<p>I was going to post this on the JMU forum, but it hasn't had much traffic, soo</p>
<p>I'm looking into some OOS schools for DH and DS to visit on a driving trip next spring, and JMU is right on their route. </p>
<p>Does anyone know if JMU requires 3 years of foreign language??? I read this in a college guide, but after much clicking through the JMU website, I can't get any confirmation. It does say 4 years of 4 academic courses, and DS will have that, including 4 lab sciences, but he is already making noises about dropping French to take 2 chorus classes. </p>
<p>I will encourage him to get that 3rd year of foreign language in order to keep other options open, but frankly he might be better off in chorus. Our in-state unis have changed the way they calculate GPA, and chorus might boost his GPA into qualifying for honors college and a much better dorm situation at state uni.</p>
<p>DS is the kind of kid who will have little tolerance for visiting a school that he has no chance of attending, even as a soph ;). the size and location of JMU may be appealing, so I was considering it as the "big school" on this fun trip.</p>
<p>cangel - I'd put JMU on the visit list, if for no other reason than to see a campus that is two-thirds traditional (ie, west of I81) and one-third modern(on the east side). And it might be of interest to your S that the student body is 60% female. [Full disclosure: DD is applying this year.]</p>
<p>JMU is tops on my dd's list, too! And, yes, they do require 3 years of a foreign language -- they prefer 4 years (to keep up with their 'competition' - UVA and William & Mary)</p>
<p>And I recommend everyone visit the college! It's just super and the food is the best we've found so far!</p>
<p>cangel, Elon better be on that route as well. Faline2 and KathieP will be disappointed if you skip Roanoke. Barrons will think you remiss if you don't make it to Lynchburg (and hey, RMWC or whatever they're going to call themselves is nearby). Bridgewater is just down the road from JMU and it was a pleasant surprise to us. . . . So I hope the little trip is planned to last a few weeks (and why don't you get to go?)</p>
<p>Hi I just saw this thread. Lderochi, my son has already made his way to Bridgewater College. He went with some friends to a football game at Bridgwater. He says some of their students make their way to JMU on week-ends (as well as students from Virginia Tech, and UVA, and who knows what other schools). </p>
<p>CB does say that 3 years of foreign language is required.</p>
<p>BTW, my son is really enjoying JMU! Yes, the food is good. I have been told that it is rated #7 nationally, and #1 for a public university by one of the guidebooks.</p>
<p>Oh, and the school is 60/40, but my S says it feels more like 70/30! Yeah, he is enjoying it!</p>
<p>Cangel:
My sister is a JMU Grad who was recently honored with a statewide Inspirational outstanding teacher recognition award which warmed my heart since she has been teaching in a rural county for over 25 years. S has a handful of good friends at JMU now. You mentioning Chorus brings to mind the sometimes overlooked fact that although Virginia does have two stellar highly selective publics in UVa and Wm and Mary, JMU has the strongest programs in certain areas (my S may not have made the cut for their Symphony for instance) and we have a couple friends whose daughters were denied entrance to the Teachers track and the Music major track but were accepted to JMU. JMU was once a teachers college and remains our most outstanding teachers program statewide. JMU also has the most selective music programs and admission into their orchestras and bands is competitive..I don't know about Chorus. So many colleges really have so much fun with singing groups and I imagine JMU has a variety of options there re auditions. JMU has a very good Geography major that is well-equipped and is a school with a fun student body and I know some boys there who do a lot of outdoor adventuring from there. Bridgewater is also in my family tree (great grandfather). It does a fine job in smaller classrooms..friend's D did Bridgewater two years and easily transferred into JMU for her final two years. Recently stayed a weekend at Randolph Macon (which impressed me as having a lovely campus and a strong faculty) which is incredibly quaint and near a shopping mall in the Richmond burbs but in a little RR town that has real old fashioned charm, and yes Iderochi, Roanoke College in Salem, VA where my Dad was raised is a very fine small college with full profs in every classroom and a happy student body, many of whom are from Middle Atlantic states...</p>
<p>We were just there, and my son liked it a lot. Will apply EA. :) (* let's see... today is Tuesday, we were at the Inn By the Side of Road on Thursday.. so tour was Friday morning! * )</p>
<p>Can't, someone has to make money to fund this expedition!</p>
<p>Son is only a sophomore, so the trip is more for fun, than looking at colleges, but Roanoke may well be on the list. They will probably only stop at 2 places.</p>
<p>That's too bad about the foreign language, i think it will be hard to convince him to do the 3rd year of French, but we'll see. His school only requires 2 for graduation, and that's 2 more than most anywhere else in Alabama :(.</p>
<p>JMU needs to revamp their website, it never clearly states what the absolute requirements are - just talks about rigorous academic program and 4 years of academic classes - he will have that, he's just balking on the extra foreign language - wonder if you could fulfill the requirement in some other way???</p>
<p>Lderochi, you just jogged my memory. Now I remember that part of the info session, and she also mentioned that American Sign Language does not count because there is no verbal component!</p>
<p>I saw that. And they "recommend" 3+ labs, 4+ Sciences and 4+ Math. Wow. That's info that a kid really needs to have by the end of Sophomore year so that he can plan accordingly for a solid application. I backtracked a bit through their previous CDS' and it looks like the beefier "recommendations" are new this year. And as recently as 2002-03 their required courses were somewhat less strict.</p>
<p>I'll add my two cents as a Harrisonburg resident with ties to JMU through spouse's employment. JMU is an attractive college for Virginia students who will graduate with an honors diploma - which requires 3 years of foreign language or 2 years of 2 different languages. Same with the lab science- for an honors diploma in Virginia, you need the 3 years. For your son to compete with some really outstanding Virginia applicants, he will need at a minimum the 3 years of foreign language.</p>
<p>Really... Well, I noticed when my son was applying last year that other state schools require 3 years of lab sciences too, so I guess doors close without these courses. I am sure that many privates have similar requirments, it is just that I remember being surprised by these requirements at the 2nd tier publics.</p>
<p>Hmm. Guess we're behind the times. UDel (which prides itself on it's science and math strength) requires 2 lab sciences, 3 years of math and 2 years of the same foreign language. Delaware has toyed with the idea of an Honors diploma but the legislature keeps screwing it up and trying to do too much with the idea. I'm honestly not a fan of Honors diploma, but I see where having one would, just due to the requirements, make for a more competitive applicant.</p>
<p>I am in NJ, and I never heard of an honors diploma. I know that some of the gcs advise their students to take 3 years of the same foreign language.</p>
<p>I don't recall which schools had the 3 lab science requirement besides JMU, but I do remember seeing it at a couple of other state schools. Otherstate schools that my S applied to, only require 2 (I did think one of them also required 3, hmmm...apparently not, or those requirements got tweaked).</p>
<p>"... I remember being surprised by these requirements at the 2nd tier publics."</p>
<p>Hmmm, when the average SAT score for incoming students is 1160 (old), "2nd tier" means pretty competitive. I'm not surprised at the more rigorous course requirements. After all we're talking about the 75th percentile of SAT test takers.</p>
<p>JMU is a strong school. I called it a second tier b/c Va. has UVA, U of Mary Washington, and William and Mary. VA. is just a fabulous state for public higher education! My son is amazed at the stats of some of his friends at JMU! Interestingly though, their gpas are higher, but their SAT scores are generally lower than his, which is why the SATs are important equalizer to give a clearer picture between varying high schools.</p>