Anonymous wrote:I think the sourthern versus national ranking is the key. USNews ranks schools as nationals and regionals and Va Tech is National and JMU is regional. More to the point, though, in USNews list of top public’s nationally, Tech is 25. UVA and W and M are higher. George Mason and VCU also make the top 150. No James Madison. Va Tech wasn’t always that high but it has gotten higher as it has expanded its offerings and become more popular. And JMU didn’t even start awarding PHDs until something like the last 30 years. It is just not the same. At a certain point, the insistence that JMU is above Tech is just silly. That doesn’t mean it is a bad school. As one PP said. Va Tech people don’t really seem to argue that it is below UVA and W and M but they still love their school. JMU was popular but it didn’t propel that popularity into lasting higher rankings. It just didn’t. But it is still a good school.

Anonymous wrote:I went to JMU in the 90s. JMU is still ranked well in the US News and World Report, I think #7 for top regional southern schools. When I went to JMU, Va Tech was my safety, and you had to have both a higher gpa and SAT to get into JMU then va tech.

I think there are a handful of posters who prefer va tech because tech/computers/etc have become so much more popular in the last 20 years.

Ranking:

UVA/William and Mary
JMU
Va tech (but higher then jmu if engineering, etc)
.
.
Radford

I didn't include the others in the ranking but I'll comment: GMU is local so it's a commuter school and kids want to go away but I've heard it has become much better then 20 years ago
Mary Washington was 80% women, no thanks
Honestly, I had never heard of CNU nor VCU until about 5 years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to JMU in the 90s. JMU is still ranked well in the US News and World Report, I think #7 for top regional southern schools. When I went to JMU, Va Tech was my safety, and you had to have both a higher gpa and SAT to get into JMU then va tech.

I think there are a handful of posters who prefer va tech because tech/computers/etc have become so much more popular in the last 20 years.

Ranking:

UVA/William and Mary
JMU
Va tech (but higher then jmu if engineering, etc)
.
.
Radford

I didn't include the others in the ranking but I'll comment: GMU is local so it's a commuter school and kids want to go away but I've heard it has become much better then 20 years ago
Mary Washington was 80% women, no thanks
Honestly, I had never heard of CNU nor VCU until about 5 years ago.

Is this the ranking from 20 years ago when you went to school or your perception on how things are now?

If now, JMU is def. below VA Tech. and as some point out, Tech is easily above UVA and the best state school for Engineering.

VCU and VA Tech also have a medical school and their profile will only get better over time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to JMU in the 90s. JMU is still ranked well in the US News and World Report, I think #7 for top regional southern schools. When I went to JMU, Va Tech was my safety, and you had to have both a higher gpa and SAT to get into JMU then va tech.

I think there are a handful of posters who prefer va tech because tech/computers/etc have become so much more popular in the last 20 years.

Ranking:

UVA/William and Mary
JMU
Va tech (but higher then jmu if engineering, etc)
.
.
Radford

I didn't include the others in the ranking but I'll comment: GMU is local so it's a commuter school and kids want to go away but I've heard it has become much better then 20 years ago
Mary Washington was 80% women, no thanks
Honestly, I had never heard of CNU nor VCU until about 5 years ago.

Is this the ranking from 20 years ago when you went to school or your perception on how things are now?

If now, JMU is def. below VA Tech. and as some point out, Tech is easily above UVA and the best state school for Engineering.

VCU and VA Tech also have a medical school and their profile will only get better over time.

JMU is ranked #7 in Regional South now in 2018. Here's the link:

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/jmu-3721

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to JMU in the 90s. JMU is still ranked well in the US News and World Report, I think #7 for top regional southern schools. When I went to JMU, Va Tech was my safety, and you had to have both a higher gpa and SAT to get into JMU then va tech.

I think there are a handful of posters who prefer va tech because tech/computers/etc have become so much more popular in the last 20 years.

Ranking:

UVA/William and Mary
JMU
Va tech (but higher then jmu if engineering, etc)
.
.
Radford

I didn't include the others in the ranking but I'll comment: GMU is local so it's a commuter school and kids want to go away but I've heard it has become much better then 20 years ago
Mary Washington was 80% women, no thanks
Honestly, I had never heard of CNU nor VCU until about 5 years ago.

Is this the ranking from 20 years ago when you went to school or your perception on how things are now?

If now, JMU is def. below VA Tech. and as some point out, Tech is easily above UVA and the best state school for Engineering.

VCU and VA Tech also have a medical school and their profile will only get better over time.

Anonymous wrote:JMU grad needs to learn when to use "then" and "than".

Anonymous wrote:I went to JMU in the 90s. JMU is still ranked well in the US News and World Report, I think #7 for top regional southern schools. When I went to JMU, Va Tech was my safety, and you had to have both a higher gpa and SAT to get into JMU then va tech.

I think there are a handful of posters who prefer va tech because tech/computers/etc have become so much more popular in the last 20 years.

