My DC is an incoming freshman to CNU. It has a great sports scene, for D3. It will not compete against a large D1, but their sports teams are ranked nationally. We went to one football game and it was packed. Basketball had a large crowd, but very few students. What drew my child to CNU was the student faculty ratio. And the type of students- he did not want a party school nor did he want Ivy League (he was rejected from the Ivy he applied to so moot point). He felt CNU was a happy medium. And the overall size of CNU is potentially offering him opportunities he may not get at a larger school. My son interviewed for a program within CNU that admits less than 10 students per year. Would he have gotten this opportunity at WVU or JMU or UVA?
CNU and WVU are very different schools - visit each. Maybe more than once. I hope your DC ends up happy where they go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC has loved CNU. It’s a nice school and I personally consider it better than UMW, Radford and WVU. My DC has done study abroad and has an internship lined up this summer. There are parties in the fraternity houses off campus if you are interested in that. Club sports have been fun for them. The varsity D3 sports are taken pretty seriously, especially soccer and football.

We know a number of kids who currently attend or have graduated from CNU and all consistently have great things to say about the school and community. Students seem happy there and the administration really does seem to care about their students. Beautiful campus.

Same here. No skin in the game but colleague's kids have been successful. All got good jobs in their field directly from on campus recruiting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WVU's party culture is unmatched (IMO). I've seen straight laced students struggle just to keep up with the balance of partying vs grades. And many loose their merit aid after the first year.

If you are looking for something in between, maybe consider VCU. VCU still has a large sports presence, but no football team, so freshman have time to settle into school for a few months. Once basketball season starts, you still get a great sports scene (alone with other sports, just naming the main sports appeal).

How many WVU students do you actually know who lost their merit aid? What are you, a stalker?

I call bullshit.

Stalker? Just a mom who knows a growing group of students in the same boat, including one of my own. It's well known, especially during the last five years.

But sure, I'm just out here trying to tear down one school with no vested interest or actual experience.

That’s a great non-answer. How many students do you actually know who attended WVU on merit scholarships and lost them after their freshman year? Just answer the question. And while you’re at it, let us know how you know the terms of their merit awards and their grades.

DP. Not a helpful previous post. Defensive much?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CNU accepts 9 out of 10 applicants and 1 out of 3 enrolled students don’t graduate in 4 years. Hmm.

James Madison University's 4-year graduation rate is 67%. This means that about 67% of students who start their undergraduate studies at JMU graduate within four years. U.S. News & World Report reports the same 67% figure.

Christopher Newport University's (CNU) four-year graduation rate is 70.3%. This means that about 70% of CNU students graduate with a bachelor's degree within four years.

So CNU is higher than JMU

Except we’re not talking about JMU

Well, CNU graduation rate is 70% compared to 61% to compare with WVU, per the original question from OP.

We are from PA. It seems as if our kids have similar stats. Our son will apply to WVU. The party reputation worries us.

He also has looked at and will apply to Coastal and UNC Charlotte. Both are nice. He may also apply to App State. Miami of Ohio is also a great school but guessing he will get in but won’t get enough aid.

We also would like for him to consider St Joes and Dayton.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CNU accepts 9 out of 10 applicants and 1 out of 3 enrolled students don’t graduate in 4 years. Hmm.

James Madison University's 4-year graduation rate is 67%. This means that about 67% of students who start their undergraduate studies at JMU graduate within four years. U.S. News & World Report reports the same 67% figure.

Christopher Newport University's (CNU) four-year graduation rate is 70.3%. This means that about 70% of CNU students graduate with a bachelor's degree within four years.

So CNU is higher than JMU

Except we’re not talking about JMU

Anonymous wrote:CNU accepts 9 out of 10 applicants and 1 out of 3 enrolled students don’t graduate in 4 years. Hmm.

James Madison University's 4-year graduation rate is 67%. This means that about 67% of students who start their undergraduate studies at JMU graduate within four years. U.S. News & World Report reports the same 67% figure.

Christopher Newport University's (CNU) four-year graduation rate is 70.3%. This means that about 70% of CNU students graduate with a bachelor's degree within four years.

So CNU is higher than JMU

CNU accepts 9 out of 10 applicants and 1 out of 3 enrolled students don’t graduate in 4 years. Hmm.

Anonymous wrote:My DC has loved CNU. It’s a nice school and I personally consider it better than UMW, Radford and WVU. My DC has done study abroad and has an internship lined up this summer. There are parties in the fraternity houses off campus if you are interested in that. Club sports have been fun for them. The varsity D3 sports are taken pretty seriously, especially soccer and football.

Well, I “personally” think a lot of things, and that doesn’t necessarily make them true.

Other schools to consider might be Elon, Loyola MD, Miami Ohio, Delaware, TCNJ, Denison, UConn, UNCs Charlotte and Wilmington, College of Charleston, Appalachian State.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve noticed on the decision high school pages a lot more NoVa kids are going to CNU. Maybe as JMU becomes more competitive, average to above average students are looking elsewhere in Virginia.

Whenever an alternative to JMU is discussed, CNU is suggested which is why we even toured it.

Anonymous wrote:DC is interested in applying to both these schools next year (major not quite decided). They want a sport atmosphere but aren't (yet) party people. They like the small town vibe of Morgantown but find the rest of WVA unappealing even though they enjoy outdoor pursuits. They liked CNU but are concerned they might miss out on the rah-rah and some of the academic opportunities one can find at a bigger state school once they settle on a course of study. Their grades are such that they won't get a lot of merit at WVU. Is one of these schools a better option than the other?

My kid was seriously considering WVU, but two logistical items turned us off: potential of driving in weather through western MD and WV in December and January and the separate campuses in Morgantown (downtown and Evansdale). Just figured it would be a hassle. Ended up choosing ECU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WVU may shut its doors. Safe to say they do not have the 150k–200k endowment/capita that most reputable schools have. Neither does CNU, for that matter. I would be looking at schools at least as well regarded as Tulane and up only.

This isn’t helpful. Not every student out there can attain (or afford) schools like Tulane or those ranked even higher.

Then maybe they shouldn't be going to college. Why enter an academic environment if you aren't academic?

That’s not how life works. You probably interact with a bunch of people on a regular basis who went to more middle of the road (maybe even mediocre by DCUM standards) colleges and still have successful careers. It’s not all or nothing.

Anonymous wrote:My DC has loved CNU. It’s a nice school and I personally consider it better than UMW, Radford and WVU. My DC has done study abroad and has an internship lined up this summer. There are parties in the fraternity houses off campus if you are interested in that. Club sports have been fun for them. The varsity D3 sports are taken pretty seriously, especially soccer and football.

We know a number of kids who currently attend or have graduated from CNU and all consistently have great things to say about the school and community. Students seem happy there and the administration really does seem to care about their students. Beautiful campus.

I’ve noticed on the decision high school pages a lot more NoVa kids are going to CNU. Maybe as JMU becomes more competitive, average to above average students are looking elsewhere in Virginia.