I will be attending ODU in the fall, but I already know it’s not the school for me and I’m really determined to transfer to JMU in my second year. In high school I had a 3.23 GPA and low SAT and ACT scores. What GPA do I need to get during my first year to make me competitive as a transfer to JMU?
There isn’t a simple answer for this. You essentially want the best possible GPA, and should be shooting for a 4.0. As you already know, ODU isn’t that great of a school, so if you are planning on transferring, you should just defer admissions and attend a community college as your transfer acceptance rate will be greater coming from a community college than ODU (unless you are really excited about living in sketchy Norfolk). Coming from a different university is more challenging because you need to have a clear understanding of why JMU will offer you what ODU cannot. This isn’t the case, necessarily, for CC students.
http://www.jmu.edu/transfer/VCCStransfer/GAA.shtml
^^Community college GPA is 3.0 for guaranteed admission. You have to carefully follow the other guidelines. Check the JMU transfer thread to get an idea of what admitted transfers had. Personally I would rather be at the beach than Harrisonburg. ODU would be a great choice for some majors.