Opinions

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
1

<p>Hi I am from New Jersey and looking at going to a school in VA. I am trying to get other peoples opinions on schools in VA. I have been asking people from NJ what they think of the schools in VA and here is what they have to say:</p>

<ol>
<li> William and Mary </li>
<li> UVA</li>
<li> Washington and Lee</li>
<li> UofR</li>
<li> JMU</li>
<li> Virginia Tech</li>
<li> Hampton Sydney</li>
</ol>

<p>What do you think of this listing, is it a par with what other people think? The list is based on the perceived reputations of the schools by friends and family.</p>

<p>I want to study business and my list looks like this:</p>

<ol>
<li> UVA</li>
<li> UofR</li>
<li> William and Mary </li>
<li> JMU</li>
<li> Washington and Lee</li>
<li> Virginia Tech </li>
<li> Hampton Sydney</li>
</ol>

<p>This is based on rankings I have seen, with the exception of Washington and Lee but I think its reputation as a school brings it up over Virginia Tech. What do you think of this list? What should move up and what should move down and why?</p>

2

<p>I mean, WM clearly > UR, especially considering the fact the UR is expensive as hell for not being a very good school</p>

3

<p>I would say UVA and WM are at the top. They are very different schools though. Chances are you will feel more “at home” at one or the other.</p>

<p>Followed by UR (I don’t know what the tuition difference is between OOS at UVA/WM and UR).</p>

<p>Wash&Lee has a really unique campus atmosphere, and I believe is very heavily greek (like 70% or something)</p>

4

<p>You can’t forget VMI, U of Mary Washington, CNU or George Mason either. I think you much overestimate JMU too.</p>

5

<p>People up here love JMU. Kids I know kids cant stop talking about how nice everyone is and how the professor are really down to earth and actually teach classes(Don’t have TA’s teaching). How can I be overestimating its right in the middle? What would you put above it? From what I have heard of CNU it sounds like a lot of kids transfer out after a year of two? Is that correct?</p>

6

<p>Right in the middle of your list. There are dozens of colleges in Virginia that you did not include. But my friends who go there have a good time so if that’s your thing… And I’m not sure about CNU.</p>

<p>Oh, and VCU is another major one.</p>

7

<p>WM is about 40k all told OOS (tuition, room, board, misc expenses), while UofR is a base of 40k tuition, plus about 15k on top for room/board/misc, so it’s about 15k/year more expensive.</p>

<p>The only thing I know about JMU is that they have good food. I’ve never heard anything about them being such a great school, though they are a pretty decent one.</p>

8

<p>Talking about “reputation” - UR Business school gets some love from the Business Week Undergrad B-School rankings, but I have to say, there’s really not much recognition in-state. </p>

<p>JMU’s presence on the rankings is also a bit of surprise - JMU is a nice school, lots of pretty girls, but it’s basically a bit of a party school; academics aren’t a big focus here. Sort of makes me skeptical on their ranking of U of R (look at JMU’s SAT profile for B-school students.) </p>

<p>I guess if <em>I</em> were to make a list of undergrade “B-schools” in-state:</p>

<ol>
<li>UVA </li>
<li>W&M - (in my defense, this is more about alumni network / resources than quality of education. On that account, UVA/W&M could reverse…)</li>
</ol>

<p>For in-state students, the gap between the first two and the rest is pretty large - top-tier programs at state school prices …</p>

<ol>
<li>U of R - as I say, BW is very high on this, so I’ll go with that…</li>
<li>Washington & Lee - W&L is a very good school, but it’s not for everyone
5a Virginia Tech - these next two could go either way
5b. JMU </li>
<li> Hampden-Sydney - interesting school, but do they <em>have</em> a business school?</li>
</ol>

<p>For an in-state student, VT and JMU would likely leapfrog the privates - you have to consider “ROI” on your tuition costs …</p>

<p>Of course, this is an “overall” kind of score, each school has different strengths. </p>

