I was recently offered admission to both UVA and JMU. JMU has been my top choice for a while due to their amazing Education programs, but UVA has offered me a substantial amount of money compared to JMU. I have also heard from many professors from both schools that UVA’s French program is significantly better. I like both schools but am kinda torn at the moment.
Basically, my question is, should I pick UVA (better French program, therefore better knowledge in my subject) or JMU (better Education program, therefore better teacher preparation)?
If you opt to do your work at UVA, you’ll have degrees from Curry School of Education and the College of Arts & Sciences. Both have fantastic reputations.
I hate rankings because they are based on some editor’s methodology and not the student’s, but Curry is the only Virginia school I see in the rankings for education put out by that one group people seem to like a lot. At the end of the day though, all that really matters is how you rank these schools. I would visit both and think about which school feels better to you. You’ll probably do better and be more engaged where you are happy.
I could put the best professor in front of you, but if you aren’t happy and comfortable, you might not get as much out of the experience as someone who loves where they are.
I believe UVa’s education program is a 5 year program that provides a masters. Last I heard, UVa did not offer a bachelors of education. For some people, needing an extra year would be a negative. However, if UVa is very affordable to you, the ability to gain 5 years of education and a masters would be a major plus. (UVa is a place where most students enjoy it so much that students who could graduate early, often do not).
I don’t know how financial aid works for education, but in another program, AccessUVa funds were available for the first 4 years. In the fifth year, you are considered a grad student, and AccessUVa funds were not available. The tuition rates will probably also be different for the 5th year. However, other sources of aid may be available as a grad student.
Do you want to teach in a high school? If so, you might want to look into the job market. One test is to go to job sites for teachers and see how many ads there are for various types. Some schools have cut back on languages other than Spanish. I don’t know if it would make sense to study both French and Spanish to increase your employment prospects. In many states, most of the new job openings are in charter schools, which may pay lower salaries and offer less job security than public schools. You might also look at job ads for openings at community colleges and adjunct positions to get a sense of the market for an entry level person and to understand the benefits of a masters degree.
(Many years ago, my sister who was a teacher at a public school said her district didn’t like to hire new teachers who already had a masters degree because they had to pay them more under the union contract. Her district did pay current teachers to complete their masters. I don’t know the current situation.)
Another is that UVa has many international students. You have a chance to hang out with native French speakers. Both US and international students can live in the International Residential College.
