UVA vs JMU

[Twitchh]

Hey guys! I am still waiting to hear back from Uva, but in terms of difficulty/professor accessibility, quality of student life, and research availability, which would you all choose? Jmu stands for James Madison University. UVA most certainly has more prestige, but what I have seen from tours and from attending some classes it appears the professors are there almost just for show and don't particularly care about the success of their students. The social life seemed very unaccepting to people who didn't seem to fit into a certain mold as well. Any thoughts? I'm believe I would do better at James Madison as a whole, and be happier, but I would really like others input.

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[El Nino]

Hey guys! I am still waiting to hear back from Uva, but in terms of difficulty/professor accessibility, quality of student life, and research availability, which would you all choose? Jmu stands for James Madison University. UVA most certainly has more prestige, but what I have seen from tours and from attending some classes it appears the professors are there almost just for show and don't particularly care about the success of their students. The social life seemed very unaccepting to people who didn't seem to fit into a certain mold as well. Any thoughts? I'm believe I would do better at James Madison as a whole, and be happier, but I would really like others input.

Answered your own question.

(Snapple Fact) A large number of students who do not attend "prestigious" schools get into graduate school every year.

I never heard of either of these schools. :Shrug:

 

[Twitchh]

haha quick edit - "I believe*"

How have you not heard of the University of Virginia?

 

[El Nino]

haha quick edit - "I believe*"

How have you not heard of the University of Virginia?

I don't know, what is UVA known for? Sports?

I live on the west coast, so my location may be a factor.

 

[Twitchh]

Academics, they are consistently ranked as the second best public college in America (behind berkeley)

 

[El Nino]

Academics, they are consistently ranked as the second best public college in America (behind berkeley)

Oh, well, what most people don't know about Berkeley is it intentionally discourages its students from pursing medicine,for example, with "weeder classes." If you rather choose a school that discourages it's students' dreams instead of nurturing them, than by all means choose UVA (if it's similar to UCB in terms of it's rigorous academic reputation).

 

[flip26]

Hey guys! I am still waiting to hear back from Uva, but in terms of difficulty/professor accessibility, quality of student life, and research availability, which would you all choose? Jmu stands for James Madison University. UVA most certainly has more prestige, but what I have seen from tours and from attending some classes it appears the professors are there almost just for show and don't particularly care about the success of their students. The social life seemed very unaccepting to people who didn't seem to fit into a certain mold as well. Any thoughts? I'm believe I would do better at James Madison as a whole, and be happier, but I would really like others input.

I think your observations on UVA profs are a little off base. I did my post bacc at UVA, and the profs are extremely supportive of student success, and they are very accessible.

UVA is a tough school, academically - tons of smart students, and it is tough to make As, especially in the pre med stuff. No offense to JMU students, but the caliber of students at UVA is higher, and the grading is tougher...depending on where you are in the food chain, this may be a good thing, or it may be a bad thing...

Do know that if you go to UVA, expect to work hard to earn your grades. Certainly not for everyone...

Finally, I think my success at UVA significantly helped me in the med app process. I am in the fortunate position of deciding between several highly desirable med schools, including UVA, plus several nationally prominent schools - if you are in the least bit interested in UVA med school, I suggest you do some research on JMU grads and the success they have in getting into UVA med...the pre professional office at JMU should have stats like this for prospective students. Not sure but I think the data will show that VA residents who attend other instate colleges have a lower success rate getting into UVA Med than do UVA grads, followed by grads of William & Mary and maybe Washington & Lee, and VA Tech...if you are Virginia instate, you already know the pecking order: JMU is the next tier down (along with VCU, George Mason, etc), and you should realize that where you attend college will affect the perception of your academic preparedness at many med schools, certainly at OOS med schools who are well aware of the academic standing of UVA but may know almost nothing about JMU, and you will experience this even within the state of VA especially at UVA Med.

 

[justinbaily]

I agree with everything that Flip said. The best schools in VA are UVA, William and Mary and Washington and Lee, and I believe that those three would give you the best educational experience and best undergraduate reputation with which to apply to medical schools.

I'm curious as to why you think that you would be happier at JMU. By the way, I was accepted to UVA as well for medical school, so feel free to PM me about it if you have any interest

 

[Instatewaiter]

Hey guys! I am still waiting to hear back from Uva, but in terms of difficulty/professor accessibility, quality of student life, and research availability, which would you all choose? Jmu stands for James Madison University. UVA most certainly has more prestige, but what I have seen from tours and from attending some classes it appears the professors are there almost just for show and don't particularly care about the success of their students. The social life seemed very unaccepting to people who didn't seem to fit into a certain mold as well. Any thoughts? I'm believe I would do better at James Madison as a whole, and be happier, but I would really like others input.

Academics, they are consistently ranked as the second best public college in America (behind berkeley)

I may be a bit biased b/c I went to UVA back in the day. I have never met a person who was not happy at UVA. I know multiple people who left JMU because they were unhappy.

