Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We feel a big part of college is the "college experience" and we're never "UVA or bust" parents. We saved for college and told the kids they could go wherever they could get in. Two down and two to go. So far so good.

I saved for college too, and then had to go through a divorce that depleted those savings. 529s are marital assets folks, so don't think they are protected.

PP quoted above, "Bless your heart!"

seriously? I thought they were a completed gift?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We feel a big part of college is the "college experience" and we're never "UVA or bust" parents. We saved for college and told the kids they could go wherever they could get in. Two down and two to go. So far so good.

I saved for college too, and then had to go through a divorce that depleted those savings. 529s are marital assets folks, so don't think they are protected.

PP quoted above, "Bless your heart!"

Then NVCC looks like a good bet for your kid. Glad that works for your family.

Why do people on DCUM judge other people for their choices? What difference does it make whether your kid matriculated directly to a 4 year school or takes some other route?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We feel a big part of college is the "college experience" and we're never "UVA or bust" parents. We saved for college and told the kids they could go wherever they could get in. Two down and two to go. So far so good.

I saved for college too, and then had to go through a divorce that depleted those savings. 529s are marital assets folks, so don't think they are protected.

PP quoted above, "Bless your heart!"

Then NVCC looks like a good bet for your kid. Glad that works for your family.

I've heard really good things about Miami of Ohio and a beautiful campus!

OP do you have any idea what your child wants to study? I'm from Ohio and there are a lot of good public universities there that aren't hard to get into. We had a lot of kids from NY and NJ. I always wondered whether NY and NJ didn't have any decent public universities since they outnumbered the rest of us.

I'm thinking maybe OU, Miami of Ohio, U of Cincy, and maybe Ohio State from out of state since you would be paying more.

Anonymous wrote:We feel a big part of college is the "college experience" and we're never "UVA or bust" parents. We saved for college and told the kids they could go wherever they could get in. Two down and two to go. So far so good.

I saved for college too, and then had to go through a divorce that depleted those savings. 529s are marital assets folks, so don't think they are protected.

PP quoted above, "Bless your heart!"

Anonymous wrote:If you're from the Northern Virginia area, published stats (common data set, etc) for the Va colleges are irrelevant. All that matters is what's needed to get in from our area.

Now for looking at out-of-state college, the Common Data Set is very helpful. For a 3.3 student from DMV I strongly suggest looking out-of-state for the best admissions outcome.

Right. OP's from west of the Mississippi.

If you're from the Northern Virginia area, published stats (common data set, etc) for the Va colleges are irrelevant. All that matters is what's needed to get in from our area.

Now for looking at out-of-state college, the Common Data Set is very helpful. For a 3.3 student from DMV I strongly suggest looking out-of-state for the best admissions outcome.

After this thread, are you sure you want to move back to D.C.?

GPAs are more important at state schools, which are more formulaic. My DCs had grades in your DD's range coming out of a prestigious private high school and they did far better with college admissions than we expected, or that the data suggested. They did have strong test scores, and I think that made a big difference.

Go with Naviance and your high school's track record. I bet she's better positioned than you think, especially with geographic diversity in the mix.

We feel a big part of college is the "college experience" and we're never "UVA or bust" parents. We saved for college and told the kids they could go wherever they could get in. Two down and two to go. So far so good.

Anonymous wrote:So, your kid does not pack the baggage to get into a good school right out of HS and you would turn down the opportunity for them to graduate from a top tier university through a community college guaranteed admission program because of the "lack of community" and "actual college experience"? I am not paying for a "college experience." I am paying for an education. However my DC gets that education does not matter as long as it fits the budget.

That makes sense. If your DC is REALLY smart, they can be on the 5 year plan and spend 3 years at a UVa type school thus missing only 1 year of the college experience.

(ps) I graduated in 3.5 years due to AP credits and went straight into the work force. What was I thinking. Bills to pay, meals to cook, dishes and bathrooms to clean. Looking back, the 5 year plan is ideal.

So, your kid does not pack the baggage to get into a good school right out of HS and you would turn down the opportunity for them to graduate from a top tier university through a community college guaranteed admission program because of the "lack of community" and "actual college experience"? I am not paying for a "college experience." I am paying for an education. However my DC gets that education does not matter as long as it fits the budget.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coming from a top ranked HS west of the Mississippi to go to NVCC? I see some downsides.

Like? I see it this way. Your kid comes here, enrolls in the guaranteed admissions program, maybe gets a job. Then he gets state residency and in-state at UVA. Win-Win!

Except the lack of community and actual college experience. No way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone know the gpa for students at JMU? When I was applying to schools 15 years ago, JMU was a very solid 'B/B+' school but I know times have changed....

JMU's most recent common data set doesn't provide information about the average GPA of enrolled students, but does provide the middle 50% of SAT scores:

writing: 520-620
math: 530-620

http://www.jmu.edu/instresrch/cds/2013/CDS2013_C.pdf

A few years ago a GPA >3.8 was required from Langley/McLean/Madison to get into JMU.