Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it pretty difficult to get into UVa or even William and Mary these days, especially for NoVA residents?

Yes, which is ridiculous considering how much tax money NoVA provides to fund these schools. Interesting article; though it's from 2008, it still applies today.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041104052.html

What a load of crap that is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:State school choices are a big factor for us in determining whether we should buy in MoCo or FFX. Kids are in elementary now so we have no idea what kind of grades, SATs etc. they'll bring to bear come admission time. Finances for us limit choices in state (unless one or more kids gets an amazing scholarship out of state or private). But, we can't plan for that, so those who have either attended, or have kids attending MD or VA state schools, which system would you recommend? I'm leaning toward VA because there seem to be more options for higher-ranked/quality schools (UVA, W&M, V Tech) but also realize it is extremely difficult to gain acceptance from NoVA. I think UMD College Park would also be fine but know nothing about other MD state schools (and UMD wouldn't be a shoo-in either, from what I read). We have four kids so their interests/talents could be just about anything. Any thoughts?

Va-

1. UVA
2. WM
3. JMU
4. VT
5. UMW

Md-

1. USNA
2. UMD
3. St Mary's
4. UMBC

This looks about right

Anonymous wrote:State school choices are a big factor for us in determining whether we should buy in MoCo or FFX. Kids are in elementary now so we have no idea what kind of grades, SATs etc. they'll bring to bear come admission time. Finances for us limit choices in state (unless one or more kids gets an amazing scholarship out of state or private). But, we can't plan for that, so those who have either attended, or have kids attending MD or VA state schools, which system would you recommend? I'm leaning toward VA because there seem to be more options for higher-ranked/quality schools (UVA, W&M, V Tech) but also realize it is extremely difficult to gain acceptance from NoVA. I think UMD College Park would also be fine but know nothing about other MD state schools (and UMD wouldn't be a shoo-in either, from what I read). We have four kids so their interests/talents could be just about anything. Any thoughts?

Va-

1. UVA
2. WM
3. JMU
4. VT
5. UMW

Md-

1. USNA
2. UMD
3. St Mary's
4. UMBC

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two-thirds of applicants get accepted at George Mason University and James Madison University.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/gmu-3749

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/jmu-3721

While either school may end up being the right choice for your child, these are not schools to base a house purchase decision upon.

Consider the merits of UVA - VT - William & Mary vs. UM-CP. After that, don't worry about it.

Totally disagree. If your child is interested in any state school, it's well worth it to be living in that state. James Madison and George Mason are both very good schools and I'd be happy if my kids went to either.

I'm the PP and I disagree with this. If your kid has his heart set on JMU then, sure, go ahead and move -- but that seems silly for a school of that caliber. JMU and GMU are not "both very good schools" -- they are both very "OK" schools, and they are easy to get into. Your kid could likely get in from out-of-state without too much trouble. But, yes, it'll cost you a lot more.

I'm not sure where you're getting your information or what high schools you're familiar with, but my kids attend an excellent FCPS high school where it's very difficult to get into UVA, W&M, JMU, VT, and yes, GMU. It's much harder to be accepted to these schools if you're coming from a top notch NoVA high school. The deck is stacked against those students and no one from this area would say they're "easy to get into". And, just to correct you - they are actually "very good schools," not merely "OK".

You're not sure where I'm getting my information from? You didn't see the links to the US News profiles, hiding in plain sight?

Plenty of kids can be happy at JMU and GMU. We can agree to disagree about how to assess their overall quality.

Plenty of kids can be happy at VT and VCU.

Anonymous wrote:

Sometimes it's not kid's decision which school they go to, it's the parent's decision. I live in Virginia and there's no way my kid is going to UMCP.

The best thing in the world would be if your kid pushed-back, funded the difference themselves, and went wherever they thought was best. Then you would have an adult who would be proud of themselves, and a better chance that you would be proud of them and view them as an adult.