I felt the professors were very supportive and I really liked the social life at UVA. I will agree most people are very preppy there. UVA was preppy even before preppy was cool.

In terms of students being happier at JMU, I just dont think the data support that. UVA's retention rate is 97%. JMUs is 91%. That means almost 10% of JMU's freshman class leaves.

Not sure but I think the data will show that VA residents who attend other instate colleges have a lower success rate getting into UVA Med than do UVA grads, followed by grads of William & Mary and maybe Washington & Lee, and VA Tech...if you are Virginia instate, you already know the pecking order: JMU is the next tier down (along with VCU, George Mason, etc), and you should realize that where you attend college will affect the perception of your academic preparedness at many med schools, certainly at OOS med schools who are well aware of the academic standing of UVA but may know almost nothing about JMU, and you will experience this even within the state of VA especially at UVA Med.

In my med school class (MCV) there are 29 kids from UVA. There are only about 4 from JMU.

However, if you are going to be happier at JMU, go there. None of this matters if you are miserable at UVA.

 

[bigwill11205]

Okay, so I have to say this:

For the past 6 months I was defending JMU to no end, especially after visiting the school. I heard such good things about the school---how much fun people have, how nice the people are, how caring the professors are, how pretty the girls are.

However, after digging a little deeper I discovered some things that I really didn't likes: Yes, the professors are caring, and the people are nice, but it all ends there. I heard from students and have read that people party and drink ALL the time (not much to do in Harrisonburg), many students don't take their academics seriously, almost everyone there are tanned (fake) with blonde hair---a huge turn off for me. Also, I heard/read that the school is SEVERELY lacking in diversity; even the school says so.

So, I've come to decision that if I get accepted to UVA, I will attend UVA rather than JMU (where I got accepted EA). UVA is a tier 1 school, with great academics, nice dorms, nice people, diversity (I'm a black guy), caring professors. All in all, it's a great school.

Luckily, my grades are good enough for an in-stater to get accepted. And hopefully I get accepted. And I hope you get accepted, and attend. Good luck.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Academics, they are consistently ranked as the second best public college in America (behind berkeley)

It used to be ranked #1 till one of the state's governors cut funding to all of the Virginia universities. Then it dropped to #2 behind berkley.

For the past 6 months I was defending JMU to no end, especially after visiting the school. I heard such good things about the school---how much fun people have, how nice the people are, how caring the professors are, how pretty the girls are.

However, after digging a little deeper I discovered some things that I really didn't likes: Yes, the professors are caring, and the people are nice, but it all ends there. I heard from students and have read that people party and drink ALL the time (not much to do in Harrisonburg), many students don't take their academics seriously, almost everyone there are tanned (fake) with blonde hair---a huge turn off for me. Also, I heard/read that the school is SEVERELY lacking in diversity; even the school says so.

So, I've come to decision that if I get accepted to UVA, I will attend UVA rather than JMU (where I got accepted EA). UVA is a tier 1 school, with great academics, nice dorms, nice people, diversity (I'm a black guy), caring professors. All in all, it's a great school.

Luckily, my grades are good enough for an in-stater to get accepted. And hopefully I get accepted. And I hope you get accepted, and attend. Good luck.

You seriously cannot beat the value of UVA when you consider you will be paying instate tuition. It is a top tier university for tuition of $9870 a year!

I think you would like it there. Remember not to take yourself too seriously during college and have some fun too. College is about a lot more than just academics. But don't forget the academics either.

 

[bigwill11205]

It used to be ranked #1 till one of the state's governors cut funding to all of the Virginia universities. Then it dropped to #2 behind berkley.



You seriously cannot beat the value of UVA when you consider you will be paying instate tuition. It is a top tier university for tuition of $9870 a year!

I think you would like it there. Remember not to take yourself too seriously during college and have some fun too. College is about a lot more than just academics. But don't forget the academics either.

You seriously can't! It's an amazing value!

And I won't. I plan to have as much fun as possible in college! Thanks for the advice.

 

[PsychKati]

I just graduated from UVA in '09 - best decision of my life. I don't know who would say the professors aren't caring. Although I didn't go the med route (I'm getting my PhD in counseling psychology), there were caring professors consistently across the board. I'm not the greek type, and I still found tons of fun things to do and great people to hang out with. And if you're at all interested in research, I think UVA will give you much better research opportunities as an undergrad - the quality of the faculty is amazing. I am so glad I went to UVA as opposed to any other school in VA. I would say that one of my favorite things about UVA was the academic challenge, quality and variety of the classes, and the overall high quality of the professors I met.

