<p>We are in the early stages of college visits and have decided to visit Virginia colleges this fall. I was wondering what your thoughts/impressions were of the following schools. We are relatively new Virginia residents and dont really know the reputations of some of the schools.</p>
<p>University of Mary Washington
Roanoke College
Randolph-Macon College
Virginia Tech
George Mason University
UVA, College at Wise
James Madison University
University of Richmond</p>
<p>Well R-M only has 1200 students and Roanoke about 2,000 so they are very small also. (UMW about 4500.)</p>
<p>That is a very odd grouping of schools that have nothing in common other than they’re all located within the Commonwealth. Mason, UVA, Tech, JMU and MWU are all public state schools. Randolph-Macon and Roanoke are both private and affiliated with christian religious organizations (Methodist and Lutheran respectively). There really is no connection within the list.</p>
<p>Instead of a boundary approach, I’d suggest looking at what kind of areas of study your son is interested in and what level of academic metrics he qualifies for.</p>
<p>By the way, you just missed Mary Washington’s Discovery Day open house this past weekend. There’s a lot of work ahead. Good luck. And the CC is a great place for help and information.</p>
<p>We are just starting the search, and dont yet know what his parameters are. He has said he wanted a larger school than his high school which puts Emory and Henry at 900ish students out of the running (for now). We have no preference on public v. private and location as of yet (other than since we live in VA, we thought visiting some of the local schools was a good idea). Today (he is only 16) he is thinking of an International Relations/French major. I have run NPCs for the schools. There is something at each of the schools on the list that appealed to him. I am hoping for personal insights/opinons/experiences to round out our research. We attended UMW’s Discovery Day on Saturday and enjoyed it very much.</p>
<p>Since he’s interested in International Relations, would your son consider the College of William and Mary? IR is considered an especially strong program there, and it’s a popular major that offers many opportunities. The total undergrad enrollment of the school is around 6000; I think about 90 graduated with an IR major last year.</p>
<p>We envy those terrific VA public schools around here. My d also considered the University of Mary Washington: beautiful school where there seemed to be a lot of emphasis on and pride in the academic life on campus.</p>
<p>The University of Richmond is a private school that was also on d3’s list. It was certainly one of the most beautiful campuses I’d ever seen. Academically talented student body; expensive, but 5 years ago there was a generous merit aid program in place.</p>
<p>I would also suggest that you take a visit to William and Mary in Williamsburg. The only school that I have seen on your list is James Madison University. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this school everyone seemed so happy and friendly. The campus itself was very pretty and located in the Shenandoah valley a very scenic location. The campus was quite big but not too big more like a lower end large public. The academics are great not quite UVA or W&M level but great nontheless.</p>
<p>Please don’t misunderstand. I think visiting schools in Virginia is great and I also feel we are very lucky to have several excellent public schools here.</p>
<p>But let me point out one thing as an illustration. I have no idea where in Virginia you live. From here in Northern VA, take a guess which is closer: Virginia Tech or Penn State? The answer might surprise a lot of people. And it’s not even close. So, if you’re looking for schools to visit I’m just recommending to look a little beyond simply those that have VA zip codes.</p>
<p>As far as International Relations goes, sorry but I always take a jaundiced eye toward such aspirations especially now that I’ve just lost a colleague in Benghazi.</p>
<p>I have a good friend who is a professor at Roanoke (in her 2nd year). She is a young, newly minted PhD. She loves the school and has been generally happy with the academic level of the students.</p>
<p>Son would love W&M; unfortunately, his grades arent strong enough. GolFather, I understand what you are saying. We live in Hampton Roads and are limiting our visits to Virginia schools this fall (by attending their open houses) and plan on branching out next spring, summer. There are a couple schools in PA he is interested in, and also VT of all places. It is such an exciting time. :)</p>
<p>Randolph College and Lynchburg College are great alternatives for the less than perfect student. RC especially has very good fin aid due to large endowment and small size. They esp want more male students. Very strong international focus</p>
<p>I am putting in a good word for Radford University. It has a bit of a reputation as a “party school” and easy to get into, but our first one is there and it is working out for him. The upsides-- it is 10K student body, almost all undergrad, college town, inexpensive off-campus housing, honors dorm, diverse, new college of business building, etc. Big enough to have options, small enough to not “get lost”. As a new VA resident, you might hear negative things, but it is a good school, in a great part of the state. Give it a look.</p>
