Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 10:14     Subject: Re:JMU EA is out
Nothing against Penn State. I grew up in PA and graduated from there. I absolutely love it, but, please use another forum to discuss Penn State details. We are hear to discuss JMU.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 10:06     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why, exactly do we all think Penn State is so amazing? I’ve yet to meet an impressive Penn State grad.


No one said it is amazing, just that it is harder to get into than JMU.


This!

Although I'm sure many alumni think it is amazing...

Last year the acceptance rate for Penn State UP was 56% and the acceptance rate for JMU was 76%.

USNWR ranks PSU at #63; JMU is at #148.

For Engineering, PSU is at #31 for engineering schools that offer a Ph.D.; JMU is at #23, for engineering schools that do not offer a Ph.D.

I don't know anyone who would say that JMU is a better engineering school than Penn State.

So it is surprising that an applicant got accepted to Penn State Engineering at University Park while being deferred at JMU.


Penn State is actually ranked #20 for undergraduate engineering. Penn state is one of largest engineering schools in the country with something like 10,000 students and they offer literally every possible engineering major. JMU offers a general engineering major with no specialities. So I agree that for engineering Penn State and JMU are not even in the same universe. I’m actually surprised that a student would apply to both programs. I also think that Penn State’s engineering acceptance rate for UP is well below 53%. That said, I think for many programs the schools are comparable. The students at both seem very happy.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 10:06     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Deferred, with a 3.6 GPA and 34 ACT.


OP here. Very surprised, and helpful to hear of other deferral stats. We are in at Pitt and some other good places so not too worried.


Yes, we were also surprised[i], as mentioned above, my DS was deferred, and he had wrongfully deemed JMU to be a safety.

As mentioned, he's in at Penn State, but the Out-of-State cost there is steep...

There are other options as well, Marquette, South Carolina, Dayton, and some others...

However, this causes doubt about what the result might be for VT, as we're expecting a straight up rejection from UVA.

It just sucks that now we have to wait until April to see all the options...


That'll be a "no" for VT.


My son last year was rejected by Penn State/Clemson and waitlisted at S. Carolina/Tenn but got into VT EA in the business school. It really is unpredictable.


That is wild.

DS has been accepted to Furman, Dayton, South Carolina and Penn State;
Deferred by Villanova, Auburn, UTK, and now JMU
Only full rejection so far was Purdue
Applied to VT for business (undecided). Does VT defer? or since release is so close to RD, they just accept or reject?
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 10:00     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why, exactly do we all think Penn State is so amazing? I’ve yet to meet an impressive Penn State grad.


No one said it is amazing, just that it is harder to get into than JMU.


This!

Although I'm sure many alumni think it is amazing...

Last year the acceptance rate for Penn State UP was 56% and the acceptance rate for JMU was 76%.

USNWR ranks PSU at #63; JMU is at #148.

For Engineering, PSU is at #31 for engineering schools that offer a Ph.D.; JMU is at #23, for engineering schools that do not offer a Ph.D.

I don't know anyone who would say that JMU is a better engineering school than Penn State.

So it is surprising that an applicant got accepted to Penn State Engineering at University Park while being deferred at JMU.


Quality/ranking and acceptance rate are mutually exclusive. Heck, PSU probably has something like 2,000 engineering seats to fill compared to 200 at JMU.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:57     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:I think the JMU vs PSU bashing are uncalled for. My daughter got into both and likes both. There are a lot of similarities between the two, and I’ve heard of many people over many years choosing one or the other. I think the deciding factor really comes down to the size of school.


I agree, they are both great schools and I know impressive alumni from both schools who have been very successful in their careers.

Graduates of JMU have tons of options, and the same goes for graduates of most good schools. It is rather ridiculous for people to get on here and bash JMU, or bash Penn State, or VT, for that matter.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:56     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:Admitted
MCPS OOS
3.9UW/4.7 W
1350 SAT (submitted)
8 APS, 4s and 5s (submitted)
Strong ECs

Awaiting Honors College decision. Will need merit to consider.


HC decisions are posted. DD is in!!!
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:52     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:Why is a mid tier school such as Pen State hijacking this JMU thread?

Let’s get back to JMU admissions.


Because it is higher tier than JMU?
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:51     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why, exactly do we all think Penn State is so amazing? I’ve yet to meet an impressive Penn State grad.


Penn State is actually quite amazing, which is why it’s such a popular out-of-state choice and t's the number one OOS school from my kid's FCPS school However, getting admitted to University Park is competitive, and it's especially difficult for certain majors. As a result, it might be surprising for some students to be admitted to Penn State but not JMU.


And yet, I’ve never encountered a remotely impressive PSU grad.


