I’ll try to keep this short, and get straight to the point.
I got into James Madison University, which was my dream school for years, and I got a merit scholarship as well. I was set on going there, until I got into my reach school (I don’t want to name the school, because I don’t want any personal opinions/privacy issues). Basically, it’s a really good college as a whole (consistently ranked in the top 20 public US colleges), and the business school is great too, and I really love the campus/school. However, I can’t seem to make myself love it as much as JMU.
Also, JMU is cheaper and closer to my home (it’s roughly a 7 hour drive because I’m OOS, and the school in question is a 4 hour flight). But as a whole, tuition is not an issue, because I am very fortunate to have financially stable parents, who told me not to worry about the cost. If I follow my head (thinking long term business connections/name recognition, etc.) I lean towards the other college, but if I follow my heart, I lean toward JMU.
So my question is: is JMU a respected school? Will people see a degree from JMU and think that I’m a smart person, or is it plagued by a “party school” rep? Also, is the business school respected?
The business school is very well respected, especially in the DC area, which is a great area for jobs/careers, including the new Amazon HQ with maybe 30k positions. JMU alums have a strong network in the region. The program is very entrepreneurial, and JMU students/alums LOVE their school. It does attract very strong students, including many from NOVA. I’m not saying choose JMU, especially since I don’t even know the other school, just saying it is a serious place with some strong pluses. I will balance that by saying it would be less well known in places like the West Coast and Upper Midwest. Of course, there are JMU alums everywhere, but reputation is more limited geographically than a Michigan or UNC. In DC area and region, very well respected. Sounds like two great choices. Good luck!
I concur with TTG - JMU has an awesome alum network in NOVA. My daughter is a recent grad and landed a great position with a well-known consulting firm in the DC area. Yes, the Dukes are a gregarious fun loving group that does it share of partying (like many schools), but its grads “hit above their weight.” My daughter has more than held her own against grads from the big name schools - JMU’s COB is no slouch.
JMU is a little regionalized as far as well know in the mid-atlantic. If you leave the mid-atlantic area many people will not know a lot about JMU. That is one thing to think about if your reach school has a national reach.
However, I think the most important thing about undergraduate is feeling comfortable and getting good grades. If you feel comfortable and JMU feels right and you get like a 3.7 GPA. That is going to better than even a nation reach school where your not comfortable and get a 3.2 GPA. How well you do at the school is going to mean more than the school itself.
Also if your thinking graduate school - getting a good GPA in about any respected school (JMU and your reach school included) should open doors to getting into a good graduate school. And once you go to graduate school then your undergrad location doesn’t mean all that much.