<p>My friend has the following stats. </p>
<p>SAT: 1360/2000</p>
<p>Top 90 school in country (Maryland)</p>
<p>Weighted GPA: 3.8</p>
<p>Will have taken 3 AP's </p>
<p>Rigor is avg. </p>
<p>He has been coaching tennis for several years at a tennis club; but that is only EC</p>
<p>Very AVG essays</p>
<p>AVG Rec's</p>
<p>short anwser: No</p>
<p>I’ve been told JMU wants a well rounded student. Not just grades/SAT/ACT but leadership roles, held offices in clubs, community service, sports, etc.</p>
<p>He excels at SAT’s but offers nothing else? Just average essays? My opinion, your acceptance is much of what you bring to the school.not just past accomplishments. Regardles where you apply, you need to wow the adcom.</p>
<p>true. his top choice is Syracuse for Sports Management. Does he have a chance?</p>
<p>Offhand I would say no, and it’s scary – my son, in-state, also had 1360/1600 on his SATs; he’s accepted.</p>
<p>JMU’s website lists six things they consider, in order of importance.
<p>So by their order of importance, the rigor of the academic program and academic success comes ahead of SATs.</p>
<p>And your friend is out of state. Last year and this year applications to Virginia state colleges (at least, at the four my son has applied to) have been off the charts. I posted on the UVA board that this year’s acceptance rates will probably be around 40% in-state, 22% OOS. If you’re expecting the 65% acceptance rate that College Board says JMU has, it’s not going to happen this year; it’ll probably be in the 50s, probably no higher than low 30s for OOS applicants.</p>
<p>I read JMU accepted 12K of 22K applicants, so the accept rate is still above 50%. But definitely lower than in the past.</p>
<p>The problem that I see is two fold.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>OOS
The student is not IS and this hurts because as a state school they try to keep the ratio at a 25-30% marker. I know from family friends in NJ that JMU is becoming the next UMDCP, but the safety for UMDCP to them. NJ has incredibly competitive students. When JMU looks at OOS they look across the board, which ties into my 2nd reason. </p></li>
<li><p>Academics
Hate to say it, but 3 AP’s is not a rigorous course load, thus the question is did they take every hard course or the easier option of honors to sail through. 1360 out of 1600 says they have the brains, but 3.8w poses the question of how hard they apply themselves. Very rarely will you see a low gpa and high SAT, the excuse of poor test taker can’t be placed into the equation. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>The exception to this would be a ton of EC’s which would show they have time management under their belt by still carrying a 3.8w …Captain of a Sports team, NHS, leadership, etc. Coaching only one sport is probably the reason they could not justify the lower gpa.</p>
<p>Top 90 schools in MD, is not a big issue…it is not the same weight as top 9 in MD or top 90 in the US. I would think even for UMDCP, UMBC, Towson, etc., top 90 means nothing in competitiveness.</p>
<p>Admissions is not only about grades and SATS. Many colleges have learned that the book smart student is more likely to fail than the well rounded student with a lower gpa. The reason why is due to the fact that they already have the ability to manage their time and still do well. Freshman who have nothing else, but academics typically have a difficult time adjusting. The reason this occurs is because college is more than books, it is social too.</p>
<p>by top 90 school; i meant in the entire country; not just for the state of maryland</p>
<p>small things I see, which IMHO should not be a big thing but nevertheless may make you less competitive…</p>
<p>only one EC, not well-rounded
weighted GPA with average rigor, (DS got in with a lower weighted GPA OOS, but high rigor and many APs, plus 25+/work week)
Average Recs
SAT is good but not great
Seems APs are only Senior year - I’m sure many applicants already have a successful AP record under their belt</p>
<p>The good thing is, while JMU may have been your top choice, with grades/scores like yours I’m sure you have plenty of great schools to choose from.</p>
<p>What do you mean “SAT is good but not great” THIS IS JMU we are talking about, those scores are most def. great for JMU. A girl in my class who is in sped, with a 3.2, and 1200 got into JMU this year…</p>
<p>I know kids who have gotten into JMU with SATs below 1000 and three APs, but they are in state kids.</p>
<p>I believe SPED means that they had an IEP for educational purposes…3.2 and 1200 with an IEP is different than 3.2/1200 NO IEP. The admissions office looks for a well rounded class and a 3.2/1200/IEP is an exceptional student.</p>
<p>JMU this yr like other state universities are going to reap the benefits of the economic downturn. Kids who would have gone private or OOS now are thinking twice and that raises the allure for the school.</p>
<p>Additionally as a state they try to take from all over within the state…no offense, but I highly doubt a NoVA student with 1000 SAT was admitted.</p>