Is JMU on the rise?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read that JMU’s number of applications have doubled in the past four years (44k in 2025 versus 22k in 2021) and 50% were from OOS. That’s unreal to me. When did the school become so popular and why is the acceptance rate still high if so many more kids are applying? Is the yield decreasing at the same time? Is this only due to joining the Common App or something else? What’s the reputation among high school kids now? I’ve got a sophomore from MCPS who’s interested.

Common app ~3 years ago
Athletic success and more exposure with move to Sun Belt conference
Schools "above it" are more difficult to gain acceptance. Rolls down hill.

It’s this…though JMU was a much harder acceptance 30 years ago. Used to be like a 33% acceptance rate and then they significantly grew the number of students.

+1

It was half the size 30 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Nope

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The acceptance rate for 2024-2025 has not been published yet and is expected to be lower than the prior years.

We attended CHOICES day for admitted students this past weekend. They said they had 44,000 applications this years. Higher, not lower, than prior years.

44,000 is the number of applicants. That’s different from the acceptance rate that PP was referring to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The acceptance rate for 2024-2025 has not been published yet and is expected to be lower than the prior years.

We attended CHOICES day for admitted students this past weekend. They said they had 44,000 applications this years. Higher, not lower, than prior years.

I think you may be confusing number of applications with acceptance rate. Usually when the first goes up the second goes down.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if there are any parallels from across the river. I remember when UMD was a safety with a higher acceptance rate than JMU. Now it’s a highly sought after world-class university that rejected my 4.7 WGPA kid and broke her heart along with the hearts of 80% of her classmates. What changed? Increased performance in sports? Common App? College in general getting too darned expensive? A tipping point of high performing students embracing the school? Aren’t those forces also at play with JMU?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We really liked it.

It's a safety for a lot of Virginia kids.

It's an appealing alternative to UMD (hard to get into), Penn State (very rah rah), or some other nearby state schools.

Okay, it's also a match and a reach for a lot of VA kids. What's your point?

[Anonymous]

JMU is a very popular school now. And it is ok to admit it is a school on the rise.

[Anonymous]

I agree that JMU is popular and a good school. However, they do not give much aid, so it seems like it would not be a very good deal for out of state when there are many other comparable schools that do give significant aid. I do not understand why it is so popular for oos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We really liked it.

It's a safety for a lot of Virginia kids.

It's an appealing alternative to UMD (hard to get into), Penn State (very rah rah), or some other nearby state schools.

Okay, it's also a match and a reach for a lot of VA kids. What's your point?

My point is that the OP seemed surprised that JMU's profile has risen.

I think many higher-stats kids started using it as a safety, only to find out, as a PP did, that it's not necessarily a safety anymore. I noted that because it partially explains the rise in application numbers, and gave it some added cachet as people figured out that Larlo with the 3.8 might not even get in.

DCUM used to completely shit on this school, and I'm glad that's not the case anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there are any parallels from across the river. I remember when UMD was a safety with a higher acceptance rate than JMU. Now it’s a highly sought after world-class university that rejected my 4.7 WGPA kid and broke her heart along with the hearts of 80% of her classmates. What changed? Increased performance in sports? Common App? College in general getting too darned expensive? A tipping point of high performing students embracing the school? Aren’t those forces also at play with JMU?

Stop trying to make fetch happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there are any parallels from across the river. I remember when UMD was a safety with a higher acceptance rate than JMU. Now it’s a highly sought after world-class university that rejected my 4.7 WGPA kid and broke her heart along with the hearts of 80% of her classmates. What changed? Increased performance in sports? Common App? College in general getting too darned expensive? A tipping point of high performing students embracing the school? Aren’t those forces also at play with JMU?

Stop trying to make fetch happen.

Lol! But actually, I’m curious about this as well. What causes seismic shifts in a school’s popularity and reputation within a decade or two?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that JMU is popular and a good school. However, they do not give much aid, so it seems like it would not be a very good deal for out of state when there are many other comparable schools that do give significant aid. I do not understand why it is so popular for oos.

What are comparable schools that give significant merit aid to OOS students who would consider JMU?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that JMU is popular and a good school. However, they do not give much aid, so it seems like it would not be a very good deal for out of state when there are many other comparable schools that do give significant aid. I do not understand why it is so popular for oos.

What are comparable schools that give significant merit aid to OOS students who would consider JMU?

Alabama, for one

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school now. And it is ok to admit it is a school on the rise.

On the rise of what?

Popularity and as many have said becoming a much
More difficult admit

But absent some recognition or improvement in some real area/s, its increased "popularity" could be solely the result of tougher admissions of the state's top 3 colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school now. And it is ok to admit it is a school on the rise.

On the rise of what?

Popularity and as many have said becoming a much
More difficult admit

But absent some recognition or improvement in some real area/s, its increased "popularity" could be solely the result of tougher admissions of the state's top 3 colleges.

1. Who cares?
2. JMU got upgraded to R1 which has nothing to do with other colleges in VA