Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from VCU in 2010, and was lucky to find a decent job right after graduation, which turned into a great career (Financial Analyst with a Fortune 500 company). I graduated with a 3.53 overall and a 3.73 in my majors (doubled in Finance and Real Estate), that being said, I am still stigmatized because of my VCU degree, particularly by graduates of top tier schools (UVA, W&M, UNC, UoR, etc...), and before landing my current position, potential employers. Maybe 10 years from now my degree might carry more weight (VCU is improving relatively quickly), but if I had to do it over again I would choose a different path. Community colleges offer guaranteed admissions programs to UVA or W&M, given you take the program's courses and maintain a high GPA, a 3.5 in most cases. You'll save money and end up with a degree from a top 40 university, which may open doors that VCU, GMU, JMU, or CNU could not. I know this is an unpopular choice with many high school graduates (I definitely did not want to go to community college), but it is a great alternative. Although, you do miss out on the freshman/sophomore social experience that were some of the best times of my life.

Bypassing the community college route, I would never select CNU over JMU or GMU. CNU was a community college not to long ago, but then a new president built a ton of new buildings and arbitrarily raised the admission requirements. Also, CNU is in Newport News (aka "Bad News"), a filthy suburban "city" where shopping malls are the most popular attractions. At least VCU and GMU offer urban perks and JMU offers beautiful mountains vistas...........................................................................

So, if you are living in NoVa, I'm guessing that you either work for Freddie Mac or Capital One.

No, Richmond, and I prefer not to name the company. Grew up in Hampton Roads, but spent summers in Washington DC. Worked in Washington DC for a year after college. Sometimes its better to have a perspective outside the NoVa eyeglass.

capital one. not that many dude

Altria, MeadWestVaco, Dominion Resources, CarMax, Owens and Minor...

how many of those are F500?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one in their right mind would rank JMU ahead of VT. Lots of people wouldn't rank JMU ahead of GMU, but that's more debatable.

Please note that JMU's business school ranks far above VT's in Businessweek rankings.

GMU is still considered an "up and coming" school, so I don't think you can really compare its programs to JMU or VT at this point.

I think it's fair to say that a lot of students who are interested in JMU don't even apply to VT, and vice-versa. There are some kids who don't want to go to a school as large as VT.

Anonymous wrote:No one in their right mind would rank JMU ahead of VT. Lots of people wouldn't rank JMU ahead of GMU, but that's more debatable.

Anonymous wrote:Looks like the students disagree. Even by Kiplinger's numbers, GMU's admit rate (53%)is lower than Va Tech (67%) and JMU (60%).

And by the way, Kiplinger's list is designed to measure " the best value" in public education, not the top schools. Please do some minimal research and analysis before posting. And please post correct links.

The real link is here. http://www.kiplinger.com/article/college/T014-C000-S002-best-values-in-public-colleges-2013.html

Anonymous wrote:No one in their right mind would rank JMU ahead of VT. Lots of people wouldn't rank JMU ahead of GMU, but that's more debatable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This ain't your grandpa's CNU. Our friends' daughter was indeed very excited to get into CNU and is there now. She had a 3.8 at her NoVA high school and was accepted at other schools. CNU is a different kind of school, but perfect for her. The school is very new and very small. Class sizes are smaller than at any other VA Public College and students really get to know the professors. This may not be for every one, but she loves it. Students live on campus all four years in beautiful new and spacious dorms. Almost all the buildings are new and the campus is nicely designed.
Granted the surrounding area isn't the best and CNU gets called the "Garden in the Ghetto" but the school itself is very safe. It's also notably conservative, which holds a lot of appeal for some kids.

And to the sometimes drunken poster, there isn't a straight-line US News-style ranking from best to worst of the VA schools, or any schools for that matter. Sure there are maybe 25 schools in the US that everybody is impressed with, but for the rest. Meh. Depends more on the kid and what they make of it.

And FWIW, out our son's high school had far more kids got rejected by GMU than JMU. His high school sent a large group to JMU but only a few, top students to GMU.

Ok fun flame bait. But let's be honest. No "top students" go to geo mason. JMU is no great shakes, nor is VT or MW...but they are all a tier above GMU. According to every ranking of public colleges out there.

Axe to grind?

Have you seen rankings this century? Let's be honest. Because you are wrong about GMU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This ain't your grandpa's CNU. Our friends' daughter was indeed very excited to get into CNU and is there now. She had a 3.8 at her NoVA high school and was accepted at other schools. CNU is a different kind of school, but perfect for her. The school is very new and very small. Class sizes are smaller than at any other VA Public College and students really get to know the professors. This may not be for every one, but she loves it. Students live on campus all four years in beautiful new and spacious dorms. Almost all the buildings are new and the campus is nicely designed.
Granted the surrounding area isn't the best and CNU gets called the "Garden in the Ghetto" but the school itself is very safe. It's also notably conservative, which holds a lot of appeal for some kids.

And to the sometimes drunken poster, there isn't a straight-line US News-style ranking from best to worst of the VA schools, or any schools for that matter. Sure there are maybe 25 schools in the US that everybody is impressed with, but for the rest. Meh. Depends more on the kid and what they make of it.

