.edu/dash_cds_all_years

Google is your friend, keyboard warriors!

They must be more desperate than I thought. Demonstrated interest is a third tier practice.

Is Dartmouth third tier? Demonstrated interest is also considered there (pg 8)
https://www.dartmouth.edu/oir/pdfs/cds_2024-2025.pdf

Again Google? Jesus, this is why we need humanities majors that can do Simple research.

Here is an undated (so people should verify using CDS list of schools that track interest

https://thecollegecurators.com/list-of-colleges-that-consider-demonstrated-interest/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would people be willing to share the stats of kids who didn't receive an acceptance from JMU? TIA!

OP, I don't think you're going to get very helpful information here. Having just gone through the application/acceptance cycle for this fall's incoming class and reading all the posts and comments about who did/didn't get into JMU, the info is all over the place - as in, there's no telling.

Fact of the matter is, JMU - like most colleges - are interested in geographical diversity. So they are not going to accept all of the students from Northern Virginia who have all the same credentials. They can't accept everyone. I don't know what the magic factor is, particularly since test scores are optional and even the application essay is optional. Seems like a lottery process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son didn't get in last year - 3.8 wGPA, 1330 SAT. Very sad.

Don't take it personally. JMU just figured there was no way your son would actually go there with those #'s (especially the SAT).

Except that it was his first choice and he would absolutely have attended. Too bad JMU doesn't have ED for kids like mine.

Did your kid engage directly with a recruiter over email? In person?

Did your kid visit (officially) and engage?

Despite another poster saying JMU doesn’t track interest, I think they do. And given the big interest in certain southern schools, I think everyone is trying to do a better job of yield protection.

My kid got into every school where he demonstrated an interest—primarily through multiple interactions with the recruiter.

Back up this claim. I’ll be waiting for your cite.

You won’t see hard data for another year or so (there’s a time lag obviously), and they simply don’t release all the details people want.

But if you talk to enough parents—or to college advisors who help kids in your area—you’ll hear about kids with good stats who didn’t get into the easy schools but somehow got into the more difficult schools.

I think the schools that are perceived as the safety or back up realize when that’s where they stand for applicants with certain stats, and they are taking action.

And what I’ve gleaned from actively participating in this process with 2 kids over the last 5 years is that you can’t accurately predict when shifts happen. The data lags 2 years and it’s tough to predict which schools will take off. Auburn used to be relatively easy to get into, but not anymore. Kids with better stats than their predecessors two or three years ahead of them didn’t make it into the same schools. For whatever reason, LSU was caught off guard by the high number of kids who accepted, and they have kids piled into buildings that aren’t really dorms.

I could go on and on, but the takeaway is southern schools are just really popular now.

Fwiw, two college advisors I know predict kids will turn to the West Coast in bigger numbers next. But who knows? A lot of this is a crapshoot based on whatever metric a school uses based on who actually applies and where they are from.

But I stand by my tip that kids should engage with the local recruiter. My kid met a recruiter at their high school, followed up afterwards over email and then phone, showed up at a regional event just to say hello and reiterate his interest in attending (and wore a polo from the school), and asked if it was possible to arrange a meeting with someone from his prospective dept during his upcoming tour. The recruiter set up the private meeting in association with his your. I know this helped. And it was a school that “doesn’t track interest.”

They simply must on some level.

This is the playbook both my kids used for their top 2 or 3 choices. And it’s what my next kid will do as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son didn't get in last year - 3.8 wGPA, 1330 SAT. Very sad.

Don't take it personally. JMU just figured there was no way your son would actually go there with those #'s (especially the SAT).

Except that it was his first choice and he would absolutely have attended. Too bad JMU doesn't have ED for kids like mine.

Did your kid engage directly with a recruiter over email? In person?

Did your kid visit (officially) and engage?

Despite another poster saying JMU doesn’t track interest, I think they do. And given the big interest in certain southern schools, I think everyone is trying to do a better job of yield protection.

My kid got into every school where he demonstrated an interest—primarily through multiple interactions with the recruiter.

Yes, to all of the above. Of course he did - it was his top choice! So again, ED would be very helpful for others in his position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son didn't get in last year - 3.8 wGPA, 1330 SAT. Very sad.

Don't take it personally. JMU just figured there was no way your son would actually go there with those #'s (especially the SAT).

Except that it was his first choice and he would absolutely have attended. Too bad JMU doesn't have ED for kids like mine.

Did your kid engage directly with a recruiter over email? In person?

Did your kid visit (officially) and engage?

Despite another poster saying JMU doesn’t track interest, I think they do. And given the big interest in certain southern schools, I think everyone is trying to do a better job of yield protection.

My kid got into every school where he demonstrated an interest—primarily through multiple interactions with the recruiter.

Back up this claim. I’ll be waiting for your cite.

You won’t see hard data for another year or so (there’s a time lag obviously), and they simply don’t release all the details people want.

But if you talk to enough parents—or to college advisors who help kids in your area—you’ll hear about kids with good stats who didn’t get into the easy schools but somehow got into the more difficult schools.

I think the schools that are perceived as the safety or back up realize when that’s where they stand for applicants with certain stats, and they are taking action.

And what I’ve gleaned from actively participating in this process with 2 kids over the last 5 years is that you can’t accurately predict when shifts happen. The data lags 2 years and it’s tough to predict which schools will take off. Auburn used to be relatively easy to get into, but not anymore. Kids with better stats than their predecessors two or three years ahead of them didn’t make it into the same schools. For whatever reason, LSU was caught off guard by the high number of kids who accepted, and they have kids piled into buildings that aren’t really dorms.

I could go on and on, but the takeaway is southern schools are just really popular now.

Fwiw, two college advisors I know predict kids will turn to the West Coast in bigger numbers next. But who knows? A lot of this is a crapshoot based on whatever metric a school uses based on who actually applies and where they are from.

But I stand by my tip that kids should engage with the local recruiter. My kid met a recruiter at their high school, followed up afterwards over email and then phone, showed up at a regional event just to say hello and reiterate his interest in attending (and wore a polo from the school), and asked if it was possible to arrange a meeting with someone from his prospective dept during his upcoming tour. The recruiter set up the private meeting in association with his your. I know this helped. And it was a school that “doesn’t track interest.”

They simply must on some level.

This is the playbook both my kids used for their top 2 or 3 choices. And it’s what my next kid will do as well.

Nice anecdotes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would people be willing to share the stats of kids who didn't receive an acceptance from JMU? TIA!

OP, I don't think you're going to get very helpful information here. Having just gone through the application/acceptance cycle for this fall's incoming class and reading all the posts and comments about who did/didn't get into JMU, the info is all over the place - as in, there's no telling.

Fact of the matter is, JMU - like most colleges - are interested in geographical diversity. So they are not going to accept all of the students from Northern Virginia who have all the same credentials. They can't accept everyone. I don't know what the magic factor is, particularly since test scores are optional and even the application essay is optional. Seems like a lottery process.

I agree. My son got in last year and many of his friends with similar stats and extra curricular activities didn't get in.

My youngest with a profile/portfolio similar as my oldest will be applying this year so we'll see... nothing is guaranteed.