Hi,
I was wondering what the differences between these two schools are in terms of: location/academics/social life? I know that VT is slightly harder to get in to but is it a better school?
Depends on your major as to which may serve you better. Or location or price or size. JMU is smaller and not Div 1 sports, if that means something to you, then VT would be a better option. JMU has an active social life, but just due to size, VT has more. Both have Greek systems, neither school do you have to be in one to have a social life.
I applied for international business at JMU and communications at VT. The program at JMU sounds more interesting but I’ve also always wanted to attend a big football school so it’s a really hard choice.
I am a JMU alumni and have spent a good deal of time at Virginia Tech.
They are definitely different schools and in many ways it also depends on your major.
Engineering/Computer Science/Architecture/Agriculture/Environmental Sciences STEM based careers - Virginia Tech all the way
Education/Theater/Nursing/Speech - Definitely JMU
Business - its a toss up - some rank JMU higher / some VT - personally I like that VT has broader geographic influence with JMU being more of a regional reputation as a good business school.
JMU is going to have smaller class sizes - especially freshman and sophomore year.
In my experience JMU has you take a lot more LIberal Studies classes - where Virginia Tech pushes you faster into classes in your major and taking classes more specific to your future career (vs. JMU a more broad learing experience).
VT as mentioned above has a national reputation vs. JMU is regional
Having spent a good bit of time at VT the culture is rather passionate about their school - and I really like that (school sprit very high).
JMU - feels a bit more like a commuter school without that deep devotion (mediocre school spirit).
JMU scores high in being not so far away from everything else. Maybe that is why VT student are so spriited - they are all stuck in Blacksburg together. JMU you are not far from Charlottesville, Richmond, DC so feels less isolated (although Harrisonburg itself is no metropolis - but its in a convenient location if that matters to you).
What would I do - there is no answer for everyone. If in one of the majors above I would pick the school that does best in my major. If in a tossup category like business - myself I would lean toward Virginia Tech because there is just something in the water there (the culture is addictive).
Go Dukes! Lets Go Hokies!
P.S. My wife did get her masters at Virginia Tech so I’m not a complete JMU traitor! And my son was accepted at JMU and VT and will be attending VT in the fall.
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Thank you so much for all of this information!
I will throw in one last thing and that has to do with size. JMU is a smaller school. Some kids feel that size can be overwhelming in college and JMU is going to feel smaller and maybe more comfortable for some. Others are the opposite - my kids went to a rather large high school and their impression on visiting JMU was that it felt like High School (they wanted something larger and grander …. like VT).
Lane Stadium on a Saturday night …. there is no JMU comparable.
The number of students isn’t that much different though, right? I read that JMU has about 20k students and VT around 25k. I thought JMU was a pretty large school… I definitely dont want it to feel like high school
JMU has 20k UG and 2k G for a total of about 22k.
VT has 27k UG and 7k G for a total of 34k.
I thought my kids were taking it a little to the extreme - that was their words not mine. No it doesn’t feel like high school. But I will agree with them that Virginia Tech feels “grander”.
Ok, thanks for the help! I am visiting these schools during the 1st week of April so i’ll just see which one feels more like “home”.
I like how VT has an academic side and resident side to campus. Most all dorms are on the residential side of drill field and all classes are on the other academic side. Makes the dorm area feel more like a community.
JMU has this community feel in the Village but overall the dorms are spread around. And there are no restaurants etc. in the village. Where as at Tech in middle of dorm area there are coffee shops, convenience stores, restaurants.
Both schools ranked very high in quality of life though.
Niche.com ….
Virginia Tech #1 ranked best college food in country, #3 ranked Best College Campus in America, #7 ranked best big colleges in America, #8 best student life in America, #1 best student life in Virgiinia, #1 best college campus in virginia, #4 best party school in Virginia
JMU #6 ranked best college campus in America, #8 ranked best college food in America, #36 best student life in America, #2 best party school in virginia, #3 best student life in Virginia
So VT is above JMU in all categories except JMU wins for party school.
One thing to note, JMU does not have many, if any, Grad students teaching classes whereas VT does have quite a few. I had one son graduate from VT engineering and one from JMU (traiter) Geology (currently attending graduate school on a full ride plus stipend covering living cost) both have excelled afterward. Both boys were 4th generation legacies when accepted. Doing well at either school will open plenty of doors upon graduation. Both are solid choices so do not get too hung up on rankings… Visit the schools and decide where you feel most at home.
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choejrdn - let us know how it goes as will be interesting to hear your perspective coming in fresh.
Thank you!! I am definitely leaning towards VT but i’ll keep an open mind while visiting both schools. I also read that at JMU you are only required to live on campus the 1st year. Does this mean the majority of the students commute and so it does not have that “college feel” VT has?
Both schools only require on campus freshman year. Both schools are college towns so living off campus just means in apartments around campus still with other students. There is no difference between schools.
How difficult or easy is it to get into your major (CS in Engg) at Vtech since first year at Vtech is general.
It is very difficult to transfer into the engineering department. You would probably need straight As freshman year in some difficult courses.
Engineering degrees you primarily have to apply to when applying to VT and be accepted as a freshman. That means GPA ranges 4.2 and above and SAT 1400 and above to feel feel good about acceptance
First off yuore providing false info. JMU is a division 1 school, just not the highest I think triple A is the highest. And sports wise Tech is on the decline, where as JMU is heading up. JMU beat Tech in soccer and last time they played in football JMU won. Also tech has had a very shaky season the past couple years only beating teams in the lower division, while losing to any actual decent football programs. Tech will also try to claim it has a decent social and greek life which is a joke. They rely on radford for everything, such as parties and other social events. Frats at V tech are eh , at best (i’ve been around). And if you know anything about fraternity life if you let guys who are not in your frat into your parties, you just are not a good frat (Everyone at tech). Tech is also very overpopulated, and side note JMU also ranked top 10 in the nation for food.
I suppose if frat life and sports is your highest priority in a college, your views can be like the pp. It all depends upon an individual’s priorities. Engineering-wise, in our area VT will be looked at and respected. JMU will go on the pile when it comes to a first job. If one wants to stay in VA there will be more name recognition for JMU so that could work out just fine for someone. Of course, VT will also still be respected in the state.
Once working, what’s been accomplished on the job will outweigh where one went to school most of the time.
Talk about falsehoods.
Actually JMU is Division I and their football program is Division 1 FCS which is still division 1 but a tier below the FBS (this is just in football).
VT plays in the ACC a power 5 conference. JMU plays in the CAA a mid-major lower tier conference.
VT basketball went to the 2nd round NCAA basketball tournament last year in basketball and has the one of the longest bowl streaks in college football (yes went to bowl last year after some key wins like against Power 5 rival Virginia and Marshall). So much for the decline. And only beating lower tier opponents. Jmu basketball by the way hasn’t gone to ncaa tournament since the 1990’s.
Jmu played virginia tech 9 years ago and did win that game. VT stumbled out of the gate in 2010 and lost to JMU but went on to win 11 straight games including the ACC championship against Florida State and playing in the Orange Bowl. Post makes it sound like JMU is normal competition for VT. They have played each other 7 times with VT winning 6 of those and most likely would win another 6 of 7 now.
Jmu and VT have similar frat systems - all of which do not compare to proper frat system as in UVA. Not sure how jmu can criticise VT for their system. Pot calling kettle black
I gave all the rankings for food etc in my earlier post - and yes VT outperforms JMU. I did note that JMU wins for party school. So if that’s your priority.
I’m a JMU alumni and support JMU but let’s not paint an incorrect picture