Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NOVA deal is often a black hole. Students rarely get into any university that they wouldn't have gotten into anyway -right out of high school. Saving money is an advantage. It's not like it is on the radio commercials -few make the jump to a 4 yr school. No room.

Admission is guaranteed. .

Admission is guaranteed if you get certain grades in certain courses. A student who couldn't pull off A's in high school is surely not guaranteed to pull them off in college.

Anonymous wrote:Another thing admissions from Va top colleges say unapologetically to we Langley parents and other NoVa parents (whose 3.8 GPA kids have 0 chance of acceptance at UVA and little chance at Tech): your kids will be fine wherever they go (at JMU or after we send them OOS). So deal with it basically. Clemson and Pitt, here we come.

My ~3.8 GPA (weighted) NoVa kid got into UVA, Tech, and UNC, among others - no hooks, just a challenging curriculum, an EC he was passionate about, and some good essays. Probably looked like thousands of other kids. Not sure why he got so lucky, but it does happen (and we know several other similarly-situated kids from his school who are also there now). If your kid has his or her heart set on it, don't assume they won't get in because they are from northern VA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is a top 5 NATIONAL university, MW is a decent regional university - no comparison. College is a HUGE investment and as society becomes more "winner take at all" you are selling yourself short if you settle for a far lesser school.

What a ridiculous comment. I turned UVA down because it wasn't a school where I felt comfortable. Never regretted that decision for a second, and went on to Columbia Law from Mary Washington. And by the way, UVA is ranked #23 for National Universities, not #5. Purely wishful thinking on your part.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Enrollment is far from "proportional." It is much more difficult to be admitted from NoVa, higher grades/ranks/SATs are required of NoVa applicants, the average NoVa student receives less in non-loan aid than the average student from the red areas, and the differences have become extreme -- students from some western/southern VA counties are admitted with what amount to essentially remedial-level SAT scores, while NoVa students have to be well within the top 10% even to make the first, non-dispositive pass. UVA and W&M have become nothing but the blue subsidizing the red.

Jeez, bitter much? This happens at flagship state schools all over the country...when I lived in Austin, parents would talk about how they were not sure they wanted to send their kid to the really excellent magnet program for high school because it would lessen their changes of getting into UT in the top 10%. When I lived in the Chicago area, people were bitching about how hard it was to get into the University of Illinois coming from the wealthy suburbs and how all the farm kids got in with lower grades, etc. The reason why people get in with lower SATs and grades is because Northern Virginia has more wealth on average, better schools, and more resources. And if you are talking about the non-loan aid, it seems pretty obvious that poorer families would get more non-loan aid. Since the school is there to service the entire state...not just the wealthiest and most educated portion of the state, they need to level the playing field. Obviously someone coming from Langley or Thomas Jefferson has more preparation and resources put into their education than some more county in western and southern Virginia.

Another thing admissions from Va top colleges say unapologetically to we Langley parents and other NoVa parents (whose 3.8 GPA kids have 0 chance of acceptance at UVA and little chance at Tech): your kids will be fine wherever they go (at JMU or after we send them OOS). So deal with it basically. Clemson and Pitt, here we come.

Anonymous wrote:UVA is a top 5 NATIONAL university, MW is a decent regional university - no comparison. College is a HUGE investment and as society becomes more "winner take at all" you are selling yourself short if you settle for a far lesser school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NOVA deal is often a black hole. Students rarely get into any university that they wouldn't have gotten into anyway -right out of high school. Saving money is an advantage. It's not like it is on the radio commercials -few make the jump to a 4 yr school. No room.

Admission is guaranteed. .

Anonymous wrote:The NOVA deal is often a black hole. Students rarely get into any university that they wouldn't have gotten into anyway -right out of high school. Saving money is an advantage. It's not like it is on the radio commercials -few make the jump to a 4 yr school. No room.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone living in Virginia choose mary wash over a UVA? UVA is very accessible under the NoVa guaranteed admission program - "As a NOVA student, you are offered Guaranteed Admissions to a variety of four-year colleges and universities when you meet the requirements of the written Agreement between NOVA and that college. Be sure to read the Agreements carefully. These Agreements guarantee admission to a college or university but most do not guarantee admission to a specific program." Schools include UVa, William & Mary, Georgetown, George Washington, Virginia Tech, and more, both in-state and out-of-state. You have to be a Virginia resident, and attend a Virginia community college, and achieve high grades in the core subjects that most 1st and 2nd year students take anyway. This deal cannot be beat.

It's important to me that my child have the opportunity to spend 4 years in one place (or 3 plus study abroad) and to start living in a dorm at 18. If MW offers that, and the other choice is two years at NCCC before starting at UVA as a Jr., then I think that's a grat option.

In 20 years that degree still says Mary Washington and your child has to explain what Mary Washington is - hope those extra two years in Fredricksburg were worth it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone living in Virginia choose mary wash over a UVA? UVA is very accessible under the NoVa guaranteed admission program - "As a NOVA student, you are offered Guaranteed Admissions to a variety of four-year colleges and universities when you meet the requirements of the written Agreement between NOVA and that college. Be sure to read the Agreements carefully. These Agreements guarantee admission to a college or university but most do not guarantee admission to a specific program." Schools include UVa, William & Mary, Georgetown, George Washington, Virginia Tech, and more, both in-state and out-of-state. You have to be a Virginia resident, and attend a Virginia community college, and achieve high grades in the core subjects that most 1st and 2nd year students take anyway. This deal cannot be beat.

It's important to me that my child have the opportunity to spend 4 years in one place (or 3 plus study abroad) and to start living in a dorm at 18. If MW offers that, and the other choice is two years at NCCC before starting at UVA as a Jr., then I think that's a grat option.

In 20 years that degree still says Mary Washington and your child has to explain what Mary Washington is - hope those extra two years in Fredricksburg were worth it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone living in Virginia choose mary wash over a UVA? UVA is very accessible under the NoVa guaranteed admission program - "As a NOVA student, you are offered Guaranteed Admissions to a variety of four-year colleges and universities when you meet the requirements of the written Agreement between NOVA and that college. Be sure to read the Agreements carefully. These Agreements guarantee admission to a college or university but most do not guarantee admission to a specific program." Schools include UVa, William & Mary, Georgetown, George Washington, Virginia Tech, and more, both in-state and out-of-state. You have to be a Virginia resident, and attend a Virginia community college, and achieve high grades in the core subjects that most 1st and 2nd year students take anyway. This deal cannot be beat.

It's important to me that my child have the opportunity to spend 4 years in one place (or 3 plus study abroad) and to start living in a dorm at 18. If MW offers that, and the other choice is two years at NCCC before starting at UVA as a Jr., then I think that's a grat option.

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone living in Virginia choose mary wash over a UVA? UVA is very accessible under the NoVa guaranteed admission program - "As a NOVA student, you are offered Guaranteed Admissions to a variety of four-year colleges and universities when you meet the requirements of the written Agreement between NOVA and that college. Be sure to read the Agreements carefully. These Agreements guarantee admission to a college or university but most do not guarantee admission to a specific program." Schools include UVa, William & Mary, Georgetown, George Washington, Virginia Tech, and more, both in-state and out-of-state. You have to be a Virginia resident, and attend a Virginia community college, and achieve high grades in the core subjects that most 1st and 2nd year students take anyway. This deal cannot be beat.