Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Blah blah blah. Here are the actual numbers:

UVA: out of state 33 percent
JMU: out of state 27 percent

UVA from Fairfax/Loudoun/Arlington: 26 percent
JMU: 23 percent

So, both more out of state at UVA and more from NOVA. A wash out. And those OOS students at UVA are wicked smart -- a lot smarter than what you'll find at JMU.

I think I'm not being clear. My argument was that for some students going to an in-state school feels like high school 2.0--compared to venturing out to the midwest, south, or west coast--or even just another eastern state. In my initial post, I suggested that a student who didn't get into UVA or W&M might go out of state over JMU, not because a school is so much better but because one factor they consider is that an out-of-state school feels more different than high school. When people asked what I meant by that, thinking I was saying something specific about JMU being particularly "high school 2.0" -- I was clarifying that it was more about any in-state public being more similar to one's high school than an OOS school. In VA for many public schools, about a 1/4 or more of students come from NOVA and that can give it a certain familiar feel. (For instance, I've heard this about W&M--a feeling that it's NOVA heavy). I'm not saying anything about how smart anyone is or how amazing a school is. My kid will opt to go to UVA or W&M if he gets in (his stats of 4.3/1400 put him in the running for both--but not sure thing). But if he doesn't get in, he wants to go out of state (there are places where he's likely to get merit aid) just for the experience of being in another state over going to JMU or VTech. We're able to provide 30k/yr wherever he goes so he has to figure out how to make the financial part work.

Thanks for clarifying. Now I understand, and I totally agree. In fact, that was my daughter's thinking in a nutshell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread really feels like it's deteriorated to "mine is bigger than yours" quality.

That's not the intent. The intent is honesty on an anonymous board. No kid with UVA caliber stats wants to go to JMU. Or VCU. Or GMU. You get the picture. They just plain don't. You need a very strong record for UVA, and the kids who work hard enough (or are blessed enough intellectually) to accumulate that record are simply aiming higher than the other schools. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the other schools; it's just reality.

Anonymous wrote:This thread really feels like it's deteriorated to "mine is bigger than yours" quality.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think I'm not being clear. My argument was that for some students going to an in-state school feels like high school 2.0--compared to venturing out to the midwest, south, or west coast--or even just another eastern state. In my initial post, I suggested that a student who didn't get into UVA or W&M might go out of state over JMU, not because a school is so much better but because one factor they consider is that an out-of-state school feels more different than high school. When people asked what I meant by that, thinking I was saying something specific about JMU being particularly "high school 2.0" -- I was clarifying that it was more about any in-state public being more similar to one's high school than an OOS school. In VA for many public schools, about a 1/4 or more of students come from NOVA and that can give it a certain familiar feel. (For instance, I've heard this about W&M--a feeling that it's NOVA heavy). I'm not saying anything about how smart anyone is or how amazing a school is. My kid will opt to go to UVA or W&M if he gets in (his stats of 4.3/1400 put him in the running for both--but not sure thing). But if he doesn't get in, he wants to go out of state (there are places where he's likely to get merit aid) just for the experience of being in another state over going to JMU or VTech. We're able to provide 30k/yr wherever he goes so he has to figure out how to make the financial part work.

Thanks for clarifying. Now I understand, and I totally agree. In fact, that was my daughter's thinking in a nutshell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Blah blah blah. Here are the actual numbers:

UVA: out of state 33 percent
JMU: out of state 27 percent

UVA from Fairfax/Loudoun/Arlington: 26 percent
JMU: 23 percent

So, both more out of state at UVA and more from NOVA. A wash out. And those OOS students at UVA are wicked smart -- a lot smarter than what you'll find at JMU.

Based on what metric exactly? I guess we will just take your word for it.

This may be a factor for OOS students. Maybe the smarter ones are those paying over $100k less for a degree.
UVA OOS - $65k
JMU OOS - $$39k

Only because JMU's reputation isn't strong enough for it to charge higher OOS tuition. There's not one out of state student at JMU who wouldn't rather be at UVA. UVA's 25th percentile on the SAT (1330) is 50 points higher than JMU's 75th (1280). That's why JMU doesn't really stand for Just Missed UVA. There's simply no overlap bewteen the student bodies at these schools in terms of academic qualifications.

Do hear how ridiculous you sound? UVA is not for everyone - can you not comprehend that or were you brainwashed during your 4 years there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Blah blah blah. Here are the actual numbers:

UVA: out of state 33 percent
JMU: out of state 27 percent

UVA from Fairfax/Loudoun/Arlington: 26 percent
JMU: 23 percent

So, both more out of state at UVA and more from NOVA. A wash out. And those OOS students at UVA are wicked smart -- a lot smarter than what you'll find at JMU.