You need to get out more... And I would encourage you not to flaunt your ignorance on a public forum.

I didn't go there, but there are a ton of impressive grads from a school like Penn State.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:49     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I graduated from JMU in the mid 90s and had a wonderful experience. Full disclosure - UVA was my top choice but I was waitlisted coming from a large NOVA public and it all worked out!!

My senior from a W MCPS high school was just admitted with stats that are way under what someone coming from a NOVA public would need. He’s my third one to go through the process; with my other two at other OOS publics. It really is a random process and I believe it really works out for the majority of students.


While you mean well, no one reading this is happy their in state kid didn’t get into their state school (with instate tuition) to make room for your lower stats OOS kid…


I wonder what the yield is from OOS. I know the overall in-state vs. out of state is 78% to 22%. I also see a lot of OOS parents posting about merit aid which I am pretty sure JMU doesn't give.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:46     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why, exactly do we all think Penn State is so amazing? I’ve yet to meet an impressive Penn State grad.


No one said it is amazing, just that it is harder to get into than JMU.


This!

Although I'm sure many alumni think it is amazing...

Last year the acceptance rate for Penn State UP was 56% and the acceptance rate for JMU was 76%.

USNWR ranks PSU at #63; JMU is at #148.

For Engineering, PSU is at #31 for engineering schools that offer a Ph.D.; JMU is at #23, for engineering schools that do not offer a Ph.D.

I don't know anyone who would say that JMU is a better engineering school than Penn State.

So it is surprising that an applicant got accepted to Penn State Engineering at University Park while being deferred at JMU.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:41     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I graduated from JMU in the mid 90s and had a wonderful experience. Full disclosure - UVA was my top choice but I was waitlisted coming from a large NOVA public and it all worked out!!

My senior from a W MCPS high school was just admitted with stats that are way under what someone coming from a NOVA public would need. He’s my third one to go through the process; with my other two at other OOS publics. It really is a random process and I believe it really works out for the majority of students.


While you mean well, no one reading this is happy their in state kid didn’t get into their state school (with instate tuition) to make room for your lower stats OOS kid…


I hear what you are saying, but I have to agree with PP for kids applying from JR in DC. You folks need to scream at your local reps about why a school like JMU is accepting basically everyone from OOS (kids with zero APs submitting TO that are just in the top 50% of the class) while rejecting all these in-state candidates.

Maybe JR kids that apply mostly accept? I just don't know. I get you receive the OOS tuition, but something is seriously off.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:41     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the "Just-Missed-UVA" nickname and former higher level of selectivity when it was much smaller but I don't think that it tells the whole story. Were kids with the stats of some of these deferrals turned down in the past?? It is not the impression I have.

Also, people are forgetting that NOVA kids are always competing against one another and that a certain profile from a different part of Virginia is accepted into UVA/W&M/Tech/JMU but deferred or even rejected from NOVA. Understandable but it hurts.

My kid with a 3.6 and 1400 got in yesterday and I didn't realize until reading this thread how borderline he probably was. It sounds like it could have gone either way and he's one of the lucky ones. (And no question that LUCK is a huge factor.)

I will say, though, that a lot of these schools that have sudden growths in popularity (like UTK, for example) do change their tune in RD and go to the waitlists. It is hard to calculate a yield when your popularity is rising. Among my kids' High School class of 24 friends, it seemed like most of the surprise deferrals ended up ultimately being acceptances. Don't lose hope!


My son in APS got deferred yesterday and was very sad. He has a 3.5 so I know he's right on the edge, but I am hopeful he can get in RD. I was heartened a bit that only 25% of applicants got deferred (still a huge number though).
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:39     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I will be over the moon if any of my three kids go to JMU!!! I went there in the 90’s as did my sister. Both of us have great careers and absolutely loved our time there.

One of the reasons I love hiring JMU grads is they don’t think their sh*t doesn’t smell.



Wow. That reflects highly on JMU. Eloquently stated.


Lol. Exhibit A of what PP was talking about. Oh, the unnecessary pearl clutching of a snob.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:39     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I will be over the moon if any of my three kids go to JMU!!! I went there in the 90’s as did my sister. Both of us have great careers and absolutely loved our time there.

One of the reasons I love hiring JMU grads is they don’t think their sh*t doesn’t smell.



Wow. That reflects highly on JMU. Eloquently stated.


DP. Lighten up.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2025 09:33     Subject: JMU EA is out
Anonymous wrote:I will be over the moon if any of my three kids go to JMU!!! I went there in the 90’s as did my sister. Both of us have great careers and absolutely loved our time there.

One of the reasons I love hiring JMU grads is they don’t think their sh*t doesn’t smell.



Wow. That reflects highly on JMU. Eloquently stated.