JMU vs. Colby

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


Which mountains surround William and Mary?


What does skiing have to do with undergraduate education? It is, or should be, an irrelevant criterion for anyone going on to higher education to actually get an education as opposed to engage in recreation.


Plus, W&M is only an hour from the beach and has a strong sailing team.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


NP. True. But they also go to JMU. (And W&M is nowhere near any mountains, nor does it have excellent sports teams.)
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:One is a selective school with 10% acceptance rate and the other one is a 3rd tier state school with 78% acceptance rate.

Am I missing something?


Because someone will raise this point, I’ll go for it. JMU is probably a 2nd tier VA school, not 3rd. And I say that as a parent with no connection to JMU.

UVa and WM now have almost identical stats for their incoming classes. WM was like .02 below UVA on GPA last year and did better in some standardized testing metrics. Those 2, plus some VT direct entry schools (ahem, Engineering) are Tier 1 in VA (state schools, not bringing W&L into this discussion).

2nd tier would be the rest of VT, JMU, and possibly GMU in STEM/CS and several other areas, right? The DMV tends to undervalue GMU because kids don’t want to go to college 5 miles from home. But the CS plus some other areas are very strong

I’d put 3rd tier VA state schools as CNU, UMW, VCU… And we can go down to ODU, the HBCUs, Longwood, Radford, from there.

But, from my kids’ FCPS HS classes, kids who went to JMU were solidly second tier students. Not the academic rock stars. Or the anything rock stars. But, one tier down from that. JMU seemed to be a natural fit for kids who: were solid but not exceptional academically (3.9W GPA, not 4.4W; 6 APs, not 12; 1300 SATs, not 1500+); had a nice, outgoing personality; and were busy and involved in ECs, such as music, drama, or a sport, but are not all state and mostly not all district. I personally only know one athlete (male, football, so no help to OP) It’s a high average school for kids with high average academic performance, but not the top 10-15% of the class.

JMU is a safety for the top 25%-35% of FCPS HS classes (depends on HS, obviously). I know a lot of current JMU students after my 2 kids applied for college 2 years apart. And college admissions has really distorted some parents and students perceptions of what it takes to go to a tier 1 school from the DMV— especially eldest children. Well over half the kids I know who went to JMU had UVA, VT Engineering or WM as a first choice. Or if they were serious about engineering/ CS, schools like NC State, Purdue, GT, Clemson, IU-CU, etc. And they were confident enough in their ability to get in that they did EA or RD, not ED (which UVA, VT and WM all offered at the time). JMU and GMU (maybe also VCU or CNU) were their safeties. But they didn’t get into UVA, WM or VT engineering or another state flagship engineering. And in March, there were a lot of shocked “what do you mean UVA, WM and/or VT (Purdue, GT, NC State, an UC) outright rejected me” kids and their families. So, plan B became JMU or GMU. Some of the Asian kids who were serious about CS chose GMU. Most other kids chose JMU because at last it isn’t a stones throw from their high school. Not because it was their first choice, but because it’s was the best choice available 5/1.

I’m from NC. Even one state over, parents of HS/college aged kids have not heard of JMU. Which is fine. Most people in VA don’t know much about UNC-Charlotte, Greensboro or Asheville, which are all good at various things, in different ways. 90%+ of America hasn’t heard of Colby either— or Amherst, Hamilton, Bowdoin, Bates…. But, that’s also fine.

IYKYK. And the people who need to know (grad school admissions, hiring departments for major companies, government sponsored programs like Fulbright, CLE, Peace Corp)— they know. Repeat after me: your job is to support your kid while they decide which school is a better fit and where they will be happy and productive. That may mean listening. Or, it may mean 2 plane tickets to Maine. The car sticker, the perceptions of the other moms at yoga and/or your ability to humble brag at cocktail parties should play no role here.