Or you use this as a process to teach your kids about making financially responsible decisions. When I was making my college decision, I applied to a couple in-state universities (well regarded regionally but not national names), and a few out-of-state including an Ivy. I got in everywhere but did not get any scholarships. So, the choice was go to a great in-state university with my parents paying for the whole thing or take a large amount of loans to go someplace else. If I really, really, really wanted to go out of state they would have reluctantly helped me with the loan application process but strongly advocated to go where we could afford. I went with the in-state option, had a fabulous college experience, got a great job out of college doing exactly what I wanted to do and have continued to have a good career in that field. And I never had the weight of loans on me. THAT is worth so much more than whether or not DC thinks the out-of-state campus just feels better.

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it pretty difficult to get into UVa or even William and Mary these days, especially for NoVA residents?

Yes, which is ridiculous considering how much tax money NoVA provides to fund these schools. Interesting article; though it's from 2008, it still applies today.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041104052.html

Isn't it pretty difficult to get into UVa or even William and Mary these days, especially for NoVA residents?

But how likely is that to happen?

Most kids, even bright kids, aren't going to land sizeable scholarships at a "good" university.

Nor would I encourage kids to take out large loans when they can go in-state paid for by parents or with far less debt. I wouldn't think highly of a kid who took out large debts when he had a decent in-state option available.

Given how expensive college is these days, I'm sympathetic to the parents who tell their kids to apply in-state. Is it worth it to go out of state (public or private) over a decent instate option? Perhaps if it was Harvard, yes, but Skidmore or Kenyon or Tennessee when you can go to JMU?

If the kid funds the differential at no extra cost to the parents nor requiring loans, that's great, but that's not a realistic scenario to hope for for most people. Save the money for grad school.

Anonymous wrote:

Sometimes it's not kid's decision which school they go to, it's the parent's decision. I live in Virginia and there's no way my kid is going to UMCP.

The best thing in the world would be if your kid pushed-back, funded the difference themselves, and went wherever they thought was best. Then you would have an adult who would be proud of themselves, and a better chance that you would be proud of them and view them as an adult.

Sometimes it's not kid's decision which school they go to, it's the parent's decision. I live in Virginia and there's no way my kid is going to UMCP.

The best thing in the world would be if your kid pushed-back, funded the difference themselves, and went wherever they thought was best. Then you would have an adult who would be proud of themselves, and a better chance that you would be proud of them and view them as an adult.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another point is the kid may decide not to go to an in-state school in either state. Sometimes kids just want to go somewhere else and some schools it may be easier to get out of state waved. My spouse went across country while I went to a state school in the state next to mine. Decide where you live on the schools that they would go to now and let things just happen when the kid gets older.

Sometimes it's not kid's decision which school they go to, it's the parent's decision. I live in Virginia and there's no way my kid is going to UMCP.

What if they got into UC you would say no if it was somehow fully covered? Silly, thinks that you have full control of your child.

Anonymous wrote:Another point is the kid may decide not to go to an in-state school in either state. Sometimes kids just want to go somewhere else and some schools it may be easier to get out of state waved. My spouse went across country while I went to a state school in the state next to mine. Decide where you live on the schools that they would go to now and let things just happen when the kid gets older.

Sometimes it's not kid's decision which school they go to, it's the parent's decision. I live in Virginia and there's no way my kid is going to UMCP.

Another point is the kid may decide not to go to an in-state school in either state. Sometimes kids just want to go somewhere else and some schools it may be easier to get out of state waved. My spouse went across country while I went to a state school in the state next to mine. Decide where you live on the schools that they would go to now and let things just happen when the kid gets older.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two-thirds of applicants get accepted at George Mason University and James Madison University.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/gmu-3749

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/jmu-3721

While either school may end up being the right choice for your child, these are not schools to base a house purchase decision upon.

Consider the merits of UVA - VT - William & Mary vs. UM-CP. After that, don't worry about it.

Totally disagree. If your child is interested in any state school, it's well worth it to be living in that state. James Madison and George Mason are both very good schools and I'd be happy if my kids went to either.

I'm the PP and I disagree with this. If your kid has his heart set on JMU then, sure, go ahead and move -- but that seems silly for a school of that caliber. JMU and GMU are not "both very good schools" -- they are both very "OK" schools, and they are easy to get into. Your kid could likely get in from out-of-state without too much trouble. But, yes, it'll cost you a lot more.