And FWIW, out our son's high school had far more kids got rejected by GMU than JMU. His high school sent a large group to JMU but only a few, top students to GMU.

Ok fun flame bait. But let's be honest. No "top students" go to geo mason. JMU is no great shakes, nor is VT or MW...but they are all a tier above GMU. According to every ranking of public colleges out there.

Axe to grind?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mason sucks

Care to elaborate? Are you or were you a student there? Otherwise you just sound like a troll.

I don't think Mason looks good on a resume.

Locally, it's fine. You might have to graduate closer to the top at Mason for some positions than might be the case if you'd attended more prestigious schools. But I've hired many Mason graduates (undergraduate/law) and generally find them practical and hard-working.

Anonymous wrote:This ain't your grandpa's CNU. Our friends' daughter was indeed very excited to get into CNU and is there now. She had a 3.8 at her NoVA high school and was accepted at other schools. CNU is a different kind of school, but perfect for her. The school is very new and very small. Class sizes are smaller than at any other VA Public College and students really get to know the professors. This may not be for every one, but she loves it. Students live on campus all four years in beautiful new and spacious dorms. Almost all the buildings are new and the campus is nicely designed.
Granted the surrounding area isn't the best and CNU gets called the "Garden in the Ghetto" but the school itself is very safe. It's also notably conservative, which holds a lot of appeal for some kids.

And to the sometimes drunken poster, there isn't a straight-line US News-style ranking from best to worst of the VA schools, or any schools for that matter. Sure there are maybe 25 schools in the US that everybody is impressed with, but for the rest. Meh. Depends more on the kid and what they make of it.

And FWIW, out our son's high school had far more kids got rejected by GMU than JMU. His high school sent a large group to JMU but only a few, top students to GMU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from VCU in 2010, and was lucky to find a decent job right after graduation, which turned into a great career (Financial Analyst with a Fortune 500 company). I graduated with a 3.53 overall and a 3.73 in my majors (doubled in Finance and Real Estate), that being said, I am still stigmatized because of my VCU degree, particularly by graduates of top tier schools (UVA, W&M, UNC, UoR, etc...), and before landing my current position, potential employers. Maybe 10 years from now my degree might carry more weight (VCU is improving relatively quickly), but if I had to do it over again I would choose a different path. Community colleges offer guaranteed admissions programs to UVA or W&M, given you take the program's courses and maintain a high GPA, a 3.5 in most cases. You'll save money and end up with a degree from a top 40 university, which may open doors that VCU, GMU, JMU, or CNU could not. I know this is an unpopular choice with many high school graduates (I definitely did not want to go to community college), but it is a great alternative. Although, you do miss out on the freshman/sophomore social experience that were some of the best times of my life.

Bypassing the community college route, I would never select CNU over JMU or GMU. CNU was a community college not to long ago, but then a new president built a ton of new buildings and arbitrarily raised the admission requirements. Also, CNU is in Newport News (aka "Bad News"), a filthy suburban "city" where shopping malls are the most popular attractions. At least VCU and GMU offer urban perks and JMU offers beautiful mountains vistas...........................................................................

So, if you are living in NoVa, I'm guessing that you either work for Freddie Mac or Capital One.

No, Richmond, and I prefer not to name the company. Grew up in Hampton Roads, but spent summers in Washington DC. Worked in Washington DC for a year after college. Sometimes its better to have a perspective outside the NoVa eyeglass.

capital one. not that many dude

Altria, MeadWestVaco, Dominion Resources, CarMax, Owens and Minor...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from VCU in 2010, and was lucky to find a decent job right after graduation, which turned into a great career (Financial Analyst with a Fortune 500 company). I graduated with a 3.53 overall and a 3.73 in my majors (doubled in Finance and Real Estate), that being said, I am still stigmatized because of my VCU degree, particularly by graduates of top tier schools (UVA, W&M, UNC, UoR, etc...), and before landing my current position, potential employers. Maybe 10 years from now my degree might carry more weight (VCU is improving relatively quickly), but if I had to do it over again I would choose a different path. Community colleges offer guaranteed admissions programs to UVA or W&M, given you take the program's courses and maintain a high GPA, a 3.5 in most cases. You'll save money and end up with a degree from a top 40 university, which may open doors that VCU, GMU, JMU, or CNU could not. I know this is an unpopular choice with many high school graduates (I definitely did not want to go to community college), but it is a great alternative. Although, you do miss out on the freshman/sophomore social experience that were some of the best times of my life.

Bypassing the community college route, I would never select CNU over JMU or GMU. CNU was a community college not to long ago, but then a new president built a ton of new buildings and arbitrarily raised the admission requirements. Also, CNU is in Newport News (aka "Bad News"), a filthy suburban "city" where shopping malls are the most popular attractions. At least VCU and GMU offer urban perks and JMU offers beautiful mountains vistas...........................................................................

So, if you are living in NoVa, I'm guessing that you either work for Freddie Mac or Capital One.

No, Richmond, and I prefer not to name the company. Grew up in Hampton Roads, but spent summers in Washington DC. Worked in Washington DC for a year after college. Sometimes its better to have a perspective outside the NoVa eyeglass.

capital one. not that many dude