JMU vs UDEL vs Villanova

<p>I'm having a really hard time deciding which school is the best for me. So far, James Madison University, University of Delaware, and Villanova are my top schools. I felt most comfortable at James Madison, it had such a beautiful campus and I know it has a good business program and I'm looking to major in Accounting. But Villanova is also beautiful and has an even better business program with an amazing placement rate after college. Villanova would also be more expensive for me. I felt that Delaware was somewhere in the middle of the two. Does anyone have any advice or any insight in which school is the best?</p>

<p>how will you pay for college? have you run the net price calculator at each school, which estimate what your family will have to contribute? what have your parents told you about what they can contribute each year? </p>

<p>My parents have not decided the exact cost they will contribute yet, but if I went to James Madison/UDEL, they have told me that they could afford those two tuitions. If i went to Villanova, I would have to take out loans.</p>

<p>in what state are you a resident?</p>

<p>and by “tuition” I assume you mean total costs of attendance, yes?</p>

<p>and you are aware that you by yourself can only borrow $5500 the first year, about $27K for four? </p>

<p>in addition to beautiful campus, job placement rates, and good business program, can you tell us what it is you’re looking for in the way of “fit”? what constitutes “comfort” for you? what do you like to do when you’re not studying? are you outdoorsy? do you dig big-time athletics? etc.</p>

<p>Ask your parents to run the Net Price Calculator at each website, and then talk through the results. Then drop any that look like they won’t be affordable from your list, and apply to the others. You can make your decision next spring after you find out which admit you, and whether or not you receive any financial aid.</p>

<p>I’m a resident in Pennsylvania. I like outdoors, I like colleges that have big time athletics, but that’s not the only thing I would base my decision off of. I like the bigger college feel, and I want a school with a lot of school spirit. I want to be able to be somewhere where there are cities around the campus, but they don’t have to be too close.</p>

<p>Here’s my stock response, OP, but your mileage may vary. Your ability to acquire a job after graduation will depend on your experience, internships, GPA, letters of ref, and interviews. That is to say, it’s not going to make a whole lot of difference to the employer whether you’re in debt or you’re not. And a couple years after graduation it will make even less difference. Don’t get caught up in the prestige; YOU are going to make the difference, not the school. </p>

<p>PSU has everything but the city. Pitt has everything in spades. Their prices are excellent in comparison to Villanova. Pitt is a lovely city and not at all what comes to people’s minds. I stood at the Basketball Arena at Pitt two Mondays ago and looked out over the campus from the top of that hill and thought it was quite pretty, although it is a city campus. That Cathedral has it going on. Lots of green space. Good honors program. Good business school with lots of PA networking. Hiking trails nearby, I was told. I believe Lehigh will come in under Villanova and has a good business school and a lot of school spirit, as will/does URichmond, which has a very good business school.</p>

<p>Then there’s Smith Business at UMD-CP. Great program. Not as much school spirit as PSU, but the B10 better watch out. In a few years, anyway. About 40K for you per year. Might be the most expensive. Jogging trails throughout campus. A real enclosed campus where the surrounding noise and bustle of the city is mitigated largely. </p>

<p>Am I getting warm?</p>

<p>Yes, I have looked at all UMD, Pitt, & Penn State. Recently I visited Pitt and liked it much more than I thought I would because I wasn’t exactly in love with the idea of a city campus. But as I’ve been doing my research lately, I’ve realized Pitt or Penn State would be better for me. When I visited UMD, i did not like it very much. I have been thinking more seriously about Delaware now because of the great location, too. </p>

<p>I have not considered Lehigh or URichmond just because of how similar they are to the colleges I already looked at. I have been trying to really simplify the list down.</p>

<p>You’d have to go to UMontana to find trout fishing better than you’ll find at Penn State. The hunting isn’t bad around there either, where there’s lots of PSU- and state-owned land to hunt. The trout fishing around Pitt is a couple hours away, in MD or at PSU, and I don’t think the big game hunting is all that good at Pitt. </p>