Hello everybody, I was recently accepted to both James Madison University and Penn State University. As one can imagine, this has created quite the dilemma in my life. I would like to major in finance and I’m 99% sure I want to have a career doing something related to business. I know Penn State is arguably top 30 in the country for business while James Madison is only top 70 ish. From an academics standpoint Penn State wins by a mile, but overall I just enjoyed James Madison’s campus and vibe much more than Penn State’s. Also, when I graduate form college I would like to move down south to get away from the cold, not sure which school would have a better reputation in the south. Finally, If I went to Penn State I would come out nearly debt free since we have about 110,000 saved for my education plus I will have earned around 15,000 of my own money before I graduate. If I went to James Madison I would be nearly 50-60k in debt compared to next to nothing for Penn State. Any opinions/comparisons would be much appreciated!
JMU is a nice school but not worth going 50-60k in debt for. No undergraduate school is, really.
James Madison is a regional univ for Virginians… my kid wanted to go there and I was against it last year. It’s greatly recognized in Virginia but can’t compare to Penn State nationally.
Don’t assume you will move south before even getting to college.
I can’t see how your comparing here: debt free after college, ranked business school and brand name can’t go wrong with Penn State
@seahawks3 - my daughter is a recent JMU grad. We are from Massachusetts. The business school offers solid career preparation and has an extensive alumni network, especially in Northern Virginia (NOVA). For her internship between junior and senior years, she more than held her own with kids from more “prestigious” schools like Boston College. She currently has a job in NOVA with a prominent consulting firm that has a healthy contingent drawn from Notre Dame - she’s thriving not just surviving. Her employer is paying for her to take grad courses through Johns Hopkins. Fit is important - academic, social, and financial. That being said, there is a lot of merit to the posts above concerning running up debt. Like your parents, we saved for our daughter’s education, and we found that the OOS tuition for JMU was only slightly more than our state flagship and a better deal than the private colleges she was accepted at. She was able to attend JMU and come out with minimal debt - significantly less than the 50-60K you cite as your burden after graduation.
@airway1 it’s the overall feel I get from both campuses is what makes the decision tough. I get a much better feel from JMU’s campus than I get when I step onto PSU’s campus. I’ve been to PSU 4 times and each time it didn’t stand out to me like the one time I went to JMU.
Sit down and figure out what your student loan payment would be after you graduate from JMU - it will be an eye opener.
I totally understand liking The vibe of JMU better, but there is a lot to be said for graduating debt free.
Do you feel like you’d struggle st PSU or you just don’t prefer it?
You can’t borrow more than the standard federal student loans on your own, which means you can’t end up in 50-60k of debt unless someone is crazy enough to co-sign those loans with you.
Go to Penn State. Use their career center and phenomenal alumni network to find summer internships in the south. That will set you up to find a first career position in a warmer-than-PA location.
@Leigh22 I’m not calling myself dumb, or doubting my ability, but I would have to maintain a 3.7 GPA to be admitted to be a finance major. I’m just not too sure I would be able to maintain that GPA, and that is my main worry about Penn State.
@seahawks3 at the end it’s your choice and your parents who have to co-sign. I wouldn’t sign any loan if my kid had a free ride… I hear these nightmares about these student loans and wouldn’t want that for my kids.
With debt you will rush for a job to pay for your debt even if it’s a low paying job… just remember there are hidden costs in those four years… sports tickets, traveling with friends… overseas studies… school sponsored trips… non pay internships… keep that extra cash for that
@airway1 , double check that stat. I thought it was a 3.5. I’d do PSU and just not screw around. Hit the ground running, go to office hours, don’t skip classs, etc.
@Sophley Yeah it’s a 3.5, for some reason I thought it was a 3.7. Only worry is not being able to reach that mark.
@seahawks3 - To get to the COB 300 level at JMU, you likewise need a minimum GPA in business prerequisites. Looks like a 2.7. https://www.jmu.edu/cob/finance/_files/major-fact-sheet-finance.pdf
Are your parents okay with taking a loan for you? Ask them directly. If not, the question is moot.