Ranking:

UVA/William and Mary
JMU
Va tech (but higher then jmu if engineering, etc)
.
.
Radford

I didn't include the others in the ranking but I'll comment: GMU is local so it's a commuter school and kids want to go away but I've heard it has become much better then 20 years ago
Mary Washington was 80% women, no thanks
Honestly, I had never heard of CNU nor VCU until about 5 years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Why don't you rank them yourself based on what's important to YOUR KID as opposed to what a bunch of internet strangers think?

Exactly. These threads are so stupid. I would rank some of those schools much higher because they offer programs that are important to MY KIDS. Who care what strangers think? Everyone has their own priorities.

OP here. I try not to respond to posts like these, but it always kills me when people bother to comment on posts just to say that they are "stupid". I realize how this thread can come off to some of you. Personally I have found some of the posts here to be interesting and informative. Thanks to all who have posted insightful information about these schools in VA. I've learned quite a bit and appreciate your collective knowledge.

I'm the PP. I didn't mean that your questions were stupid. Only that the responses you're getting are, with people trying to rank these schools according to their own (very blatant) biases. I've written a few of the "informative" posts myself - what to visit at each school, etc. It's the posters who think they're the arbiters of which schools are the "best" and which aren't who need to be called out. I hope you're taking those posts with a major grain of salt, and use your own judgment (and that of your kids).

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Anonymous wrote:Top 3 schools in the state

UVA
W&M
Tech

The rest are like a consolation prize. Everyone gets a medal

Has JMU slipped? I've seen this posted before which I find surprising because back in the 90's when I graduated HS, JMU was on par with Tech.

No, JMU hasn't "slipped." These rankings are all completely subjective. Everyone has a different opinion of these schools. Personally, I give top rankings to the schools that suit my kids best.

I think JMU got trendy for a while and had a reputation (or created one) of being the alternate UVA. It is closer than Tech and not as big and not as science focused so the comparison was not ridiculous. Then Tech somehow managed to get lucky with its football program. Prior to the early 1990s, it wasn’t a big time program. It was a big science school far away. Then things happened and lots of people think Michael Vick was the beginning but it actually started before that. So Tech was suddenly a nationally known school. I recall the sports announcers kind of gushing about this upstart school with its amusing Hokie bird and total lack or pretension and amazing campus. And that is kind of Tech in a nutshell. It’s students are very aware that by most standards and in most circles, they are viewed as not attending or graduating from the best school in Virginia and they don’t care. They love the school and its architecture and its scenery and its culture. People at Tech mostly want to be there. They aren’t there because they didn’t get in someplace better or if they did, the chose Tech. I went there and turned down Lehigh and Wake Forest. I didn’t apply to UVA. So the notion that JMU is tied with Tech doesn’t make sense to me. People grow up Hokies and want to go there. I haven’t really met people who know from an early age that JMU is where they want to be. I think that has a bit to do with the history of the schools. Tech has been a University for a century plus and has admitted women way longer than JMU has been admitting men. JMU was a teaching college. It is a fine school but it is in no way comparable to tech for many reasons including the alumni network.

Ok, the thing is when I graduated HS in 1990. The top schools were hands down UVA, W&M, Tech, and JMU. The kids going to tech/jmu weren’t at the tippy top of their classes, but a bit below. They were certainly above average students, even for those who were college bound. Now 30 years later it seems that Tech has firmly kept its place, but I see many posters lumping JMU along with GMU, VCU, CNU which was absolutely not the case when I was in HS which makes me wonder if JMU has slipped in prestige from the 80’s.

Some possible reasons for parity among many of the colleges that are right up there with JMU:

GMU (On the Rise): They get a lot of grant money from DoD and NSA for tech and computer research; they have been able to leverage their relationships with many government agencies to improve their campus and programs over the years.

VCU (On the Rise): A top art program along with nationally ranked medical and dental programs. VCU has become nationally known and sought by top art students which has improved its prestige over the years.

CNU (On the Rise): A solid small liberal arts school that appeals to many solid NoVA students; great campus, facilities and strong academics; think of a public university with the look and feel of a private school.

So basically the rise of a few of the other VA schools has knocked JMU out of its position, but not Tech? So now in VA there is no longer a big 4 but a big 3?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you rank them yourself based on what's important to YOUR KID as opposed to what a bunch of internet strangers think?

Exactly. These threads are so stupid. I would rank some of those schools much higher because they offer programs that are important to MY KIDS. Who care what strangers think? Everyone has their own priorities.

OP here. I try not to respond to posts like these, but it always kills me when people bother to comment on posts just to say that they are "stupid". I realize how this thread can come off to some of you. Personally I have found some of the posts here to be interesting and informative. Thanks to all who have posted insightful information about these schools in VA. I've learned quite a bit and appreciate your collective knowledge.

Anonymous wrote:I think GMU is hurt by its location in NVa as so many of the kids from this area (one of the stronger areas in the state academically) want to go away to school. CNU is on the rise and probably the best option after W&M for kids who want a smaller non-stem option. JMU is only on par with Tech in the minds of its alumni.