Admission

Colleges and Universities A-Z James Madison University
1

<p>hey I'm a junior with a 3.43 unweighted GPA so far through high school and I have over a 3.5 weighted GPA; I will have finished 3 to 4 AP courses by the end of my senior year. My SAT is in the 1150-1200 range. I have played 3 years of varsity baseball so far and have earned honors during this span such as all-district, all-region, ect. I am also a member of the DECA program at my school. I'd love to get some feedback on this if anyone thinks I can get accepted because JMU is my top school and I've always wanted to be JMU Duke.</p>

2

<p>Are your sat scores out of 2400 or 1600?</p>

3

<p>Yea its out of 1600</p>

4

<p>Are you in-state or out of state?</p>

5

<p>in-state of course haha</p>

6

<p>This is from JMU’s Admissions Website –</p>

<hr>

<p>**2009 - 2010 **Freshman Class Profile
Applications: 20,963
Applicants accepted: 61.4%
Applicants enrolled: 3,952
Average SAT Score: 1145

  • SAT mid-50 percent range: 1100-1230
  • ACT mid-50 percent range: 24-28
  • Top third of high school class: 88%
    Freshman retention rate: 91%
    Competitive candidates will have mostly As and Bs in the core academic areas (English, math, lab science, social science and foreign language)</p>

<p>Competitive candidates for admission will have taken upper level coursework in the core academic areas (i.e. Honors, AP, IB, Dual Enrollment) when available in their high school.</p>

<hr>

<p>The **2010-2011 **class had 22,500 applications and 12,000 were offered admission; that’s a preliminary acceptance rate of 54%, down from 65% two years ago. I think it’s safe to assume that the SAT mid-range scores went up this year. It’s been like this the past couple of years at all the Virginia state colleges – record high applications and record low acceptance rates. I thought my son was a good candidate for UVa based on past numbers, but this year’s class data showed that it was really a stretch school for him. He’s going to JMU this fall; several of his classmates who were sure they’d be accepted, weren’t.</p>

<p>You have a chance, but you can expect things to be just as tough, or tougher, next year. To improve your chances, buy a couple of review books and study them over the summer, and take the SAT twice more in the fall to try to boost your scores. Keep the grades up and take at least three AP / DE courses as a senior (I know it’s hard if you’re playing baseball; do it anyway). Volunteer at something this summer. Look at the JMU application process and start planning your essays now. My son was swamped as a junior and played a fall sport, so we didn’t begin the college planning process until very late due to lack of time. You’ll be two weeks from the January application deadlines before you know it. Start the process as soon as school ends in June. In-state helps, male probably helps too (JMU 60% female, 40% male). Good luck.</p>

7

<p>I agree with most of what the previous post says except the part about being in-state. I think it is just the opposite. Out of state students are paying twice a much to the university and there is more of a financial incentive for them to accept and out-of-state over an in-state with similar grades and achievements. There is currently no cap on the amount of out-of-state student accepted and the number has been increasing. While there are obviously more in-state students than out-of-state, that is because there are significantly more in-state applications.
Overall, I would say you might be “on the bubble” right now. Our son had very similar gpa and SAT scores and was waitlisted. Many of his friends were rejected. This is at a highly competitive Fairfax county high school.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>I’m not sure if William and Mary and UVA have hard caps on OOS/International students either (there was a proposed bill but I don’t know how it turned out) Sure, OOS tuition is much higher than in-state tuition but that doesn’t mean that state employees aren’t cognizant to political/taxpayer realities. Only the average G.P.A. and test scores for OOS accepted students is going to prove your point and it is unlikely that schools will release that data. Why? Because they don’t want any fallout from admitting that the school’s improved stats come from better students coming from other states. </p>

<p>I’m 100 percent positive that William and Mary and UVA stats for OOS students is higher than their in-state counterparts. James Madison? Not as selective so hard to say, but anecdotal info is we know an OOS kid that is on the waiting list with SAT score 200 points higher than the high end of last year’s mid-range … so it makes me wonder.</p>

9

<p>“I’m 100 percent positive that William and Mary and UVA stats for OOS students is higher than their in-state counterparts.”</p>

<p>Where is that data published?</p>

<p>Here is an article about the issues facing in-state applicants:
<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/13/AR2009111301940.html[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/13/AR2009111301940.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>

</p>

<p>Meanwhile from W&M’s website:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>So, while not all the most current data, the College of William and Mary is FAR more selective on accepting OOS applicants and those applicants make up the higher end of SAT scores. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-william-mary/874438-out-state-admissions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-william-mary/874438-out-state-admissions.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Now, as far as the girl flute player not being selected at William and Mary and ending up at Christopher Newport University … thanks for the laugh.</p>

11

<p>thank you, I appreciate all of your input as it gives me an idea of what I need to do and work on during my last 2 years of high school.</p>

12

<p>OP, it is easier for IS applicants when applying to all Virginia state schools because state law requires that 2/3 of those attending any state school must be Virginians. UVA does accept more OOS students than IS because fewer OOS students actually matriculate. This does not not alter the 2/3 IS 1/3 OOS ratio that Virginia schools must abide by.</p>

13

<p>There is no such law. There were bills introduced recently to cap the number of out-of-state students, but all were tabled.</p>

<p>“The proposed bill would have affected the College of William and Mary, which currently enrolls 63 percent in-state students, the University of Virginia, at 62 percent, Virginia Tech, 70 percent, and James Madison University, 71 percent”</p>

14

<p>“The State Legislature has set a ratio that governs the in state and out of state populations at UVa. Two thirds of our students must have Virginia residency. Therefore, one third can come from outside of the state.”</p>

<p>This statement comes directly from Dean J’s (of UVA) blog. She has repeated this many times on her blog and on CC. I apoligize if I characterized this legislative action as a law when it may only be a requirement. The fact remains that all Virginia state schools are bound by this requirement or law whatever the case may be.</p>

15

<p>These are guidelines/goals not requirements or laws. According to this article and others, UVA is currently at 62%</p>

<p>[Delegates</a> table bills to cap out-of-state enrollment | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com](<a href=“The Virginian-Pilot - Virginia News, Sports, Weather, Business & Things to Do”>The Virginian-Pilot - Virginia News, Sports, Weather, Business & Things to Do)</p>

16

<p>Just to follow-up on the original question, you should take a look at the [State</a> Council of Higher Education for Virginia](<a href=“http://www.schev.edu%5DState”>http://www.schev.edu) website (run by the commonwealth of Virginia) for more statistics. You will see, as I first mentioned, that JMU has a far higher rejection rate for in-state students: 41.2%
OOS rejection rate is: 23%</p>

<p>[Admissions:</a> Public Four-Year Institution Profile - B8](<a href=“http://research.schev.edu/enrollment/B8_Report_new.ASP]Admissions:”>B08: Admissions Report (Four-Year Institutions))</p>

<p>To be fair, there is no data about the quality of applicants in these reports.</p>

17

<p>Hey, as long as you have gotten mostly all A’s and B’s, JMU will likely accept you. I mean, definitely try to get all As, but dont beat yourself up if you do get a B- some teachers are really physco!!</p>

<p>Colleges like JMU like to solid grades like A’s/B’s and very few if almost none Cs and will definitely question Ds. Also, JMU likes to see what you are most passionate about. Sounds like baseball is your area?? I know a girl who got accepted to JMU with a 3.25 unweighted but she had all As and Bs, passionate about dancing, into art and stuff. I have a 3.5 weighted and and 3.49 unweighted and i am waitlisted… :confused: I hope I get in!!</p>