Have you taken Precalculus or calculus? AP econ? What were your grades in those?
Where are you with foreign language?
Have you applied to Schreyer or been invited to Sapphire?
This would help figuring out if you run a risk due to the high GPA required (3.5 is very high in college).
All in all, it should seem like a no-brainer though.
Have you spent an admitted students day there or even participated in an overnight?
@seahawks3 - do note that most employers would want to see at least a 3.0 overall GPA at graduation. I hope this helps make your decision. As a prospective finance major - look into the numbers (both any debt you accrue but also the kind of job you could land to pay off that debt without undue burden to you - or your parents).
@seahawks3 My S is in the same boat. JMU was an afterthought stop on a road trip to see UVA, William & Mary, etc. We all absolutely fell in love with JMU!!! I think we visited around 20 campuses all in all and JMU stood out as the overall winner! You are right, the vibe is electric. The campus is amazing. The town has both a funky, hip downtown side and a brand new big-box-get-whatever-you-need stores side. It was the whole package for us. My S got into the Honors College there, but it is a tough choice for all the same reasons you mentioned. He’s still waiting for 2 more schools, but he has to choose between JMU and PSU/Univ of Richmond/UMiami/UMD Honors and Florida State which he received an out of state tuition waiver so that one would be the cheapest and in the state he wants to end up in after graduation! I am looking forward to any other opinions because like you, JMU appears to be our ideal college experience we would want for our son, even though its not the most prestigious.
Depends on major of course.
If cost is the same Richmond if you want smaller and Miami all around excellence and location in coral gables. Beautiful.
If cost is not equal. FSU umd and psu would be great. For business I would go to psu. For sciences and engineering it would be umd. For campus and collegiate experience. ie sports weather and spirit. FSU.
That being said. Academically they are all big time schools.
I went to JMU. My wife went to JMU. My son is a freshman at JMU. As you might expect, I’m a big JMU fan.
All that being said, living debt free after graduation is an advantage that shouldn’t be squandered.
JMU was slightly more expensive than my son’s most affordable option. Therefore, he’ll graduate with some debt, but no where near what you’re considering. If the difference was $50k+ he wouldn’t be in VA.
Was JMU worth the extra money to us? I’m happy to say that things have worked out exceptionally well. Our fear going into last Fall was that he’d have a hard time assimilating 500+ miles from home with no friends, or even acquaintances to lean on. JMU does an amazing job during it’s 5 day orientation. Some of the students he met during those first 5 days then invited him to various on-campus organization information sessions. Those led to him joining 2 very different clubs. Within weeks he had settled in, found his circle of friends, and it’s been smooth sailing ever since.
I wouldn’t pay $50k for that, though. I wouldn’t let him take on $50k for that.
I would advise you to attend Penn State. Good luck no matter what you decide.
You can’t be 40-50k in debt. You can borrow 5.5k for Freshman year. With that loan, can you attend JMU?
Yes there’s a difference between the two universities in that Finance (unlike many careers)) cares about prestige and JMU graduates have to compete with UVA, W&M, VTech whereas Penn State is the state’s flagship.
However if you don’t think you can get a 3.5 at Penn State then you can’t be a finance major at all.
Note that although a 2.7 is sufficient to get into the major at JMU you need 3+ (/3.3) for internships.
@MYOS1634 I was talking about after college, I would have around 40-50k to pay off. Even with that loan it still wouldn’t be enough to sway my decision in terms of money. And in terms of prestige, not sure if it matters, I plan to move down south to the Virginia/Carolina’s’ region. And as you also said, my main concern is obtaining a 3.5, I could always transfer if I cannot reach that mark but it’s a whole other headache.
Wrt debt: yes I understood that you meant 40-50k after graduation but you’re allowed a 5.5k loan for freshman year, then a 6.5k loan, then 7.5k each of junior and senior years, total 27k, 31k with interest, which is what a college graduate can reasonably expect to be able to pay back over 10 years. You can’t borrow 40-50k.
So, your first problem is to find the missing money between the 27k total you’re allowed to borrow and the 40-50k you need.