My daughter didn't like W&M either. UVA is different, though -- more like JMU. I wouldn't give up on it. She definitely has a chance if that 4.2 GPA includes a lot of difficult (AP) classes. The 1300 on the SAT is NOT a killer, regardless of what you might be thinking/hearing. UVA definitely cares more about the GPA/course work.

Not everyone has the money to pay OOS, and frankly, it's often even harder to get admitted as an OOS. My kid is a very strong student, they technically have the numbers that would put them in range at UVA or WM, but that's not a guarantee with all of the other high achieving students applying. I really hate the attitude that you and you your daughter are fostering that if a bright student doesn't get the golden ticket or possess $$$ they're doomed.

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Yes, but it's amazing that we have three public schools that cover top-notch flagship, SLAC and tech. And then a whole crop of other schools that are as good as or better than the 1 flagship in another state. I think the one challenging thing is that UVA + W&M in numbers total less than the numbers at another state flagship so it gets very competitive.

We are lucky in VA, but I do think there are better (and still affordable) options for the kids that just miss out on UVA/W&M. I can see why someone would want their kid with maybe a 4.1 and 1460 SAT (who might be rejected from UVA/W&M) to go to an OOS school with a national reputation over JMU or GMU. It wouldn't necessarily have a higher cost than W&M with its $35K price tag.

I'm the poster with the strong student who made clear she'd be very unhappy going below UVA in state. That was exactly her thinking, and fortunately we had the money to pay for her to go anywhere. We weren't willing to pay full freight for a private school (to us, that made no sense for anything lower than top 10-15), so we said we'd pay for a strong OOS flagship. She got into a good one, paid the deposit, and would have been happy to go. But she ended up getting into UVA off the waitlist so it all ended well.

Well, that's the thing, isn't it? Not everyone has the money to pay OOS, and frankly, it's often even harder to get admitted as an OOS. My kid is a very strong student, they technically have the numbers that would put them in range at UVA or WM, but that's not a guarantee with all of the other high achieving students applying. I really hate the attitude that you and you your daughter are fostering that if a bright student doesn't get the golden ticket or possess $$$ they're doomed.

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Anonymous wrote:My DD is a senior applying early action to JMU and CNU. She's undecided/arts/humanities. I'm hopeful she'll be accepted to both (4.2 weighted 1300 SAT), but she may have a tough decision to make. She likes both a lot but for different reasons. I'm reading this thread with interest...

Your daughter should apply to UVA. She'd be in the running.

I feel like it wouldn't be impossible, but it might be tough. Plus, she didn't even want to look at the school. We toured W&M though and she didn't like the vibe or the campus at all. Oh well!

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Anonymous wrote:I've been watching GMU's progress over the past decade or so (I live nearby, use the gym, go to various events, took some graduate courses there for work, and have worked with some new hires from there) and it's been incredible to see the changes. It used to feel very much like a graduate heavy school--lots of master's and PhD programs--and a lot of commuter undergrads. There are now over 6000 students living on campus, so it's bustling all the time--even though a lot of students still commute (there's over 20K students) The diversity--and interaction between students from diverse groups--is impressive--not just racial/ethnic but also viewpoints. The new president Angel Cabrera is dynamic. They have a strong entrepreneurial push with lots of students starting up projects. Their pep band led by Doc Nix is very fun. There's a large group of international students. If feels different than just 5 years ago.
It has recently got R1 status (I think it's the one of the youngest institutions to do so)--which means it's one of the 115 most research intensive schools in the country, and many of its graduates earn quite a bit. The students strike me as serious. We've hired some CS/IT grads in our firm (a govt--IT consulting group) and they are quite good--hard workers, competent, able to pick up things. They aren't quite as articulate/polished as some of our recent hires from higher ranked schools (VTech and UVA), but they also don't seem as pampered. More pragmatic and able to get along and get things done.

+1

+2. I think GMU gets looked down on in NOVA because it is our “local” college and people are thinking circa 2005. Being a metro ride from DC and all the internship options, and in a highly educated diverse area, I think kids from NOVA below the top 10% but in the top 1/3 of FCPS would love to go— if it wasn’t so close to home and where they grew up. It’s CS school has a great reputation.

Eh. No thanks.

Agree. IT's a commuter school with no real campus or identity.

You're a little behind the times. The Carnegie Foundation for Teaching changed GMU's designation to residential in 2011. It also made is a R-1 (top research) university two years ago.

Where 3/4 live off-campus. So, commuter school.