<p>A couple of others were mentioned, UMW is a underrated, (but isn’t a “business-oriented” school more of a traditional liberal arts school), and VCU, while it does have a business offering, is more known for its arts school and pre-med curriculum than business. George Mason has a decent reputation for business, but it’s not really in the same league as the others - it might be, say, #8 or #10 on your list. </p>

<p>CNU fills a need, and is attractively priced. But it probably doesn’t really have much in common with the above list of schools.</p>

<p>(Thing I hate about these kinds of discussions is the generalizing that takes place; the top students at any one of these B-schools would probably be top students in any of the other schools on the list - so, don’t be offended by such rash generalizations as “JMU doesn’t focus on academics” - it’s relative, and is only designed to make a point.)</p>

9

<p>Oh yeah, I was referring to the “regular” list when making further suggestions for schools to consider. Sorry.</p>

10

<p>JMU is a good school, but it would never be confused with a top school like UVA or WM.</p>

<p>I decided I couldn’t go there when I attended a mock honors class on the European Union on an admitted students day and we were going over capitals… no one had an answer for Luxembourg, so I volunteered “Luxembourg City” (which is the correct answer) and more than half the people laughed. Wasn’t the academic group I was looking for.</p>

<p>They have good food, a nice campus (divided by I81), and a good party scene. Also home to the best music program in the state.</p>

11

<p>public schools in VA </p>

<ol>
<li>UVA</li>
<li>W&M</li>
<li>Va. Tech</li>
<li>GMU/JMU</li>
<li>VCU</li>
<li>ODU</li>
</ol>

12

<p>GMU is not on the same level as JMU</p>

<p>and Mary Wash is easily ahead of the gmu/odu/vcu group</p>

13

<p>I would actually put GMU above JMU for most things. It’s really improved in the past few years. Anyway this would be my list:</p>

<ol>
<li>William and Mary</li>
<li>UVA</li>
<li>Mary Washington</li>
<li>Virginia Tech</li>
<li>GMU</li>
<li>JMU</li>
<li>VCU</li>
<li>ODU</li>
<li>CNU</li>
</ol>

14

<p>Naturally depends on what you want to study e.g. for History WM is top-notch but maybe not so good at VCU. But overall </p>

<ol>
<li>UVA/WM</li>
<li>VTECH</li>
<li>JMU/GMU</li>
<li>VCU/UR</li>
<li>CNU/Longwood</li>
</ol>

<p>I don’t know much about the ones not listed here…</p>

15

<p>W&M
U of VA
Va Tech
Mary Washington
JMU</p>

16

<p>Not to be a pessimist, but what does tech have besides engineering and agriculture/forestry?</p>

17

<p>Well, Here<em>to</em>Help, VT has quite a bit actually. A Vet School, A new Med School, the largest amount of scientific research being done in the state, a top 15 school in interior design, landscape architecture, and industrial design, the highest ranked undergrad architecture school in the country year before last, the business school is in the top 50 and of course, one of the most important things- to many students anyway-is they have the top rated food service in the country. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>The OP wanted feedback on Virginia’s colleges for business I think. If he/she can get into UVA, UR or WM, I think those schools would probably trump the others for that area of study. Gotta love the options we have here in Virginia though!</p>

18

<p>That’s what I needed! Thanks KandKsmom!</p>

19

<p>When picking a school you have to look at regional job reputation and decide where you want to work. </p>

<p>A liberal arts school like JMU and Mary Washington are less likely to be noticed than the larger state schools once you actually apply for a job.</p>

<ol>
<li>UVA - midsize school with decent sized graduate student</li>
<li>W&M - small</li>
<li>Va. Tech- larger school</li>
<li>GMU/JMU- GMU is really big. 30k students with 10k graduate students. JMU is midsize</li>
<li>VCU- big school</li>
<li>ODU - moderately big</li>
</ol>

20

<p>JMU is by no means small. Way larger than ODU. Not certain your theory, Hulk. JMU, especially marketing, growing in reputation. However, I wish both my girls were at WM. Best school in the state, for me, in the country.</p>