<p>I’m going to agree with you but also please allow me to clarify … Radford just doesn’t have a “reputation” as easy to get into. Radford’s acceptance rate is around 75-80%. It is easy to get into. Radford visits HSs and admits students on the spot.</p>
<p>I have heard very good things about C. Newport and Longwood. I would check those out.</p>
<p>Don’t disagree, it is probably the ultimate safety school and as UVA, VT, JMU, etc get to be more of a crap shooot–niece got into Tech, not JMU. IB diploma candidates getting into UVA but not Tech, etc. I think there will be a “rising tide floating all boats” wtih Radford, ODU, etc getting tougher, and unfortuntely some kids that weren’t on the ball from the beginning of freshman year will be “forced” out of state or to the CC route. </p>
<p>Visited Longwood–small campus, small town. Committed administration and faculty. I liked the feel of the place, concerned about size and options to change majors. Strong on teaching/music, etc. Son said too isolated and too small. Also has a day where you take your transcript and you are “admitted on the spot”. Can be a great confidence builder or if it is your choice–sail on through senior year!</p>
<p>CNU–didn’t visit, but neighborhood kids that attend love it. Strong leadership program and a good location. Very modern and new. </p>
<p>GMU–son got in, visited–5 miles from home combined with cost of rent, neighbors (people like me as opposed to college kids) when moving off campus led to Radford. </p>
<p>We are lucky in VA to have so many choices both public and private. However, there is a concern about the difficulty of getting into one of the big 2. Most of this is supposedly based on admitting OOS, but I hear the same complaint from Pennsylvania friends about OOS taking spots from Penn residents. UNC Chapel Hill seems to be holding the line, but state funding of universities is going to be a real challenge in the next decade.</p>
<p>Because of his interest in International Relations, I would suggest that you add American University in Washington, D.C. to your list…particularly if you are coming up to visit George Mason anyway (probably another 30 minutes east from there.) We live in Northern VA and my D is a very happy freshman at American…just across the Potomac River about 20 miles away. She is not a SIS (School of International Service) major, but I believe that American is well known as having one of the better ones in the country. They just built a gorgeous new building for SIS. Additionally, in her freshman class of about 1600, there are 48 states and 40 countries represented. A very diverse and internationally minded student body. It is a private school, but I noticed you had other private universities on your list. Selective, but based on our experience, probably comparable to JMU and VA Tech, at least for VA students. </p>
<p>I’ve driven to the area around the AU campus several times.
It’s about 20 miles from G. Mason.
Traffic is always a crap-shoot around here but I’d give yourself at least an hour between the two.</p>
<p>A lot of great suggestions. Let me throw one more possibility out there regarding his liking W&M, but not having the grades (yet). </p>
<p>I would highly suggest looking into Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary if he would be open to spending his first two years completing his core requirements away from Williamsburg. Richard Bland has a direct affiliation and guaranteed articulation agreement with William and Mary. It also is the only junior college in Virginia to offer residence halls. They are very new and very nice. The school has some really great professors and for some, offers a great way of matriculating to one of the top schools in the state. </p>
<p>RBC isn’t the only community college that offers the guaranteed deal either. All community colleges in the state of Virginia offer guaranteed admittance to our four year colleges as far as I know (given the student maintains a certain gpa and acceptable academic progress). It is a great deal and plan for many kids. Just food for thought. Good luck to you as you start this process- Enjoy it!</p>
<p>Great advice from K&Ksmom. We looked at the Richard Bland option since it was a mutual agreement that our son get his higher education away from home! It appeared to be a real good option to attending local CC. The CC agreement in VA is a great way to get to the school of your choice, affordable and most school counselors are versed in how it works. From my understanding it isn’t a guarantee to get into the university or more importantly the major of your choice, but dig deeper for details. On another note, I know several families that are doing the CC route but kids are leaving home for the Valley or community colleges near Radford/Tech. The kid gets to live away from home in an affordable area, be near friends at JMU, or other local school. If your kid is mature, has siblings/friends at nearby school this could work.<br>
Maybe one day VA will have a program like Texas A&M–they partner with local CC, kids get access to on-campus dorms (I think), sports tickets, etc. After earning associates, transition into A&M. They get access to university/friends (university gets student feees, etc as well) and it provides an opportunity to get the full college experience for kids that got caught up in numbers game, struggled a bit in HS, etc.</p>