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Anonymous wrote:

Yes, but it's amazing that we have three public schools that cover top-notch flagship, SLAC and tech. And then a whole crop of other schools that are as good as or better than the 1 flagship in another state. I think the one challenging thing is that UVA + W&M in numbers total less than the numbers at another state flagship so it gets very competitive.

We are lucky in VA, but I do think there are better (and still affordable) options for the kids that just miss out on UVA/W&M. I can see why someone would want their kid with maybe a 4.1 and 1460 SAT (who might be rejected from UVA/W&M) to go to an OOS school with a national reputation over JMU or GMU. It wouldn't necessarily have a higher cost than W&M with its $35K price tag.

I'm the poster with the strong student who made clear she'd be very unhappy going below UVA in state. That was exactly her thinking, and fortunately we had the money to pay for her to go anywhere. We weren't willing to pay full freight for a private school (to us, that made no sense for anything lower than top 10-15), so we said we'd pay for a strong OOS flagship. She got into a good one, paid the deposit, and would have been happy to go. But she ended up getting into UVA off the waitlist so it all ended well.

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Anonymous wrote:My DD is a senior applying early action to JMU and CNU. She's undecided/arts/humanities. I'm hopeful she'll be accepted to both (4.2 weighted 1300 SAT), but she may have a tough decision to make. She likes both a lot but for different reasons. I'm reading this thread with interest...

Your daughter should apply to UVA. She'd be in the running.

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Anonymous wrote:CNU, smaller, newer and quite conservative and Christian even though it's a public.

I know that it's some people's perception, but is there any truth to this? How would a very liberal-minded person feel on this campus?

Anonymous wrote:My DD is a senior applying early action to JMU and CNU. She's undecided/arts/humanities. I'm hopeful she'll be accepted to both (4.2 weighted 1300 SAT), but she may have a tough decision to make. She likes both a lot but for different reasons. I'm reading this thread with interest...

Anonymous wrote:CNU, smaller, newer and quite conservative and Christian even though it's a public.

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Where 3/4 live off-campus. So, commuter school.

I would say a better definition of a commuter school would be one where a large number of the students live in the home where they grew up and/or a large number vacate the campus to go home on weekends.

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Anonymous wrote:The trashing that invariably happens on these threads is sick. How about some gratitude for the fantastic in-state options Virginia offers?

People always talk about the "fantastic" colleges available in Virginia, but beyond W&M, UVA, Tech, and JMU the other schools are on par with other states' public universitites.

Is JMU fantastic? By what measure? Just trying to be honest (and non-provincial) as ‘great’ and ‘fantastic’ get thrown around a lot. Test and gpa numbers, graduation rate, pretty much any ranking. Are comparably-ranked Stetson and Appy State great schools? In our school the top 10th/25th percentile students shoot for UVA/W&M/VPI(engineering) and the next tier shoot for JMU.

Agree. Our daughter made clear that after working her butt off in her NOVA public high school that it was UVA or out of state. There would be no “settling” for JMU, where kids from her class with a fraction of her AP courseload and GPA and test scores were going. It’s a top 1/3 kind of place. That’s it.

Um, that’s the point. A top 1/3 type of place is still quite respectable.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The trashing that invariably happens on these threads is sick. How about some gratitude for the fantastic in-state options Virginia offers?

People always talk about the "fantastic" colleges available in Virginia, but beyond W&M, UVA, Tech, and JMU the other schools are on par with other states' public universitites.

Is JMU fantastic? By what measure? Just trying to be honest (and non-provincial) as ‘great’ and ‘fantastic’ get thrown around a lot. Test and gpa numbers, graduation rate, pretty much any ranking. Are comparably-ranked Stetson and Appy State great schools? In our school the top 10th/25th percentile students shoot for UVA/W&M/VPI(engineering) and the next tier shoot for JMU.

Agree. Our daughter made clear that after working her butt off in her NOVA public high school that it was UVA or out of state. There would be no “settling” for JMU, where kids from her class with a fraction of her AP courseload and GPA and test scores were going. It’s a top 1/3 kind of place. That’s it.

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, but it's amazing that we have three public schools that cover top-notch flagship, SLAC and tech. And then a whole crop of other schools that are as good as or better than the 1 flagship in another state. I think the one challenging thing is that UVA + W&M in numbers total less than the numbers at another state flagship so it gets very competitive.

We are lucky in VA, but I do think there are better (and still affordable) options for the kids that just miss out on UVA/W&M. I can see why someone would want their kid with maybe a 4.1 and 1460 SAT (who might be rejected from UVA/W&M) to go to an OOS school with a national reputation over JMU or GMU. It wouldn't necessarily have a higher cost than W&M with its $35K price tag.