I have a son considering James Madison. We are true New Englanders…wondering about the lifestyle at JMU…a bit concerned that so many kids live off campus. Is there a sense of community among students since so many live off campus? How do the out-of state kids fit it? Do VA kids take off home on weekends? Also-wondering about weekends and winters (weather/temps) He is deciding between JMU and UVM-extremely different schools. I know about UVM but not JMU.
Any of the kids I’ve known who went to JMU seemed very happy there. It does have a close community and good school spirit. The instate kids are from all over Virginia (which is a large state) and I have never gotten the impression that the school empties out on weekends. There are some apartment complexes that seem to cater to students. There are quite a few OOS kids for a state school-lots seem to be from NY and NJ, in particular. Harrisonburg is a nice town .
I am from New England and teach at JMU. School spirit and sense of community is high at JMU. The students who live off campus mostly live in townhouse and apartment complexs that cater to students, or in houses which ring the campus. So, while students live off campus, it is not a commuter school. It seems that most students stay in Harrisonburg on most weekends. The major in which I teach has quite a few oos students, they seem to have no trouble fitting in. Students come to JMU from all over VA, and most of the oos students come from NY, NJ, MD, and New England.
Being from New England, I would say the winters here in Harrisonburg are generally short and mild. Rarely much below freezing. Nothing like New England winter! Even when it snows it generally melts pretty quickly, which is good since they have relatively little idea how to handle snow here.
Yes, there will be some snow but nothing like you would see in New England. As I mentioned in your other thread about JMU, there is a ski/board club and they take trips to Snowshoe and Massanutten. Shenandoah National Park is not that far away . Good camping and hiking in warmer weather. There are also caverns in the area for exploring. As I also noted, and KatMT confirms, lots of kids live off campus in houses or apartment complexes. That is not unusual and I wouldn’t let the fact that lots of kids live off campus concern you. It is not a commuter school. It is in a nice, interesting area of Virginia. Good luck with the decision.