<p>I'm wondering what are JMU's theater, psychology, and literature programs compared to those at UVA. I'm sure SOMEONE can help me.</p>
<p>UVA is on of the top public universities in the country and JMU, although well thought of in Virginia, is almost all Virginia students. The Fiske guide gives JMU a 3 rating for academics and University of Virginia a 5, so I think if you had the chance to go to UVA you would go. Any top school will have an excellent literature department, but I don’t know for sure about theater.</p>
<p>Seriously? No comparison.</p>
<p>are you from virginia? if you were, i think you would know that those schools are in two separate leagues. while jmu is a nice school, it can’t compare to uva, which is ranked 24 in the nation (us news top universities). if you’re out-of-state and have the stats for uva, i wouldn’t even apply to jmu unless you want to major in music.</p>
<p>Not even considering the dramatic difference in reputation, the high proportion of OOS students at UVA makes it a college experience more akin to a top private than a state school. Something to consider.</p>
<p>i agree with glassesarechic… most kids (75%?) at my school end up going to either jmu, tech, or odu (depending on their stats). the problem with jmu and odu is that your experience there is going to almost be like four more years of high school. i know atleast 50 people each who are freshmen at tech, jmu, and odu… but i only know five at uva. very selective, and therefore very diverse. very diverse equals better college experience (in my opinion).</p>
<p>I teach in theatre at JMU, feel free to PM me if you have any questions about JMU’s theatre program. </p>
<p>JMU is opening a new performing arts center in the fall ([JMU</a> - About the Performing Arts Center](<a href=“Forbes Center for the Performing Arts - JMU”>Forbes Center for the Performing Arts - JMU)) that will be home to the School of Theatre & Dance and the new performing spaces for School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The theatre program at JMU is undergraduate focused, with loads of performing opportunities as well as opportunities to direct, design, etc… in the student experimental theatre. </p>
<p>Fact sheets only say so much, but are interesting from a demographic standpoint. If you have not already done so, you may want to look at the following.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.jmu.edu/jmuweb/aboutJMU/wm_library/Factsheet_6-2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www.jmu.edu/jmuweb/aboutJMU/wm_library/Factsheet_6-2009.pdf</a></p>
<p>[Current</a> Enrollment, Facts at a Glance, University of Virginia](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/Facts/Glance_Enrollment.html]Current”>http://www.virginia.edu/Facts/Glance_Enrollment.html)</p>
<p>Can you arrange to visit each school? As others have mentioned above they are very different. I would think that many students would feel more at home at one than the other.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Visiting is a great idea. If the environments are drastically different, you should decide whether one fits you more. That may make a bigger difference in your experience than other’s perception of prestige.</p>
<p>JMU’s theater (and performing arts) is pretty well known as being a high quality program overall, a bit better than UVA theater. My D has applied to (and been accepted) for music (piano performance) at JMU but is still deciding between JMU and Shenandoah. I think she is waiting to see what scholarship offers are made in the next week or two. UVA is hands down widely accepted as being in a higher league academically, though I am not able to add any insight into the other programs you are interested in comparing.</p>
<p>Good luck on your decision!</p>