I think I'm not being clear. My argument was that for some students going to an in-state school feels like high school 2.0--compared to venturing out to the midwest, south, or west coast--or even just another eastern state. In my initial post, I suggested that a student who didn't get into UVA or W&M might go out of state over JMU, not because a school is so much better but because one factor they consider is that an out-of-state school feels more different than high school. When people asked what I meant by that, thinking I was saying something specific about JMU being particularly "high school 2.0" -- I was clarifying that it was more about any in-state public being more similar to one's high school than an OOS school. In VA for many public schools, about a 1/4 or more of students come from NOVA and that can give it a certain familiar feel. (For instance, I've heard this about W&M--a feeling that it's NOVA heavy). I'm not saying anything about how smart anyone is or how amazing a school is. My kid will opt to go to UVA or W&M if he gets in (his stats of 4.3/1400 put him in the running for both--but not sure thing). But if he doesn't get in, he wants to go out of state (there are places where he's likely to get merit aid) just for the experience of being in another state over going to JMU or VTech. We're able to provide 30k/yr wherever he goes so he has to figure out how to make the financial part work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Blah blah blah. Here are the actual numbers:

UVA: out of state 33 percent
JMU: out of state 27 percent

UVA from Fairfax/Loudoun/Arlington: 26 percent
JMU: 23 percent

So, both more out of state at UVA and more from NOVA. A wash out. And those OOS students at UVA are wicked smart -- a lot smarter than what you'll find at JMU.

Based on what metric exactly? I guess we will just take your word for it.

This may be a factor for OOS students. Maybe the smarter ones are those paying over $100k less for a degree.
UVA OOS - $65k
JMU OOS - $$39k

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Blah blah blah. Here are the actual numbers:

UVA: out of state 33 percent
JMU: out of state 27 percent

UVA from Fairfax/Loudoun/Arlington: 26 percent
JMU: 23 percent

So, both more out of state at UVA and more from NOVA. A wash out. And those OOS students at UVA are wicked smart -- a lot smarter than what you'll find at JMU.

Based on what metric exactly? I guess we will just take your word for it.

This may be a factor for OOS students. Maybe the smarter ones are those paying over $100k less for a degree.
UVA OOS - $65k
JMU OOS - $$39k

Only because JMU's reputation isn't strong enough for it to charge higher OOS tuition. There's not one out of state student at JMU who wouldn't rather be at UVA. UVA's 25th percentile on the SAT (1330) is 50 points higher than JMU's 75th (1280). That's why JMU doesn't really stand for Just Missed UVA. There's simply no overlap bewteen the student bodies at these schools in terms of academic qualifications.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Blah blah blah. Here are the actual numbers:

UVA: out of state 33 percent
JMU: out of state 27 percent

UVA from Fairfax/Loudoun/Arlington: 26 percent
JMU: 23 percent

So, both more out of state at UVA and more from NOVA. A wash out. And those OOS students at UVA are wicked smart -- a lot smarter than what you'll find at JMU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Blah blah blah. Here are the actual numbers:

UVA: out of state 33 percent
JMU: out of state 27 percent

UVA from Fairfax/Loudoun/Arlington: 26 percent
JMU: 23 percent

So, both more out of state at UVA and more from NOVA. A wash out. And those OOS students at UVA are wicked smart -- a lot smarter than what you'll find at JMU.

Based on what metric exactly? I guess we will just take your word for it.

This may be a factor for OOS students. Maybe the smarter ones are those paying over $100k less for a degree.
UVA OOS - $65k
JMU OOS - $$39k

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Blah blah blah. Here are the actual numbers:

UVA: out of state 33 percent
JMU: out of state 27 percent

UVA from Fairfax/Loudoun/Arlington: 26 percent
JMU: 23 percent

So, both more out of state at UVA and more from NOVA. A wash out. And those OOS students at UVA are wicked smart -- a lot smarter than what you'll find at JMU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Came across this site that I found interesting in comparing the universities
https://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=University+of+Mary+Washington&with=James+Madison+University

You can put in any two colleges and see, among people accepted to both, which they chose. Comparing JMU to the others...

Strong preference for JMU vs. UMW, GMU

Even split vs JMU - VCU, CNU

Strong preference against JMU - UVA, W&M, VT

I think this data point shows the strong preference for the densely populated northern virginia not to go too close to home (GMU) if they can go elsewhere. The UMW point is more a matter of size--more students are going to go to a big university than a quirky small one--even if they considered both.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big companies still go to all of these schools

After your first job no one cares where you went to school anyway

I went to JMU 10 years ago and I had a lot of fun

Now I make over 6 figures and I would have done just as well as any of the other colleges on this list

Again, we know that. There's nothing wrong with JMU. I'm just saying that if you're from NOVA and truly are a borderline UVA admit, as was my daughter, it can be a let down to have to go there. Her high school probably sent two or three dozen kids there, including some good friends, none of whom performed as well as she did academically.

2017-2018 Freshman Enrollment from Fairfax County

GMU - 1,031
VT - 959
UVA - 680
JMU - 600

More likely to run into kids from your same high school at UVA than JMU.

I'm not the poster who said JMU is high school 2.0. The point is that our daughter was a better student than the two or three dozen of her classmates who went to JMU, and she wanted something better for her efforts.

I'm the poster who said people might go OOS to avoid high school 2.0. I didn't mean literally that you'll see the same folks as those in your high school all the time, but rather the population will reflect a lot students with similar backgrounds as you knew in high school. I actually think this is MORE true at UVA, GMU and W&M which are more NOVA-heavy than JMU.

Anonymous wrote:Came across this site that I found interesting in comparing the universities
https://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=University+of+Mary+Washington&with=James+Madison+University

You can put in any two colleges and see, among people accepted to both, which they chose. Comparing JMU to the others...

Strong preference for JMU vs. UMW, GMU

Even split vs JMU - VCU, CNU

Strong preference against JMU - UVA, W&M, VT