JMU Visit Report

Colleges and Universities A-Z James Madison University
1

<p>Here are some impressions from our campus visit to JMU this week.</p>

<p>Overall, the feeling of the schools is very friendly and laid back. The campus is fairly large and spread out. There is an older section with traditional gray stonebuildings and a green quad. There is also another section with mostly red brick buildings which includes the business school and some of the older freshman dorms. And on the East side of campus (on the other side of 81) there are tan colored modern buidlings including ISAT center, dorms and the huge E-Hall (dining). The campus is hilly and there is a lot of walking here.</p>

<p>The dining facilities are some of the nicest I have seen anywhere. Our tour guide said there are 19 different dining facilities! The food is a definitely a high point. We had lunch at E Hall and there was a huge selection. A beautiful salad bar, hot food (fried chicken, mashed potatoes), salad, pizza, bakery and ice cream just to name a few things that you could eat for lunch.</p>

<p>As to dorms- we viewed an older suites style dorm in the red brick section. The suites are four doubles which share a small common living room. The rooms are spacious compared to what I have seen on other campuses. Apparently the newer dorms are even larger! The old dorms don't have A/C tho. Overall dorms seem above average. </p>

<p>After freshman year most students live off campus. There is plenty of off campus housing available and it is said to be very nice.Our guide said she lived in a 4 BR 4 Bath apt. Free bus transportation between town and campus. Also cars are permitted after freshman year and parking permits are an additional charge. Parking lots ring the campus which are used by students who drive from off campus areas. It is not a commuter school.</p>

<p>Students seemed very happy here. Lots of things are free, such as gym membership, admission to athletic events, rental of camping equipment for trips to nearby mountains. The surrounding area is mostly strip malls, there is a Target,K Mart, lots of chain restos etc. Harrisonburg also has a historic town center with some nicer restaurants, bars and music venues.</p>

<p>While the school is mostly in state (70%) there is a large contingent from NJ, MD and PA. Transportation home is a bit difficult for OOS, but there is an electronic ride board where students can get rides home.</p>

<p>Females outnumber males here. Apparently most males are enrolled in the business school...</p>

<p>These are just some random thoughts let me know if you have specific questions and Ill try to answer.</p>

2

<p>Thanks for the report. Wow, I didn’t realize that 81 went right through the campus. I now see that on Google Maps. Do you hear the highway easily on campus?</p>

3

<p>No. you can’t really hear the highway on campus. There is an on campus overpass, and you do not really get a sense of the highway underneath when on campus.</p>

4

<p>I’ll second that the highway is literally unheard from the campus and in my opinion makes no difference to one’s commute.</p>

<p>I love JMU.</p>

5

<p>we did not notice any highway noise.</p>

6

<p>pamom - you neglected to mention the freight train that also cuts through campus! Honestly - one of the oddest campuses I have ever seen - but it didn’t bother my son and JMU remains on his list.</p>

<p>My concerns - at the moment - have to do with class size - particularly in the intro classes freshmen would be taking and being able to register for the classes they need/want. For example, I saw a notice on the Psychology webpage a few weeks back about a waitlist for an intro psych course.</p>

<p>Were these issues touched on at all?</p>

7

<p>Rockvillemom - did you actually see a train on the track during your visit? It’s my understanding that they are very few and far between. I have never heard a student complain about it and it didn’t seem to bother any of them.</p>

8

<p>rvm- yes we walked over the train track- it did not seem to be much used. as to class size and registration- we did have an opportunity to talk with a student (not our guide) who mentioned that class registration can be an issue- students don’t always get the classes that they want to- but its possible to get into classes from the waiting list. I did ask about class size and she said most of her classes were small. Our tour guide said his largest class was 120 students; and the largest class at the school is an elective- history of rock n roll at 300 students…so- it is a big school and has some big classes for intro courses, but upper level courses are smaller. We peeked in on some classes in the business school and the larger lecture rooms were not filled.</p>

9

<p>about that train… Yeah that train is not a big deal during the day… However, it has woken me up on several occasions in the fall at 3 or 4 in the morning!! People who live in bluestone, lakeside, hillside, and the village experience this. Also, JMU thinks it’s okay to have leaf blowers blow leaves at 7:30 am. Not cool. </p>

<p>In addition, other nuisances are dump trucks, the marching band on saturday mornings at 8 in the fall and 5-6:30 pm daily band rehearsal. But, JMU is still an awesome school, trust me :)</p>

10

<p>Awesome was the word used most frequently by our student tour guide. It really does seem to be a happy place. My D really got a good feeling from the school and was smiling the whole tour!</p>

11

<p>Hi - no we did not see an actual train! But we did cross over the tracks and our tour guide talked about it being a good excuse for being late to class! He also related a funny story about how the train goes through campus very slowly, but then picks up speed. A student - not realizing this - jumped on - thinking he’d just ride for a few minutes and then jump off. But, before he could jump off the train picked up considerable speed and he was stuck on it until it stopped 2 hours later and had to call someone to come and get him. Urban myth? Who knows - but it was funny.</p>

12

<p>Haha I heard that same story when I visited in the fall</p>