<p>Just got weirder. My S who was waitlisted at JMU just got admitted to UVA. Go figure!</p>
<p>MadMarv, Congratulations to your S on UVA! I am guessing, but I really think that your S and Nolan, perhaps did not get into JMU b/c they were thinking that students with stats like your son's are using JMU as a safety. Do you think that is the reason? I cannot think of any other reason why your son did not get in. As far as Nolan commenting about a couple of low grades in the 4 years of hs, I really don't think that was reason for not getting admitted. I would think that with the average gpa at JMU being a 3.6 or 3.7, there are some Cs or a D on the record of many accepted students. Most students are not perfect, and JMU is a good school, but it is certainly not UVA.</p>
<p>I applied to Northwestenr, McGill, Brown (reject), Tulane (in,) Miami (florida--in musically AND academically, WEIRDER YET is it's much harder than jmu for music, hmm,) pomona, bucknell (reject,) case western (reject only from music BLAH,) and yeah.</p>
<p>My D was rejected from Ithaca,Penn State. Offered minor in music at JMU with chance to talk to faculty in fall about major. What does that mean? Also offered minor from Susquehanna and chance to reaudition later. Still wating on Shenandoah, Montclair and Wilkes. Bucknell I know of, she almost applied there. Are you vocal performance? JMU was only looking at 20 vocal performance majors this year, only accepted 12 last year. Her voice teacher is telling us that it is very difficult for a soprano. Not sure about this? Let us know how you make out. Sounds like you are in Miami, I would say take what you can get and make the best of it. You can always get more experience and transfer if needed. Some of the best musicians have no college. Do Not give up, this is a hard field. I had to limit my D due to finances.</p>
<p>Northeatmom and MadMarv: The discussion on JMU/UVA is really curious...IMO, JMU had become more competitive which students/parents have not anticipated. My D is in the VA Governor's School and a few of her classmates have been rejected/waitlisted from JMU - and they're in shock. In regard to UVA, I attended an admissions seminar last year where the rep flatly stated, "Don't get C's." They're looking for A/B's - preferably all A's. Maybe JMU is taking the same position... UVA is also making every effort to diversify its class. Hence, maybe UVA takes the notion of holistically considering each application more consciously than everyone else (?) UVA has acquired a reputation over the years - but that doesn't diminish the quality of education at JMU or other schools, IMO. Anyway, just my two cents on this discussion... Best of luck to your kids!</p>
<p>Add me to the list of those rejected by JMU (and Tech). Wasn't a total surprise. I knew my stats were weak. I think it's premature for folks to compare JMU to UVA, though -- or even to VA Tech. Although I was disappointed to be rejected by Tech, I felt indifferent to JMU. First of all, the campus is split totally in half by a major highway. There is not enough student housing, and the campus is an odd, mismatched collection of architectural styles. To get around after freshman year, you either have to wait for buses to take you back and forth across the highway, or you have to own a car -- and there is not enough student parking. Most of my friends wanted to go there because of its reputation as a party school.</p>
<p>I have two other good offers, or I might wait a year and transfer to Tech. Crying no tears over JMU, though.</p>
<p>I wonder how much the major for which you are applying impacts your admissions decision? Obviously programs for which there is an audition (such as music), have a slightly different admissions process than a program without an audition or portfolio review, but I wonder about other majors like English, History, Math, or even undecided?</p>
<p>Kat, I don't think major matters much where there are no auditions/portfolio requirements. I only say this b/c I spoke with an accepted student last summer who applied as a geography major (I am pretty sure that was her major), and was easily able to switch it to psychology over the summer, just a couple of months after being admitted. Majors within the business school for example require 10 lower level business courses in addition to core courses. After one has completed those requirements at the end of sophomore year (hopefully), one applies to the business school.</p>
<p>Okstudent, the highway bisects campus, but my perception is that the newer end of campus is bisected (so 80% is on one side of the highway). There is a tunnel that runs underneath, so one does not need to wait for buses to get to the other side of the highway. You do not need to own a car, in fact this campus was very well suited, IMO, to a student who will not have a car (at least freshman year). I agree that apparently parking is bad, but there is no need to drive around. Transportation is provided without extra charge around Harrisonburg, and JMU. Housing is not guarenteed after freshman year, but there are plenty of inexpensive apartments off campus. Buses do stop at many of these complexes, so again driving to and from campus is not required.</p>
<p>As far as parking goes.. I have never been to a college campus that has a lot of parking for non-commuting students. Most colleges expect that you will walk or take public (school provided) transportation to classes, not that you will be able to drive from class to class and park at each building.</p>
<p>Exactly. Also, many campuses do not provide any transportation, so one needs to have a car, or one is stuck on campus unless they are able to get a ride from a student who does have a car. </p>
<p>BTW, this is one of the prettier campuses that I have seen, and it is located in a beautiful area in VA.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if they get a list from Tech and UVA of admissions, and then reject some kids that are in one or both. figuring as you said it is their safe school. Also, we never did a campus visit (ran out of time). Might have been a factor in the "showing interest" department. But the reason these kids are applying to JMU is that it does have a good rep as a masters school. </p>
<p>VCU seems to work harder at accepting and recruting top students (My S got a letter from a dept chair in the E school, and I know of one gov's school validictorian who took admission to the guaranteed Med School admission program). IMO, VCU's rep is going to go way up in the coming years, as I think they are working hard to build.</p>
<p>
I have always wondered about that since I was rejected at UVa and accepted to Tech and JMU. Fortunately I was the only one at my school accepted to JMU RD so I will be committing there. Anyone else committing to go to JMU next year?</p>
<p>AAAND i was just rejected from northwestenr. so pretty much my music career is over. nice to have tried!</p>
<p>Jeremybeach: You have to be persistant in this field. My D planned on reauditioning next year if she did not get in this year. There is much competition out there. You could always go undecided at JMU and minor in music and reaudition next year. Try not to give up.</p>
<p>i won't give up haha. I was just in a really bad mood about it all last night. Sleep lets everything kind of melt away, so I figure that if I don't get into McGill Univ. for music, then I'll just go to University of miami (the only music school i got into-frost)</p>
<p>Someone who's accepted at UVA or W&M but rejected/waitlisted at JMU or VT is likely the victim of yield protection. I had a friend from HS who clearly fell into this category.</p>
<p>cavalier302 - I am so naive... do schools really do that?!? </p>
<p>It seems that they would want the "best" applicants for their school... college admissions is more than just stats... right fit and match must also come into the decision making process... could that be why someone could be accepted at a traditionally more competitive school, and rejected from a school perceived to be less selective?</p>
<p>Yes, schools really do that. I don't know the extent to which it's done by schools in JMU's range, but I know that it's common practice at schools like Duke, Cornell, Tufts (hence the term "Tufts Syndrome") and Emory.</p>
<p>Colleges look for the best students possible, but they also look for students who will likely enroll. A 50% yield rate is much easier to work with than a 20% yield rate. The fit and match stuff isn't too important.</p>
<p>I think VCU takes a different approach. They look at the very high stat applicants as an opportunity and offer lucrative deals. My S has a friend who got offered full tuition plus $3,500/yr expenses. For someone on a budget paying their own way that would be a very tempting deal, although hard to say if it is cost effective in the long run, as UVa, VT or Wm&Mary grads will probably command higher starting salaries, and for grad or med school admissions, pedigree helps a lot (but again VCU can up the ante by offering guaranteed med school admission). I really expect VCU to rise in the ratings in the next 10 years because of their recruiting.</p>
<p>Our family has lived in Richmond for 5 years, and the growth of VCU both physically and academically has been phenomenal. VCU is single handledly helping the near West End of downtown Richmond bloom into a vibrant and welcoming place. I love driving through there and seeing all the new bookstores, cafes and other college driven businesses spring up everywhere. VCU has been investing millions and millions of dollars in new facilities and updating old ones. The new School of Engineering is beautiful.
I went to UVA decades ago and didn't even know what VCU was. When we moved here I definitely saw it as a bottom tier school. Now I see it becoming more competitive and attractive daily. An intern at the office where I work goes there and one day when we got a fax in French which no one could read he started translating for us right there at the machine. </p>
<p>When I moved here I never thought I'd want a child of mine to apply to VCU. Now I wonder whether they can even be assured of getting in when they apply in a few years. The school is definitely changing, and this city is, too, with a lot of influx of new, highly educated people from all over the country.</p>