 

[qwertyuio]

uhh i'd have to disagree.. consider this: the subjects are the same: same textbooks - same information, there good and bad professors everywhere ..but uva has larger class sizes, overly competitive premed students, and profs that care more about grad students. You'll have less research opportunities, and it will be harder to get close to professors for good recommendations. All schools have partying and jmu does party a lot but it is a party hard, study hard mentality...#6 in happiest students (princeton review). at the end of the day wherever you go the onus is on you - how much you learn and how well you do but i think your initial beliefs are very accurate

 

[tennis1234]

I'm a junior at JMU...so I'll try to be as objective as possible. Senior year in high school I wanted to go to UVA but got waitlisted. I never applied to W&M and was also accepted into VCU and VT.

JMU isn't really competitive, and it's fairly easy to get a high GPA. This is important to med school. This works for me because I thrive in non-competitive settings (or am hindered by competition). That being said, classes are what you make of them. You can get good grades easily, but it's a different story in actually learning and applying the knowledge. There are many smart people around campus. Throughout my years here I've seen more and more people at the libraries. What I like most about this campus is that you can take any class you want (for interest) because other departments and professors are extremely accommodating - you just need to get overrides.

Harrisonburg had bunch of stuff to do. We're in the shenandoah valley, so there are tons of outdoor activities. Massanutten (ski/snowboard) is a 20 min drive. Sports games will only get better. It's unfortunate that we're an FCS school, but our new stadium expansion looks awesome. The campus is looks really nice and the food is delicious. There are tons of pretty girls, lots of nice people, plenty of health related opportunities.

The major drawback to JMU is that few people knows us. It has the opposite of prestige (JMU is a party school). We had a massive riot this spring where police used tear gas. Many people drink all the time and don't take school seriously. But on a positive note: you'll never have to pay for a party/drinks...until you're the host. Also there's a major interstate that bisects the campus and sometimes trains come through campus.

Overall I love this school. I know if I went to UVa I'd get mediocre GPA and a little higher MCAT score. But I know I wouldn't have enjoyed myself nearly as much. The friends I've made here at JMU have been phenomenal. I couldn't imaging being with tons of preppy/competitive students at UVa. Very carefree people here, yet you got to make sure you do well academically and put that first. In the end, it's what you make of the experience.

Research is another plus compared to PhD schools. We only offer masters, so undergrads do most of the lab work. It's extremely easy to get into a lab you're interested in. My professor recruited me.

PM me if you have any questions.
3.8 cGPA//30N (11PS/9VR/10BS)

 

[NontradatBeach]

Ok, I have to weigh in. Back in the mid 90s when I was applying to undergrad, I was deciding between UVA and JMU. I wanted to go to JMU because everytime I had visited the school, it felt like home. Everyone there seemed so nice, where by contrast, UVA seemed to have a lot of preppy, potentially snobby people.

Ultimately, despite a scholarship to JMU, I chose UVA, knowing that UVA has a much better reputation academically, and that at a school that big, there HAD to be more people than just the highly visible preppy/frat crowd. I also suspected what attracted me to JMU was that some of my closest friends were there; whereas about 30 of my least favorite people from my high school were headed to UVA.

Attending UVA as was said in an earlier post, was the best bargain around for the education and opportunity it provided me. My parents, who paid for undergrad for both myself (UVA) and my sister (Yale), often tell me that UVA was a much better investment from their point of view. My sis wanted to be premed but got shut out of it bc of a forced bell curve in her Chem class. Had she gone elsewhere, she likely would have pursued med school. So, prestige can bite you sometimes too.

Happiness IS very important - you can make the best of an eduction wherever you go - but if you think you can be happy at a more prestigious school - then I think it's worth it.

 

[qwertyuio]

Yes I agree if you are superficial and prestige is very important to you and it makes you happy then uva is definitely for you hahahahahaa

 

[abelsova]

" Not sure but I think the data will show that VA residents who attend other instate colleges have a lower success rate getting into UVA Med than do UVA grads, followed by grads of William & Mary and maybe Washington & Lee, and VA Tech...if you are Virginia instate, you already know the pecking order: JMU is the next tier down (along with VCU, George Mason, etc), and you should realize that where you attend college will affect the perception of your academic preparedness at many med schools, certainly at OOS med schools who are well aware of the academic standing of UVA but may know almost nothing about JMU, and you will experience this even within the state of VA especially at UVA Med."

By and large, agree with your post. My sis went to Tech and not so sure the statement above is true -- at least if you're talking about perception of Virginia School's relative student quality.

Seriouslym, the implication that VA Tech is a "Tier 1 School" akin to W&L, UVA and W&M -- but at the same time that JMU is somehow akin to VCU, GMU simply does not bear out. If anything, one can argue that JMU is comparably selective as Va Tech, if not more so, and has a higher graduation rate. Certainly this has been the case for at least a generation of VA high schoolers...

Most folks view UVA, W&M and W&L as the legitimate Tier 1 schools in VA with JMU, VA Tech, U of R and Mary Washington as Tier 2. GMU, VCU, ODU -- all fine schools -- are generally considerably less selective.