To me, Colby seems like the no brainer, if you can afford it. It’s hard to argue with a straight face that JMU is stronger academically, has a smarter peer group or has better outcomes. They just don’t. But— your kid needs to compare the schools. Do they like the feel of the potential new teams, the coaching staff and the other athletes? Do they like the feel of each campus? Is Colby too small, too isolated, too cold? Is JMU too large, fratty and 13th grade? Does your kid want Greek life and big spectator sports on weekends (tailgates and football), or is that not their speed? See if they can sit in on typical freshman classes, so they can start to understand how different the educational models are for SLACs and midrange regional Us.

These two schools are very different. If your kid visits both, they should have a preference. And you should listen to them and ask questions to understand their thinking. Colby may be the better school, but if you kid is miserable, stops enjoying their sport, hates Maine winters, gets meh grades and isn’t happy and productive, it isn’t the school for them.

TL; DR: of course Colby is the better school academically. The question is, is it better for your kid and their wants and needs?

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


Why does it matter if there are “mountains” that someone can see. They don’t add anything to the college experience as they do at CU Boulder or University of Utah.

They are just big hills off in the distance that nobody cares about.

Colby has some actual mountains where you might actually ski and enjoy them if that factors into someone’s decision.


:lol:
Seriously? It matters because lots of people like being in a mountainous environment that is absolutely gorgeous in the fall and spring. "Big hills off in the distance"? Colby is not in the mountains at all. You should stick to urban schools, which have no "campus" to speak of.
DP
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


NP. True. But they also go to JMU. (And W&M is nowhere near any mountains, nor does it have excellent sports teams.)




My DD chose JMU over VT. Her friends dorm room was full of mold upon move in at VT.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Madison is beautiful- https://www.instagram.com/jamesmadisonuniversity/


It really is. And surrounded by actual mountains, unlike Waterville, ME.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


Why does it matter if there are “mountains” that someone can see. They don’t add anything to the college experience as they do at CU Boulder or University of Utah.

They are just big hills off in the distance that nobody cares about.

Colby has some actual mountains where you might actually ski and enjoy them if that factors into someone’s decision.


You can ski in VA and WV within an hour or less of JMU.


Crap mid Atlantic skiing…especially in VA. Also, it’s more like 2.5 hours away to snowshoe or Canaan. Bryce is pretty awful skiing.

Colby is only 1 hour from Sugarloaf which is 100x better than anything in the mid Atlantic.

My only point is that if being near mountains or skiing is important…well you again would probably go out West…but Colby offers much better options than JMU.


DP. You really have no idea what you're talking about, do you? Do you even know where Harrisonburg, VA is? Smack dab in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley, surrounded by mountains. The ski resort of Massanutten is 20 minutes away! Students ski there all the time. Certainly no need to drive an hour, as one would have to do at Colby. You sound very, very silly and uninformed.
Anonymous
Colby!!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


Why does it matter if there are “mountains” that someone can see. They don’t add anything to the college experience as they do at CU Boulder or University of Utah.

They are just big hills off in the distance that nobody cares about.

Colby has some actual mountains where you might actually ski and enjoy them if that factors into someone’s decision.


You can ski in VA and WV within an hour or less of JMU.


Crap mid Atlantic skiing…especially in VA. Also, it’s more like 2.5 hours away to snowshoe or Canaan. Bryce is pretty awful skiing.

Colby is only 1 hour from Sugarloaf which is 100x better than anything in the mid Atlantic.

My only point is that if being near mountains or skiing is important…well you again would probably go out West…but Colby offers much better options than JMU.


That is your opinion. If a kid wants to ski Wintergreen Resort is close to JMU.


+1
But Massanutten is even closer. Just down the road.

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Please stop. A 3rd tier VA state school is just not happening.


1. Tiers are not real
2. 22,000 JMU kids would think otherwise


Seriously. This is a pretty amusing thread. Sure, there are kids who would choose Colby. But not many.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


Why does it matter if there are “mountains” that someone can see. They don’t add anything to the college experience as they do at CU Boulder or University of Utah.

