<p>Does anyone know how much being a "legacy" applicant will help in the admittance process at JMU? My husband and I are both alumni, and are in the top 5% of Duke club donors. (We don't give a lot, b/c we're teachers and we can't...but we have donated every year and we are listed in the top 5%, as well as being long time season ticket holders.) </p>
<p>Our son has a 3.66 GPA (end of junior year) and has taken honors classes, AP US History this year (got a B, and APs are weighted here) and is taking AP Gov, AP Stat, and AP Environmental, along with a dual enrolled Psych II class senior year. Just got SAT scores back--not good: Critical Reading 420, Math 460, Writing 410. SAT prep here we come, I know he HAS to bring the reading/math up to at least 1200, right?</p>
<p>Anyway--does he have a decent chance b/c he is legacy? (Assuming the SAT score comes up) He also just came back from Boys State, where we heard a JMU rep tell someone during the College Day that Boys State alone will set their applications apart from the rest. </p>
<p>I would definitely look into some test prep over the summer…according to the information session that I went to, the three most important factors in admission to JMU are rigor of high school courses, GPA and standard test scores. Unfortunately, those test scores would put your son in the bottom 18% of the freshman class, according to the most recent common data set. <a href=“Institutional Research - JMU”>Institutional Research - JMU;
<p>another thought- since your son is apparently a good student but not a good standard test taker, you may want to consider having him apply to some SAT optional schools; </p>
<p>Also- what score did your son earn on the AP US History exam?</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, pamom…we haven’t gotten his AP score yet, but I don’t anticipate it being very high. I am going to look at test-optional schools; Christopher Newport is one, which I just found out about at Boys State. I didn’t even know that was an option, but I think it’s great. He’s not a good test-taker but I know he can do more to prepare for the Oct 1 test, and believe me, he will be doing it. </p>
<p>My question really is about legacy admissions…how much will that help him? I know a boy who just graduated from our high school and got in to JMU, lower GPA than my son’s, test scores may have been just over 1000 (I’m trying to find out what they were exactly), but he went to Boys State and was an Eagle Scout, and I think his mom may be an alumni. And I do not believe he took a very rigorous HS schedule of classes.</p>
<p>If you look at the common data set, it says that legacy is “considered” but is not either “very important” or “important.” It would seem that legacy is a factor that is considered but not strongly.</p>
<p>Thanks…I hadn’t looked at that yet b/c I thought it would be too overwhelming, LOL, but actually there is a lot of good information there. Just curious…how do you account for even a small % of admissions of students with such low GPAs and test scores? I’m guessing some could be athletes or others who are in possession of a talent sought out by the university? (Such as the arts or something similar) </p>
<p>Way back about 20 years ago, we had a student/friend who was not accepted to JMU. My husband called the admissions office on her behalf (she didn’t have family that could really do so) and was told that they accept a certain number of students in the lower percentiles as far as test scores, GPA, etc. So this girl, with her stellar application, was denied for being “too qualified.” I find that odd but I hear it a lot. Maybe that’ll play in my son’s favor though :)</p>
<p>He is also a basketball player, not Division I or II though—his only chance would be a Division III school, most likely. So he’s going to have a huge decision to make, IF he’s lucky enough to get the scores up to where they’ll need to be for JMU and is accepted…he’ll have to weigh that against any opportunities at a school where he can still play ball. Thanks again!</p>
<p>I’m guessing that admissions at JMU have changed significantly over the past 20 years. College admissions just have gotten a lot tougher everywhere because there are more applicants for fewer spots.</p>
<p>I’m not an expert on JMU admissions, but clearly in most Div 1 colleges when students are recruited for a sport there is less emphasis on grades and test scores. That could account for some of the bottom portion of the class that you are seeing with those lower GPA/SAT numbers. </p>
<p>I’d also consider whether it is better for your Son to attend a school where he is in the middle to top of the pack academically, vs. in the bottom of the pack.</p>
<p>I can’t really say about Legacy admissions. For arts program admissions, I am pretty sure that students must be within the regular JMU academic admit range. As far as test taking – has your son tried the ACT? Apparently some students do better with the format of that test over the ACT.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies. i wouldn’t say he’s in the bottom of the pack academically, per se, but i know he’s not the greatest test-taker, and clearly he didn’t do adequate preparation for the SAT. no arguments there. i would say he does need to work on study skills and test-taking skills, but i think in general that’s true of a lot of HS students these days. granted, you bring up a point to consider.</p>
<p>KatMT, no he hasn’t taken the ACT, I’m going to check into it though. how is the ACT different?</p>
<p>From the ACT website – “The ACT is curriculum-based. The ACT is not an aptitude or an IQ test. Instead, the questions on the ACT are directly related to what students have learned in high school courses in English, mathematics, and science. Because the ACT tests are based on what is taught in the high school curriculum, students are generally more comfortable with the ACT than they are with traditional aptitude tests or tests with narrower content.”</p>
<p>From reading these boards, many have mentioned that their child seemed to do better with the format of one or the other. So, it could be worth a try.</p>
<p>It appears that each of the sections on the ACT is shorter than on the SAT. And there is a Science portion and that English and Reading are separate sections. There is also a Math section and an optional Writing section.</p>
<p>From Wikipedia – </p>
<p>The ACT is generally regarded as being composed of somewhat easier questions (versus the SAT), but the time allotted to complete each section increases the overall difficulty (equalizing it to the SAT). The ACT allots:</p>
<pre><code>* 45 minutes for a 75-question English section
60 minutes for a 60-question Math section
35 minutes for a 40-question Reading Comprehension section
35 minutes for a 40-question Science section
</code></pre>
<p>Comparatively, the SAT is structured such that the test taker is allowed at least one minute per question, on generally shorter sections (25 or fewer questions).</p>
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