Anonymous
Post 05/02/2026 16:48     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Stop quoting acceptance rates -- when the *only* thing that matters is what it takes to be accepted from your own high school.

It' always different and more difficult coming from a Northern Virginia public HS

Just like gaining admission to UMD from a W school
Anonymous
Post 05/02/2026 14:42     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school for my daughter‘s graduating class. I would say it has about the same number of kids enrolling as the university of Maryland. What was the appeal for local students? The proximity?
I don’t remember any kids from my graduating class going to jmu so I am genuinely curious. Was it always so popular or is it just on my radar now?


Good school for average kids.

And there are A LOT of average kids out there who want the college campus experience.


DP. I would say it's a great school for above average, smart, well-rounded kids. And yes, it checks all the boxes for many.


JMU has like a 70% acceptance rate. I'm sure above average kids can get in.


Says who?
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 22:11     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school for my daughter‘s graduating class. I would say it has about the same number of kids enrolling as the university of Maryland. What was the appeal for local students? The proximity?
I don’t remember any kids from my graduating class going to jmu so I am genuinely curious. Was it always so popular or is it just on my radar now?


Good school for average kids.

And there are A LOT of average kids out there who want the college campus experience.


DP. I would say it's a great school for above average, smart, well-rounded kids. And yes, it checks all the boxes for many.


JMU has like a 70% acceptance rate. I'm sure above average kids can get in.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 21:42     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school for my daughter‘s graduating class. I would say it has about the same number of kids enrolling as the university of Maryland. What was the appeal for local students? The proximity?
I don’t remember any kids from my graduating class going to jmu so I am genuinely curious. Was it always so popular or is it just on my radar now?


Are you in MD or VA?



Maryland.

I hadn’t considered the difficulty of getting into other local colleges to the rise of JMU. To be clear, it seems like a great school. I just am surprised at how many kids are going this year.


I think it’s the rise of the perception that in-state options are inferior. It does not make that much sense to pay for JMO OOS vs say UMBC.



JMU has way different feel than JMU.

You don’t say.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 21:34     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school for my daughter‘s graduating class. I would say it has about the same number of kids enrolling as the university of Maryland. What was the appeal for local students? The proximity?
I don’t remember any kids from my graduating class going to jmu so I am genuinely curious. Was it always so popular or is it just on my radar now?


Good school for average kids.

And there are A LOT of average kids out there who want the college campus experience.


DP. I would say it's a great school for above average, smart, well-rounded kids. And yes, it checks all the boxes for many.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 21:33     Subject: Re:Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I personally know two JMU graduates, with Bachelor's degrees only, who are CFOs of their respective companies.


The CEO of Northrup Grumman is a JMU grad.


Both our family attorney (Georgetown Law) and our wealth advisor are JMU grads.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 17:23     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's more on the radar now than it used to be, since it has become much more difficult to get into UVA, William & Mary, and to a lesser degree, VT.


Agree as a VA resident. And I know several VA educators who LOVE JMU for their students.

Like an earlier poster, DD was a weighted 4.0 at a more rigorous FCPS HS this year. We (and her counselor) considered it a "safe target" and she was accepted, but decided to go to a similar-sized OOS "1 step down from flagship" state school that offered enough merit to level the COA with in-state at JMU. It was a very tough call for her in the end, though I suspect the deciding factor was to get out of state and away from the dozen-or-more kids from her HS (and hundreds from FCPS) who were going to JMU.






What was the OOS school? Just curious as we are building my dc's list!
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 17:14     Subject: Re:Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:James Madison University has only had the designation as a National University since 2022. It is classified as a R2 for Doctoral Research whereas universities in other states, typically flagships, have a R1 classification.


This is a U.S. News designation, so take that for what it’s worth.

There aren’t many doctoral programs at JMU, and only about 1,700 grad students, vs. 22,000 undergrads. They focus on undergraduate education, which to me is a feature, not a bug.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 16:05     Subject: Re:Was JMU always so popular
James Madison University has only had the designation as a National University since 2022. It is classified as a R2 for Doctoral Research whereas universities in other states, typically flagships, have a R1 classification.

