Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

My DC also turned down UVA this past year in favor of another instate option. When I asked him why, his impression was that it was filled with pretentious assholes and he'd had enough of that in high school. Based on many of the UVA boosters on this board, I'd say he was probably correct.

A kid who felt this way never would have applied in the first place.

He applied because we asked him to keep his options open.

Sure he did.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

My DC also turned down UVA this past year in favor of another instate option. When I asked him why, his impression was that it was filled with pretentious assholes and he'd had enough of that in high school. Based on many of the UVA boosters on this board, I'd say he was probably correct.

A kid who felt this way never would have applied in the first place.

He applied because we asked him to keep his options open.

Anonymous wrote:[guardian]

Anonymous wrote:GMU is much more conservative (lots of conservative donors) and CNU is much more conservative because the white community / military in Hampton Roads is more conservative.

GMU students are not conservative. They are like the rest of the DMV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

My DC also turned down UVA this past year in favor of another instate option. When I asked him why, his impression was that it was filled with pretentious assholes and he'd had enough of that in high school. Based on many of the UVA boosters on this board, I'd say he was probably correct.

A kid who felt this way never would have applied in the first place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

My DC also turned down UVA this past year in favor of another instate option. When I asked him why, his impression was that it was filled with pretentious assholes and he'd had enough of that in high school. Based on many of the UVA boosters on this board, I'd say he was probably correct.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I look at Naviance for my kid's school, JMU looks way harder to get into than GMU.

Yet SCHEV statistics say the opposite. Entering class at GMU top 25% has a median of SAT of 1300, ACT of 30. JMU is 1280 and ACT of 28.

Anonymous wrote:When I look at Naviance for my kid's school, JMU looks way harder to get into than GMU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

Anonymous wrote:GMU is much more conservative (lots of conservative donors) and CNU is much more conservative because the white community / military in Hampton Roads is more conservative.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is CNU’s rep within Virginia?

I think it's one of those schools whose reputation might improve over time, but right now I think it's viewed as not quite up to JMU, GMU, VCU level. It has a reputation of being on the conservative side. I think that's in part because of where it's located and its start as being a local commuter option. Some also see it as a bit generic, mall-like. I think it's got dynamic leadership though and they will sharpen its character and reputation with employers as there are more graduates. They really focus on "soft skills" like communication which I think will play well since lack of those skills are a big complaint among employers. I see it as a kind of aspiring to be like a Denison University without the history.

You'll probably get some divided comments on CNU because of its history. It was originally an extension campus of W&M. It only became 4 year in the 1970s and started to emerge in its current form when former senator Paul Trible became president in the 1990s. So it is really the new kid on the block, and older people in particular are not aware of it. Trible I think wanted to return it to its W&M roots, so it emphasizes liberal arts and sciences, smaller size, a residential feel, and traditional architecture. It appears to be developing one of the most coherent campuses in the state. While some view it as not up to JMU, GMU, VCU level, in terms of standardized test scores it is now at their level or even slightly higher, so I think it is safe to say it is an up-and-coming school. I think it has probably impacted Mary Washington University the most.

I'm not sure where the reputation for being conservative comes from. Trible was a Republican, so that might have had something to do with it, but there are really very few conservative campuses at public institutions in the U.S.

If you just look at standardized test scores of VA students from SCHEV reports, it looks like of the four GMU is highest (avg R+ avg M= 1203); then CNU (1190); JMU (1184); VCU (1156).

It looks like you are correct for 2018-19, although I see slightly different numbers when looking at medians: GMU 1210, JMU 1210, CNU 1190, VCU 1150. I think I had in mind the prior year, 2017-18, when it was CNU 1210, GMU 1190, JMU 1180, and VCU 1150. For median GPA for 2018-19, it is CNU 3.81, JMU 3.79, VCU 3.63, and GMU 3.47.

GPA is harder to assess because schools transform GPAs differently, count weighted/unweighted differently, and draw differentially from counties with different grading practices. VA doesn't require a standard in their reporting on GPA. (I used averages rather than medians, hence the slight differences).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is CNU’s rep within Virginia?

I think it's one of those schools whose reputation might improve over time, but right now I think it's viewed as not quite up to JMU, GMU, VCU level. It has a reputation of being on the conservative side. I think that's in part because of where it's located and its start as being a local commuter option. Some also see it as a bit generic, mall-like. I think it's got dynamic leadership though and they will sharpen its character and reputation with employers as there are more graduates. They really focus on "soft skills" like communication which I think will play well since lack of those skills are a big complaint among employers. I see it as a kind of aspiring to be like a Denison University without the history.

You'll probably get some divided comments on CNU because of its history. It was originally an extension campus of W&M. It only became 4 year in the 1970s and started to emerge in its current form when former senator Paul Trible became president in the 1990s. So it is really the new kid on the block, and older people in particular are not aware of it. Trible I think wanted to return it to its W&M roots, so it emphasizes liberal arts and sciences, smaller size, a residential feel, and traditional architecture. It appears to be developing one of the most coherent campuses in the state. While some view it as not up to JMU, GMU, VCU level, in terms of standardized test scores it is now at their level or even slightly higher, so I think it is safe to say it is an up-and-coming school. I think it has probably impacted Mary Washington University the most.

I'm not sure where the reputation for being conservative comes from. Trible was a Republican, so that might have had something to do with it, but there are really very few conservative campuses at public institutions in the U.S.

If you just look at standardized test scores of VA students from SCHEV reports, it looks like of the four GMU is highest (avg R+ avg M= 1203); then CNU (1190); JMU (1184); VCU (1156).

It looks like you are correct for 2018-19, although I see slightly different numbers when looking at medians: GMU 1210, JMU 1210, CNU 1190, VCU 1150. I think I had in mind the prior year, 2017-18, when it was CNU 1210, GMU 1190, JMU 1180, and VCU 1150. For median GPA for 2018-19, it is CNU 3.81, JMU 3.79, VCU 3.63, and GMU 3.47.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is CNU’s rep within Virginia?

I think it's one of those schools whose reputation might improve over time, but right now I think it's viewed as not quite up to JMU, GMU, VCU level. It has a reputation of being on the conservative side. I think that's in part because of where it's located and its start as being a local commuter option. Some also see it as a bit generic, mall-like. I think it's got dynamic leadership though and they will sharpen its character and reputation with employers as there are more graduates. They really focus on "soft skills" like communication which I think will play well since lack of those skills are a big complaint among employers. I see it as a kind of aspiring to be like a Denison University without the history.

You'll probably get some divided comments on CNU because of its history. It was originally an extension campus of W&M. It only became 4 year in the 1970s and started to emerge in its current form when former senator Paul Trible became president in the 1990s. So it is really the new kid on the block, and older people in particular are not aware of it. Trible I think wanted to return it to its W&M roots, so it emphasizes liberal arts and sciences, smaller size, a residential feel, and traditional architecture. It appears to be developing one of the most coherent campuses in the state. While some view it as not up to JMU, GMU, VCU level, in terms of standardized test scores it is now at their level or even slightly higher, so I think it is safe to say it is an up-and-coming school. I think it has probably impacted Mary Washington University the most.

I'm not sure where the reputation for being conservative comes from. Trible was a Republican, so that might have had something to do with it, but there are really very few conservative campuses at public institutions in the U.S.

If you just look at standardized test scores of VA students from SCHEV reports, it looks like of the four GMU is highest (avg R+ avg M= 1203); then CNU (1190); JMU (1184); VCU (1156).