@Wilson98 and @sevmom. Thank you both, this is the type of info I need. If she got into UR she may love it enough to stay and forget W&M, I hope so as I want her to love wherever she is, however, if she still can’t get W& M out of her mind, I’d like her to be at a school where she can do well enough to be a desirable transfer for W&M. UR certainly seems like a great school but she wants to be a history major, perhaps colonial history so you see why W&M was such a perfect choice.
I am hoping she can get into JMU, I keep hearing how much the students like it. She is considering UMW, is that not quite on par with JMU? We visited CNU and she didn’t like it at all. Nothing to walk to really & the school was too new looking.
She wants to have an experience away from home, I was the same way so I don’t blame her. Most at her HS are staying in state & she doesn’t want to have it feel like she’s at school with these same kids. Many are preppie, very into sports or joining the Greek life and she is not interested in either of those things. Her HS has 4,000 kids.
I think UVA is just too hard, esp with the 65% in state rule, so I don’t know if she will even try, but maybe. UR doesn’t have that & is the best school she will apply to, if she gets in she would really want to go. W&M was such an emotional decision which is amazing if it works but devestating if it does not. None of these other schools have emotion behind them, just logic which is sad to me but she had all her eggs in 1 basket. We will visit them in the spring & compare places she gets in, if there is more than 1.
Can’t she apply ED2 to UR and still apply RD to other schools? I know she has to choose UR if she got in & she would but we can only do 1 ED, right? But we can do many RD at the same time? Thank you!
UMW is a step below JMU in reputation and probably in difficulty of admission, though not by a huge amount. Someone might prefer one to the other.
Yes, you can apply ED2 and then all the RD you want. And, yes, you can only have one ED (whether it’s ED1 or ED2) active at a time.
If schools like UVA, W&L and UNC are not such an emotional decision, maybe you and your daughter could consider how many of such schools are worth taking a shot at, realizing that they are not something you should at all count on.
@Wilson98. Thanks, trying to get a handle on the differences between UMW & JMU. After W& M nothing is an emotional decision although I wish she’d get excited about somewhere else. If she gets into a couple we will visit and hopefully she will get excited. We visited UNC and she loved it 2nd to W&M but at 18% OOS a real long shot. UVA is another long shot & she’s not interested in W&L which doesn’t matter as its a long shot. As we have a fee waiver she will try a couple cause why not? She wants to go to the best school she can get into whether it’s UR or UMW or anywhere. I mean who wouldn’t want to go to the best school they could get into? My hope is she’ll eventually love wherever it is.
@Zinhead. Yes it didn’t start out that way it just happened. She was accepted into their summer NIAHD history program so she lived in the dorm & attended classes for 3 wks and just fell in love with the school and colonial Williamsburg. We all know we can’t help who we fall in love with, lol…
I’m a little confused now. You mention fee waivers. Are you fairly low income in the scheme of things? I had the impression you might be high income as you were targeting a lot of OOS public schools and bypassing any instate schools. Schools like UVa and UNC meet need , even for OOS, but their view of need can still be different from what a family thinks they need. Places like Mary Washington and JMU are more regional schools and getting any aid may be tougher. There are increased travel expenses with OOS schools as well. Richmond or other privates , could be better options if she is admitted and gets good aid. If you have need, I encourage you to apply to instate schools as well as a backup. Your best instate schools could be a better option than attending more regional schools in a different state.
Yes we are low income but the grandparents have some set aside to help. A private school like UR is great with FA, W& M wasn’t so great but with family help was doable. We are not originally from SC and she can’t wait to get out of here, she wants to go out on her own & while VA isn’t that far it’s still far enough to be away at school. She wants a less conservative area and to be around people with more liberals minds. We don’t have family here & who knows how long I will stay here after she goes to school. I like moving around, have lived all over but put down roots here in Charleston to raise her from age 5 here. We were in Boston before. I have great equity in my house & would sell it to send her if I had to. Hoping for Pell grants, loans, private scholarships & need based aid, work study, grandparent help.
Just wanted to add as another Mom from Northern VA - givendors that you are coming from CA, if you are considering JMU, I think you should consider GMU (George Mason) also!
Many students from our area don’t consider Mason, but the stats are the same/smidge higher, while,U of MW stats are a smidge lower.
(JMU: SAT from 520-610; ACT 23-27)
(Mason: SAT from 520-620/630; ACT 23-29)
(U of MW: SAT from 490-590 for Math; 22-27)
My son and I have not visited JMU, though we have driven through the campus on the Interstate-81, which separates the huge Rec Center and some other buildings on one side of the highway from the rest of the campus. I would guess the students take buses from one side of campus to the other, unless there is,a tunnel under the big highway!
We have been to George Mason, for the campus tour, and my son took a summer video game design class and slept in the dorms. Mason is a very walkable campus - there are a huge number of commuters at the school (which, though many would consider a downside, makes school more attractive to my son – only 6,000 or so students live on campus, making it seem like a much smaller community. Because of proximity to DC, school has a lot of success with placing students with internships. Mason does not have the cache of UVa, Va Tech, or William and Mary, but I think it “tries harder” (like Avis chasing Hertz, lol).