They are just big hills off in the distance that nobody cares about.

Colby has some actual mountains where you might actually ski and enjoy them if that factors into someone’s decision.


You can ski in VA and WV within an hour or less of JMU.


Are you seriously. Pushing JMU based on… skiing opportunity near the school? And saying that JMU has the same skiing opportunities as Colby?

Loyalty to your kids school is admirable. Until you cross the line into absurd. I would hope we could at least agree that Maine has better skiing than VA/WV. Especially recently. DH tres to ski in WV a couple times a winter. The last 2-3 years, he’s been once. Total, not per year. VA and WV are down to a 4 week ski season in the past few years— if they are lucky. No matter how much snow they make. It’s almost January and ski season. Weather still isn’t here. By mid Feb, they are closed. Maine wins when it comes to this aspect of global warming.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


Which mountains surround William and Mary?


What does skiing have to do with undergraduate education? It is, or should be, an irrelevant criterion for anyone going on to higher education to actually get an education as opposed to engage in recreation.


You sound fun! Of course recreational opportunities are important to MOST people choosing colleges. Good grief.
DP
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


Which mountains surround William and Mary?


What does skiing have to do with undergraduate education? It is, or should be, an irrelevant criterion for anyone going on to higher education to actually get an education as opposed to engage in recreation.


Plus, W&M is only an hour from the beach and has a strong sailing team.


:lol:
Anonymous
Colby is a totally different tier of school. I’d do that
Anonymous
[twitter]
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. It is a tougher choice than I would have thought. If we were just looking at academic reputation in a vacuum, Colby is an easy choice. But it is also big vs. small school, isolated vs. close-enough to other things/big town. I am a bit of a reputation-snob myself but even I am struggling with advising DC. What they want as a major is offered at both. Sport would offer a friend-group at both.


The differential in acceptance rates tells you everything you need to know. If location was an issue, why did DC apply to Colby?!?


What does acceptance rate tell us?


It tells you something about the quality of the student body. JMU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent. Colby’s is below 10 percent. The SAT/ACT and GPA figures are vastly different too.


JMU is much larger, so acceptance rate is an ineffective comparison tool. Acceptance rates can also be gamed in an effort to manipulate rankings.


You can’t be this ignorant. What does the size of the school have to do with its acceptance rate? JMU’s acceptance rate is 78%. Colby’s is under 10%.

In terms of size, Cornell University has about 5K kids in its 2027 class which is the same number as JMU’s class of 2027. Cornell’s acceptance rate is 8%. Please explain how acceptance rates are gamed to account for a 70 point difference.


JMU accepts more students than Colby to fill a larger class. Cornell receives more apps than JMU which means it wins a popularity contest with JMU. None of this equates to quality of student body as you suggest.


Oh, boy! You seem to be missing some basic analytical skills. By the same argument, JMU is as good as Harvard or Yale. Anyway, I give up…


Nope, not what I said. Do you have any evidence that acceptance rates equate to student body quality?



You are correct that acceptance rates are not an indicator of student body quality. But GPAs and test scorers are (though not perfect), and those show that Colby students are definitely a cut above those at JMU.


There's high level of correlation between acceptance rate and student body quality.





Where is your proof?


It also depends what you consider quality. The wealthy strivers who went to private schools but didn't do well enough to get into an Ivy or Williams or Bowdoin, but whose connections will continue to find them high paying jobs once they graduate from Colby. Or the hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughou their childhoods, working hard enough to get merit aid for JMU, while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network.


In VA, Hard-working MC and UMC kids who lived well-rounded lives throughout their childhoods, working hard while making friends and living a balanced life, surrounded by beautiful mountains, excellent sports teams, and thousands and thousands of other students around which to build a network
go to UVA, W&M, or VT.


22,000 kids at JMU also fit the bill.


So basically, the 30%, +/- 5%, of most public HSs in VA attend JMU.
Forum Index » College and University Discussion
Go to: