<p>Mad Marv wrote:
UVa, VT or Wm&Mary grads will probably command higher starting salaries, and for grad or med school admissions, pedigree helps a lot </p>
<p>From my perspective as an attorney in a highly competitive industry, I am not sure that I agree with this perspective. Tip-Top students at a lower tier school will almost ALWAYS have the edge over say, top 20% at a more competitive place, both in job offers and admission to grad schools (presuming standardized test scores are high enough). I don't think this is necessarily fair, but it's true. I find that it's true even regarding job offers to those who have advanced degrees....employers will typically be more impressed with someone who was on law review, very top of class, etc., at a lesser known school than someone in the middle of their class at a very difficult law school, though generally the person at the more difficult school is probably smarter. I've seen this trend for over 25 years.</p>
<p>I think I'd rather have my kids shine at a school which is less competitive to enter than be one among many at an elite school. Just my view and experience.</p>
<p>constancet: I tend to agree with your perspective. IMO, a very bright student could really excel at JMU as opposed to an "elite" school where there's more competition. And a school like JMU has a lot of opportunity to offer the right student... Sometimes students and parents are too concerned about prestige but prestige doesn't always guarantee success...</p>
<p>Believe me, there are a lot of bright students at JMU. I realize that nobody has said that this is not the case, but there seems to be enough comments that give the impression that this school is not that great academically. This is not primarily a research based school. They are very much undergraduate focused. This is last year's freshman class profile from the website:
Applications: 17,765
Applicants accepted: 62.6%
Applicants enrolled: 3,748
Average SAT Score: 1140
* SAT mid-50 percent range: 1080 - 1240
* ACT mid-50 percent range: 23 - 28
* Top third of high school class: 88%
Freshman retention rate: 91.8% </p>
<p>Northeastmom: Yes, you're so right... The stats of this year's entering class will probably surpass last year's, too. (The calibre of student improves every year.) Some students in my D's VA Governor's School applied to JMU as a safety and were rejected, to their surprise. And students who were accepted to both UVA and W&M are opting for JMU and other schools.</p>
<p>I didn't mean to imply that someone with a 4.0 at JMU would be at a competitive disadvantage to someone with a 3.0 at UVa, Wm&Mary or VaTech, but rather, would be at a competitive disadvantage compared to someone with a 4.0 at these schools. One of the best students in the ivy league grad school I attended had been a top student at a small Catholic college in the midwest, and his subsequent career has been stellar. However, most of the class came from top tier state and private schools (like UC Davis, Ohio State, U Mich Ann Arbor, Rutgers (New Brusnwick), NYU, and Duke).</p>
<p>Funny story about the JMU "bizarre rejections":</p>
<p>previous to my JMU letter i posted confidently on my myspace page that i had been "accepted" to JMU predicting that this would happen since i had been waitlisted at UVA and accepted to VT, Mary Washington (honors admission) and Clemson(which i felt were on another tier of admissions competition)...One of my friends then posted a congratulatory note and i thus replied that i was probably headed to VT...Feeling guilty i changed my status at JMU back to "not recieved" and still felt pretty confident about an acceptance to the school but about a week later i recieved my denial letter.</p>
<p>I was shocked but felt like karma bit me in the butt once again...I dont know how this could have happened even a month after the occurence but it was the only school that i put my intended major as "premed" as compared to "biology" at my other schools (or they might have checked my myspace)...I have posted a few posts comparing VT and JMU trying to make myself feel better but it hasnt helped much...i deserve it though, haha...</p>
<p>PS I think that JMU trying to affect its accepted to admitted ratio is not the case because it is not a top tier school, but it comforts me to see that im not the only victim of JMU's change in admissions decisions (a lot of people with weaker stats than mine got into JMU but were rejected to schools such as George Mason, VT, and Christopher Newport)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Almost every high school has outstanding scholars who didn't make the brand-name cut. Mineola High administrators are upset that their salutatorian, an outstanding science student, was rejected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Unbelievable," said Principal Ed Escobar.</p>
<p>As MIT goes, so go other colleges lower in the pecking order. Guidance counselors are consoling students about rejections from Colgate, James Madison University and the University of Miami, which used to welcome Long Islanders in large numbers but have all become more selective in recent years.
<p>College admissions is more than just stats... and (quite responsibly) schools would probably rather go to a waitlist than have more students matriculating than they can resonably handle in their incoming class... </p>
<p>It is frustrating to not get into a school that you considered a back-up... or confusing to get into a school that was considered more of a reach, and not get into a school that was "supposed" to be a sure thing, but college admissions is unpredictable, and as a school becomes more and more popular, fewer and fewer people who apply will be admitted.</p>
I could sum this all in one word for you "Karma". </p>
<p>JMU is over shadowed by the schools University of Virginia and William and Mary for their longevity and prestige of the schools. As for those who say that they did not get it to their back-ups, Surpirse, JMU is climbing in the ranks and is becoming more selective.</p>
<p>blueazulim06 - You are correct, I think JMU is overshadowed by bigger name VA schools, but certainly climbing up in the ranks and becoming more selective. Any school where a 3.6 H.S GPA is pretty much standard is selective. I also think that college bound H.S. students have gotten more savvy about the process, and as a result are seeking co-curricular opportunities... that is making the selections process more difficult for universities. Back when I was applying to schools in the late 1980s there was a big dip in college age people, and we were not as focused on what we needed to do to get into a selective college.. that has changed, there are more highly qualified applicants, college has gotten VERY expensive, and as a result it has become much more difficult to get into a school that at one time might have been considered a back-up. Some people who get into more expensive private universities are choosing to go to the less expensive in-state "back-ups" this is raising the quality of applicant, and ultimately the selectivity of the schools</p>
<p>And big names are just that - big names. JMU is a fine school and no one should take an acceptance for granted. BTW, many state uni's out there have experienced a huge increase in applications and the competition to get into state uni's will become harder each year, primarily due to tuition prices which are becoming sky high at the privates.....</p>