I have had great success contacting a handful of Mason professors in very different departments directly - I was very pleasantly surprised by their responsiveness!
I have also visited U of Mary Washington - lovely campus; for personal preference, my son didn’t connect with the “vibe”, so not much more I can say.
Re post #47. There is a tunnel underneath the highway at JMU connecting the main campus to the recreation center. The campus is very walkable, when on campus you do not have a sense that the highway cuts through. There is also a bus system that runs through campus and connects campus to off campus housing and shopping areas.
Yes, JMU is a very walkable, pretty campus. We toured it with one son and he also went there for a couple sports tournaments. We toured GMU with him as well. He ended up at VT but really did like JMU as well. Older son ended up at UVa and the only other instate schools he looked at were VT and W & M. We are lucky to have good schools in Virginia, attractive to both instate and OOS students. @CoyoteMom , I believe the OP is from SC, not California?
Thanks everyone, @KatMT I was getting concerned about the freeway so I appreciate the explanation. @coyotemom for the explanation of the schools. I think she isn’t thrilled by the look of GMU, she likes the historic look of UMW and that there are historic sites nearby, but it seems JMU is a bit better school. I am hoping she gets into both & can pick. I keep reading the students at JMU all seem happy and how great the vibe is. Are there shops, restaurants within walking distance of the school? She won’t have a car and it’s more of a remote spot. We can’t afford to visit unless she gets in, hoping to get her excited about other schools, thanks!
@sevmom, yes, SC, thanks! And you are very lucky to have such great schools!
@cloudysmom – there are shops, restaurants, coffee shops, a food co-op, etc… downtown within walking distance of campus. A large shopping center (with a Walmart, Barnes and Nobel, etc…) is within walking distance on the other side of campus. There are also buses that go to the shopping center, grocery stores, Target, etc… It is not necessary to have a car on campus. Freshmen are not allowed to have cars on campus anyway.
@citymama9 – re: post #29 As far as I can tell the sorority rush process is not like at some of the bigger SEC schools. I have had students who are from OOS get into sororities without a problem. JMU is not a commuter school. There are lots of things to do on the weekends, and it seems that most students stay on campus most of the time.
@KatMT Thank you, that sounds really good! My daughter is not interested in sports or Greek life, how prevalent are those on campus and how difficult is it to make friends if she doesn’t participate in those things? She’s shy, describes herself as a history geek, enjoys liberal politics. Would appreciate any insight as it says you’re a college rep so would love to hear your thoughts when you get a sec!
@cloudysmom There are lots of clubs and groups on campus, and students at JMU are incredibly friendly as far as i can see, so I do not think it would be difficult to get involved… particularly if she were in a freshman living learning community like Madison International or the one for honors students… While greek life is significant for those who choose to participate, it does not feel like it overtakes the campus vibe as a whole for students are are not involved. I am not an admissions rep at JMU, but am the Coordinator of the Musical Theatre program, hence the “College Rep” status on CC.
@KatMD Any position at the college means you know way more than I do so I appreciate it. Yes, I feel certain she would try to get into the honors program, if she could. Great idea about honors dorm, if she does. aThanks again, you’ve really been terrific!
@cloudysmom A college campus of 4000 students is very different from a high school with 4000 students. Yes, the numbers are the same , but the typical HS usually has only one or perhaps several buildings. An equivalent college campus will have many, many more buildings including dorms, athletic facilities, a library, admissions, a health center, academic buildings, performing arts buildings, etc.
It is sometimes difficult for a HS student to get past the number of students compared to their HS and envision how different a typical college campus is. There are many majors and activities and kids will spread out, college is usually not nearly as stifling as a typical HS often feels. 1 of my Ds just graduated from the University of Richmond and I have a junior there. Both girls continue (d) to find new friends and activities every year.
I recommend that you and your D keep an open mind about college size when comparing to HS size.
I have a D at W & M and a D at UR. Both are fantastic schools. They were not impressed in the least by UVA. They actually hated the school. UR offers a lot of merit scholarships. Test scores are not the most important aspects of the application process; gpa and academic rigor as well as recommendations are even more important. Both schools really do look at applicants holistically. W & M is extremely challenging once you are there but if you put the work in you can do very well. Don’t give up. A friend’s D did not get into W & M about 6 years ago and was devastated. She ended up at Tech and just loved it. Now she is in law school at Georgetown.
I think lots of high school kids also have trouble envisioning how different college is in terms of interactions with other people. In high school, you’re kind of stuck with the same people. In college, you can spend as much or as little time with former high school people as you like. Even if you end up instate, you don’t have to hang with people from your old high school if you don’t want to. Both my kids stayed instate, and their best friends in college were not people from their high school. They both knew kids from their school but forged new friendships primarily with hall mates, classmates, fraternity brothers, sports friends,etc.