This doesn't matter to everyone. It matters to some - mattered a lot more prior to 2022


This. This mattered to me. Prior I would not have considered JMU for our (VA) kids. They could have gone if it had been their idea but I wasn't ours.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 15:20     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school for my daughter‘s graduating class. I would say it has about the same number of kids enrolling as the university of Maryland. What was the appeal for local students? The proximity?
I don’t remember any kids from my graduating class going to jmu so I am genuinely curious. Was it always so popular or is it just on my radar now?


Good school for average kids.

And there are A LOT of average kids out there who want the college campus experience.


So you think your kid is better than a kid that goes to JMU?
The age of the typical undergraduate is the time where they will experience biggest emotional growth in their life. The person who walks in as a freshman is not the same person 4 years later. The goal is to figure out who they are and get to get their undergraduate degree. Your job is to get them there by emotionally supporting THEIR needs.
Sending them to a place where they can be whoever they want is a gift. You assume your kid is above average. Keep pushing and there’s a good chance your kid will crash and burn.
It happens every day.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 11:58     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's more on the radar now than it used to be, since it has become much more difficult to get into UVA, William & Mary, and to a lesser degree, VT.


Agree as a VA resident. And I know several VA educators who LOVE JMU for their students.

Like an earlier poster, DD was a weighted 4.0 at a more rigorous FCPS HS this year. We (and her counselor) considered it a "safe target" and she was accepted, but decided to go to a similar-sized OOS "1 step down from flagship" state school that offered enough merit to level the COA with in-state at JMU. It was a very tough call for her in the end, though I suspect the deciding factor was to get out of state and away from the dozen-or-more kids from her HS (and hundreds from FCPS) who were going to JMU.







Can I ask what your daughter's classes were like? My DC is 2027 hard to figure out if she is on target with course selection for JMU.
She'll finish this year with Honors or above in all English/Math/SS - Took AP World and now AP precal. Honor bio, reg chem/physics, next year ap env. sci. Will take honors eng/ss along with AP Calc BC. so 4 AP total at graduation.
We are at a large relatively well thought of FCPS. she will finish this year with 4.05, no C's.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 11:52     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school for my daughter‘s graduating class. I would say it has about the same number of kids enrolling as the university of Maryland. What was the appeal for local students? The proximity?
I don’t remember any kids from my graduating class going to jmu so I am genuinely curious. Was it always so popular or is it just on my radar now?


Good school for average kids.

And there are A LOT of average kids out there who want the college campus experience.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 11:46     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:It's more on the radar now than it used to be, since it has become much more difficult to get into UVA, William & Mary, and to a lesser degree, VT.


Agree as a VA resident. And I know several VA educators who LOVE JMU for their students.

Like an earlier poster, DD was a weighted 4.0 at a more rigorous FCPS HS this year. We (and her counselor) considered it a "safe target" and she was accepted, but decided to go to a similar-sized OOS "1 step down from flagship" state school that offered enough merit to level the COA with in-state at JMU. It was a very tough call for her in the end, though I suspect the deciding factor was to get out of state and away from the dozen-or-more kids from her HS (and hundreds from FCPS) who were going to JMU.





Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 11:13     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school for my daughter‘s graduating class. I would say it has about the same number of kids enrolling as the university of Maryland. What was the appeal for local students? The proximity?
I don’t remember any kids from my graduating class going to jmu so I am genuinely curious. Was it always so popular or is it just on my radar now?


Are you in MD or VA?



Maryland.

I hadn’t considered the difficulty of getting into other local colleges to the rise of JMU. To be clear, it seems like a great school. I just am surprised at how many kids are going this year.


I think it’s the rise of the perception that in-state options are inferior. It does not make that much sense to pay for JMO OOS vs say UMBC.



JMU has way different feel than UMBC.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2026 11:12     Subject: Was JMU always so popular
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is a very popular school for my daughter‘s graduating class. I would say it has about the same number of kids enrolling as the university of Maryland. What was the appeal for local students? The proximity?
I don’t remember any kids from my graduating class going to jmu so I am genuinely curious. Was it always so popular or is it just on my radar now?


Are you in MD or VA?



Maryland.

I hadn’t considered the difficulty of getting into other local colleges to the rise of JMU. To be clear, it seems like a great school. I just am surprised at how many kids are going this year.


I think it’s the rise of the perception that in-state options are inferior. It does not make that much sense to pay for JMO OOS vs say UMBC.



JMU has way different feel than JMU.