Is JMU for my son??

Parents Forum
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<p>JMU has a new President, Jon Alger who is an incredible person. I knew him when he was a staff attorney in the Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Education. He worked as an assistant counsel for U of Michigan and later was the General Counsel at Rutgers. JMU is very fortunate to have such an outstanding person as their President. </p>

<p>[Jon</a> Alger named as president-elect - The Breeze: News](<a href=“http://www.breezejmu.org/news/article_abab0180-1a07-11e1-82e3-001a4bcf6878.html]Jon”>http://www.breezejmu.org/news/article_abab0180-1a07-11e1-82e3-001a4bcf6878.html)</p>

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<p>Of note, recently retired President Lin Rose is no slouch either. He was recently appointed to the UVA Board of Visitors to lend his expertise there. Good addition to the BOV in the eyes of many. </p>

<p>Many in D’s class were admitted to both JMU and UVA - several chose JMU because of the merit money they were offered.</p>

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<p>I second blueiguana’s suggestion of Virginia Tech. VT’s location is perfect for students who love the outdoors. They have a very active outdoor club and have a place where students can rent/check out pretty much anything to take to the nearby mountains, lakes and rivers and explore. The academics are top notch as well, and most people think it is a toss up between JMU and VT when it comes to the business program. Have him give it a look! Good luck!</p>

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<p>If it were my kid and Jewish life were a concern, I would keep JMU on the list and then add a bunch more so he could see/experience the full range of options. He could certainly decide that JMU meets his needs, but could also see that there are dozens of other schools- some public, some private, that are a better fit.</p>

<p>There are outdoor options in lots of different places if that is his primary criterion.</p>

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<p>It won’t help as much with the Jewish life, but Sewanee would be a better choice academically and has awesome outdoors/nature opportunities.</p>

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<p>Guys this is so amazing that you all are taking so much interest in helping us!!!</p>

<p>Thank you so much!!</p>

<p>This is being very helpful!! keep writing!! lol!</p>

<p>Ps: we ARE looking into other options as well, but right now our research got stuck on JMU in regards of the questions we had. Any one has any insides on Jewish life?</p>

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<p>Heya, I have to preface this by saying I didn’t/ don’t actually go to JMU, but I’m Jewish and grew up in the Harrisonburg area. A lot of my youth group stuff was led by JMU students, and there’s a very sizable population of 'em at JMU. No Chabad, though. </p>

<p>In terms of outdoor recreation stuff, I prefer the Harrisonburg area of the valley to the Blacksburg area, because Massanutten (skiing) is about 20 minutes away, and H’burg is sandwiched between the GW nat’l forest and Shenandoah National Park. </p>

<p>JMU has a deserved reputation as a party school, but it’s far from the only thing to do. There’s not much of a drug scene, just alcohol. </p>

<p>If he’s interested, and well qualified, make sure he looks into merit aid at JMU. It’s probably the most merit-generous of the better publics in VA (as opposed to UVa, VT, and W&M)</p>

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<p>My D applied and was accepted to JMU. She turned them down.</p>

<p>When we visited, these were my reactions:</p>

<p>1) Campus is very pretty, the stone buildings are very attractive.</p>

<p>2) The campus is cut in half by I81. Most expansion/new construction seems to be taking place on the other side of the highway from the main part of campus. There are also train tracks that run through middle of the main part of campus. These were big drawbacks, in my opinion.</p>

<p>3) Harrisonburg - meh. Seemed sort of old and tired and a bit run-down.</p>

<p>4) The nearest big airports seem to be Richmond or Washington DC, both around 130 miles from Harrisonburg. This makes getting to/from there a bit problematic.</p>

<p>As for being a party school - yes it is. So is <em>every</em> other college. To reject a school because it is a party school is short-sighted.</p>

<p>How could he have applied to other schools already? It’s not even August. :confused:</p>

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<p>My neighbor’s kid went to JMU and came back after one year and enrolled in community college. I asked my neighbor what’s the reason, I think I heard something to the fact that professors and students were not open minded as Californians(not sure that’s all the reasons). So I would say add more schools just in case your son changes his mind the last minute.</p>

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<p>Again, thank you so much guys for all your replies!!</p>

<p>any other advise!!?? :)</p>

<p>notrichenough: I’ll ask my husband about it, I deal with research and does with applications (too much for each otherwise! :wink: )</p>

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<p>We visited and considered JMU for my D2 we are from the Philly area. My D2 liked the feel of JMU and it seems to attract a good number of OOS students from the mid-atlantic (MD, NJ, PA). At this link you can see that about 70% of JMU students are from VA and the majority of OOS are from the Northeast. [Where</a> Does Your Freshman Class Come From? - Facts & Figures - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Does-Your-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=232423]Where”>http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Does-Your-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=232423)</p>

