Non Virginia native asking...Is JMU a good school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Notre Dame and never heard of Penn State referred to as Happy Valley before. I am a DC native.

+1
I have never heard of Penn State referred to as Happy Valley. Also a DC area native.

Upstate NY native with degrees from University and Albany and GMU. I have heard of PSU referred to as Happy Valley. My anecdote cancels yours.

Um, ok? Weirdly competitive, aren't you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm really curious. Is it reputable? "Good"? Or a fall back? Or a safety school? Party school? It seems that EVERYONE has gone there or has kids attending.

I also can't get over the I81 location. It's certainly no "Happy Valley".

What the heck is "Happy Valley"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really curious. Is it reputable? "Good"? Or a fall back? Or a safety school? Party school? It seems that EVERYONE has gone there or has kids attending.

I also can't get over the I81 location. It's certainly no "Happy Valley".

What the heck is "Happy Valley"?

Addressed throughout this thread. Go back and read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes.

I didn’t even know what Happy Valley was.

What is Happy Valley? I think it's clear OP has an axe to grind is simply trolling.

Not at all. I am genuinely curious. I don't understand how the campus can be beautiful with a highway in the middle.

I drove past JMU recently on my way to visit another college. DC and I both thought that it looked pretty, but we wondered how students get from one side of the highway to another. Is there a bridge or an underground tunnel? Either would be fine. Or do students have to take a shuttle?

Underground tunnel and also a bridge. There are also shuttles if you don't want to walk. Both West and East Campus are up on hills with beautiful views, and you don't even notice the highway down below unless you're right on top of it.

Agree it’s not a thing seen but it is pretty loud. There are cars and trucks screaming past at 80 miles an hour day and night. Not the greatest campus feature but not entirely uncommon. We’ve toured dozens of colleges and lots of them are divided by big roads, particularly between old campus and new athletic fields and facilities.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I have led a sheltered life but when I took my DD to inspect the campus I was overwhelmed by the cases upon cases of beer stacked up for sale to the students in the gas station just barely off campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I have led a sheltered life but when I took my DD to inspect the campus I was overwhelmed by the cases upon cases of beer stacked up for sale to the students in the gas station just barely off campus.

I would say from the tour, it definitely had the party vibe, which turned off DD.

[Anonymous]

JMU is solidly mediocre. We attended a poorly run open house and heard all about the “best in the nation” food, took a bus back and forth across the highway four times, and were told at the biology info session that there aren’t really any opportunities for research on or off campus for undergrads because “we’ll, we have thousands of biology majors and there just isn’t much here in Harrisonburg”

Yesterday, as we drove home on 95 south from dropping our freshman off at college, I was astonished how many NY and NJ cars I saw with JMU stickers. It’s fine for in state kids who are hoping to become teachers or have typical office jobs, but definitely not worth out of state tuition...especially considering there are 500 other schools at the same price point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I have led a sheltered life but when I took my DD to inspect the campus I was overwhelmed by the cases upon cases of beer stacked up for sale to the students in the gas station just barely off campus.

It's been known as a big party school in VA for decades.

[Anonymous]

It's a good school. I have plenty of friends with kids who graduated from JMU that have very good jobs- most of them went to the business school there. I'd have no problem with one of my kids selecting JMU. They both got in but chose different schools for different reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I have led a sheltered life but when I took my DD to inspect the campus I was overwhelmed by the cases upon cases of beer stacked up for sale to the students in the gas station just barely off campus.

It's been known as a big party school in VA for decades.

And every female alumni I've met is a huge B.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JMU is solidly mediocre. We attended a poorly run open house and heard all about the “best in the nation” food, took a bus back and forth across the highway four times, and were told at the biology info session that there aren’t really any opportunities for research on or off campus for undergrads because “we’ll, we have thousands of biology majors and there just isn’t much here in Harrisonburg”

Yesterday, as we drove home on 95 south from dropping our freshman off at college, I was astonished how many NY and NJ cars I saw with JMU stickers. It’s fine for in state kids who are hoping to become teachers or have typical office jobs, but definitely not worth out of state tuition...especially considering there are 500 other schools at the same price point.

This is exactly what I thought.

[Anonymous]

Definitely a solid school especially for kids interested in music

But seen as a safety school for in state kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How strange that there’s a girl/guy ratio difference for a large public. Dies it offer a lot of traditionally female professions - nursing, teaching, etc.

Just how clueless is the average DCUM poster? There is a gender disparity in all of higher education in favor of girls.

I meant such a large disparity. But I will also admit I’m completely clueless in this regard. My kids are in early elementary and, while I did know there was a disparity, I sure didn’t see it when I went. And I don’t see it in the grass we hire at my firm.

JMU does have an unusually large disparity due to its traditional strength in teaching. And it also has related majors like speech, etc.

[Anonymous]

I'm a JMU grad who was in the honors program. Aside from a gen ed health class and maybe 1 or 2 others I can't remember, I never had a class over 30 kids. That was something unique at the time for the schools I visited. I got in to other "better" schools, but I was 17 years old and refused to go to an in state school (MD resident) and my parents were okay with that because of UMCP safety issues. This was all 10 years ago, though. Just wanted to put a different perspective out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a JMU grad who was in the honors program. Aside from a gen ed health class and maybe 1 or 2 others I can't remember, I never had a class over 30 kids. That was something unique at the time for the schools I visited. I got in to other "better" schools, but I was 17 years old and refused to go to an in state school (MD resident) and my parents were okay with that because of UMCP safety issues. This was all 10 years ago, though. Just wanted to put a different perspective out there.

What major did you choose and what career are you in? I’m curious about the outcomes.