I'm not sure where you're getting your information or what high schools you're familiar with, but my kids attend an excellent FCPS high school where it's very difficult to get into UVA, W&M, JMU, VT, and yes, GMU. It's much harder to be accepted to these schools if you're coming from a top notch NoVA high school. The deck is stacked against those students and no one from this area would say they're "easy to get into". And, just to correct you - they are actually "very good schools," not merely "OK".

You're not sure where I'm getting my information from? You didn't see the links to the US News profiles, hiding in plain sight?

Plenty of kids can be happy at JMU and GMU. We can agree to disagree about how to assess their overall quality.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two-thirds of applicants get accepted at George Mason University and James Madison University.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/gmu-3749

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/jmu-3721

While either school may end up being the right choice for your child, these are not schools to base a house purchase decision upon.

Consider the merits of UVA - VT - William & Mary vs. UM-CP. After that, don't worry about it.

Totally disagree. If your child is interested in any state school, it's well worth it to be living in that state. James Madison and George Mason are both very good schools and I'd be happy if my kids went to either.

I'm the PP and I disagree with this. If your kid has his heart set on JMU then, sure, go ahead and move -- but that seems silly for a school of that caliber. JMU and GMU are not "both very good schools" -- they are both very "OK" schools, and they are easy to get into. Your kid could likely get in from out-of-state without too much trouble. But, yes, it'll cost you a lot more.

Here's the deal. UVA and W&M are both considered better schools in most areas than UMD, and GMU and JMU are a cut of two above a UMBC or a Towson. And there's also Virginia Tech, of course, as well as other schools in VA as good as UMBC and the other state schools in MD.

So if you are focusing on in-state options, VA is the better choice for most, hands down. Regurgitating stats on admissions rates won't change that an iota.

I'm a UVA CS grad, and I'm perfectly aware that UMCP is a better school for most STEM fields than UVA is. It's night and day better than W&M for STEM. I think arguing about JMU/GMU/UMBC is kind of silly since nobody outside of this area know anything about them.

It's statements like these that always make me laugh. We live in this area, do we not? Why are some of you so hung up on whether others may or may not have heard of certain schools? Hopefully you realize there are thousands of colleges across the U.S. and you've probably only heard of a handful of them. The vast majority of students will attend regional or state schools. But you keep on worrying about name national name recognition. I assure you, no one else cares.

I think you missed the point of what I said; I was saying that you shouldn't worry about it because past a few name schools it doesn't matter. UMBC = JMU = GMU; they all provide a good education.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two-thirds of applicants get accepted at George Mason University and James Madison University.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/gmu-3749

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/jmu-3721

While either school may end up being the right choice for your child, these are not schools to base a house purchase decision upon.

Consider the merits of UVA - VT - William & Mary vs. UM-CP. After that, don't worry about it.

Totally disagree. If your child is interested in any state school, it's well worth it to be living in that state. James Madison and George Mason are both very good schools and I'd be happy if my kids went to either.

I'm the PP and I disagree with this. If your kid has his heart set on JMU then, sure, go ahead and move -- but that seems silly for a school of that caliber. JMU and GMU are not "both very good schools" -- they are both very "OK" schools, and they are easy to get into. Your kid could likely get in from out-of-state without too much trouble. But, yes, it'll cost you a lot more.

Here's the deal. UVA and W&M are both considered better schools in most areas than UMD, and GMU and JMU are a cut of two above a UMBC or a Towson. And there's also Virginia Tech, of course, as well as other schools in VA as good as UMBC and the other state schools in MD.

So if you are focusing on in-state options, VA is the better choice for most, hands down. Regurgitating stats on admissions rates won't change that an iota.

I'm a UVA CS grad, and I'm perfectly aware that UMCP is a better school for most STEM fields than UVA is. It's night and day better than W&M for STEM. I think arguing about JMU/GMU/UMBC is kind of silly since nobody outside of this area know anything about them.

It's statements like these that always make me laugh. We live in this area, do we not? Why are some of you so hung up on whether others may or may not have heard of certain schools? Hopefully you realize there are thousands of colleges across the U.S. and you've probably only heard of a handful of them. The vast majority of students will attend regional or state schools. But you keep on worrying about name national name recognition. I assure you, no one else cares.