<p>I think that people are struggling with why someone from Miami FL would focus in on JMU as a first choice, not to say it couldn’t be fine, but you have so many other options since everything will be a plane ride away. </p>

<p>Also- don’t discount the importance of the ease of travel arrangements. That was one of the issues that I saw with JMU as it is relatively remote and there were no easy transit options back to our area other than by car. Check into this because it can be a real issue. In that sense, it could be easier for your son to travel to, say, University of Colorado, Boulder than Harrisonburg, VA.</p>

<p>Another potential issue with a remote location is the availability of internships and part time jobs. For a business major, that can be a key consideration. I just don’t know enough about JMU to know what the opportunities for that would be, just that its remote location could be an impediment to that vs. a more urban location.</p>

<p>I would also second the advice to look at OOS publics and privates that offer merit aid. Many prospective parents/students seem unaware that the sticker price of a college education is not necessarily the true cost.</p>

<p>In my experience, JMU is stingy on OOS merit aid, but that is probably because they recognize that their tuition is already a bargain OOS. My D2 received no merit aid offer from JMU though she did receive merit aid from U Delaware, Temple and Drexel. </p>

<p>Having options at decision time is a good thing, I would suggest applying to at least 6 schools- mostly in the “match” territory. It sounds like JMU is more “safety” for your son. It’s great that he has an option for a safety that he already loves, so the rest is just gravy! </p>

<p>Good luck in your/his college process.</p>

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<p>I don’t know anything about how the school is for Jewish students, but every parent and student that I know who sent/went to JMU loved the school. My brother is hopeful his DD will get accepted there, as the admission standards have gone up in the last several years.</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot both of you!!</p>

<p>I will totally take all these suggestions to heart! </p>

<p>Just on a side note, all those things that do seem unusual or as contradictions (such us, being from MIA and looking into JMU) for some people is what makes it different, attractive, interesting and worth it! :)</p>

<p>but again, thank you so much and I will take it into consideration! :)</p>

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<p>OP- just make sure your S realizes that there are many, many colleges where he’d be out of the ordinary. Some colleges attract a primarily local/regional student body which is fun for the first year but a little claustrophobic after that; and that if he’s looking for a wide and diverse group of friends who are very different from his current social network, he may be happier at a college which pulls from a broader range of students than JMU.</p>

<p>Not a reason to knock it off the list; but other than the outdoors attraction you haven’t posted anything about you S which would have me think “Aha, he should look at JMU”. He’d need to get comfortable not being able to go home conveniently or inexpensively for most breaks; he might be sacrificing some intellectual intensity for the sake of the hiking/biking opportunities; depending on what he wants to do afterwards he may end up explaining “Why JMU”. I know kids who have gone there and been very happy; I also know kids who looked seriously at it and decided it was too regional/parochial a school for them and ended up happier at other places.</p>

<p>YMMV.</p>

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<p>Ewill -</p>

<p>You can feel free to message me if you like - MY dd also applied to, and was accepted, at UDel and PSU, and decided on JMU. She really took her time in deciding, but ultimately thought it was the right place for her. So far she is ecstatic with her choice. The advisors have been wonderful, her fellow students welcoming, and so many people have reached out to her to welcome her. I echo what has been said about the new president, who will carry on a wonderful tradition. What was a “party school” is really not what it used to be. In fact I heard that the pulled very very few from the wait list this year due to such a high yield. Obviously we shall see, but so far I have been impressed.</p>

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<p>blossom: thanks! as i mentioned before we are looking into other colleges as well, just now we are holding in our research by JMU :)</p>

<p>momofa12: thank you !! i will! :)</p>

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<p>I had a similar experience back in my day. I grew up in a big city and went to a college in the middle of nowhere populated with a lot of people from small towns in a different part of the country.</p>

<p>It’s kind of the nature of the beast. It was a different experience and I will admit that I didn’t like it. But I stuck it out and survived. But I probably would have been happier somewhere else.</p>

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<p>^ In all seriousness GolfFather, I don’t think JMU is all that beastly.</p>

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<p>^ I would agree. The majority of the student body isn’t coming from small towns. JMU pulls a great number of in state students from NoVa, Richmond, and the Tidewater areas.</p>

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<p>And New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland. Kids I know ( and their parents) who have attended have been very happy there. Your son , as a Florida kid, would need to check it out and go from there. Good luck in finding a school for him!</p>