CNU - A Parent's Journal

redbeard · 10-08-2005, 02:43 PM

This thread is rarely updated, so I thought I would include an ongoing journal of our CNU experience. This will help keep this small unversity alive in CC, and might prove useful to those thinking of applying here.

My S entered CNU in late August, 2005. His HS GPA was about a 3.0 (somewhat low, but our NOVA HS is rather competitive). He took two AP classes in HS, and his SATs were about 1140 (the CNU average). He also looked at VCU, Longwood, JMU, and ODU. His primary interest was psychology. He had significant extracurricular activities, including a lot of music, substantial hard work to rebuild houses in rural Virginia, and other community service and leadership activities. He was admitted in the rolling admissions last winter, after the school took a long look at his first semester senior year. He's our third child, and has an older brother at UVa and sister who graduated from JMU.

redbeard · 10-08-2005, 03:10 PM

Move-in at CNU was smoother than it was for my other two kids. CNU moves 1/4 of the freshman class in a day early, thus spreading the pain out among two days. We took advantage of that, and our move-in was swift and painless. Other parents, with whom we spoke on parents weekend, were equally impressed with the efficiency of the regular move-in day.

CNU's dorms are quite luxurious. The common areas are among the nicest of all the colleges we've seen. In the room areas, they do wonders with cinderblock. The main problem of cinderblock is the difficulty in acquiring a cell phone signal within the dorm.

We met again on parents weekend. CNU schedules this family event much eariler than other schools, after the kids have been at school only two weeks. This means that the initial goodbyes can be pretty swift, as we will revisit with anything missing shortly thereafter.

I was impressed that, by familiy weekend, my S said that most of his professors knew him personally. CNU really emphasizes its advantage as a small school, and this appears not to be just jawboning. There are no large lecture halls on campus; all classes are small. I met far many more faculty members than I have on other schools' family weekends.

By fall "break" (Columbus Day weekend), my S says that every professor knows his name. He is doing well in some classes, and in some he has more work to do. He is worried about a mid-term that's coming up, but he knows that he will have to work to get results.

I'm most impressed that the school has shown my S that the 'system' works. You read the text, you go to class, you ask for help when you're having trouble, and your grades are good--sometimes great. Of course, according to S, not everyone has internalized this consequential sequence. We both chuckled at the kids who don't go to class and don't study, but wonder why their mid-term grades are a problem. Oh well, college is a learning process--I wish those kids well also. I just hope they discover the library and the writing center before too much damage is done.

Interestingly, midterms are available online. (Did any CNU parent reading this not know this? I may be letting the cat out of the bag!)

The biggest disappointment so far is the "deadness" of the campus on weekends. My S says that there seems to be hours on weekends when there's just nothing to do. Here, CNU suffers from its small size.

I'll try to update in a few more weeks. So far our general experience is positive--especially compared with the other two (fine) universities I send tuition checks to.

tron123 · 10-10-2005, 11:15 PM

i go to cnu and it seems like most people dont enjoy it
im trying to transfer
campus food is bad
dorms good
smallness bad
nothing to do on campus
etc

michaelb1 · 10-15-2005, 02:56 AM

I am considering the BS Information Science degree.
I am active duty Coast Guard on a 2 yr scholarship. My plan is to finish my degree there in that time (full time every semester and summers)

I'd appreciate any input that would give me some idea of what this school is like before I bother doing all the paperwork for my scholarship, application etc.

redbeard · 10-16-2005, 06:04 PM

I'm not sure if you intend to go to school while you're on active duty. I'm not sure this is possible, but you need to work out the details. If CNU is your only choice, then there's no real reason to compare, but here goes...

There are a few things you might consider. Academically, CNU is a quality product. It's challenging, but you will get to know your professors personally. The campus is new, so the physical plant is well designed--you don't have to worry about tiny dorm rooms or maintenance headaches. There are no large lectures.

On the down side, the small size tends to limit the "university" atmosphere. In fact, CNU is a university in name only. Universities have a large, diverse student population and a lot of things going on: socially, culturally, athletically, etc. CNU has some of that with the new Ferguson Center, but not so much for the normal bloke on weekends. The the information sciences field is kind of general, not particularly well defined. (The sciences in general are not a strong point at CNU for right now.)

So it boils down to academic style. Are you looking for a full college experience or are you interested in just completing the degree and getting on with your life? If it's the former, you might be disappointed. If it's the latter, you might be happy at CNU. Where else have you looked?

michaelb1 · 10-16-2005, 06:59 PM

Thanks for the input.
I wouldn;t be working in the coast guard while going to school.
I have a scholarship that specifies that I DO NOT have to do any CG work while in school for 2 years.

After reviewing the catalog I am realizing that CNU needs to do some work on clarifying their requirements for the BSIS degree.

For example they state specific math classes required for the degree but then if you look at Math pre-reqs for some of the IS courses they have altogether different math requirements.

I am also looking at ODU.
My criteria for school is:
1-virginia or Maryland: as close to Porthsmouth or Alexandria/DC as possible.
2-Information Science or Information Technology degree.
3-not a ridiculous amount of math or physics. I am trying to avoid doing Math all the time. Ideally i would like to avoid Calc II or even anything above Calc 1.

redbeard · 10-17-2005, 06:04 PM

OK, that clarifies things. I'll grant you that CNU has some growing pains academically. Did I mention the sciences are not their strong suit? I think you found one of the holes... You should e-mail the department. They have to implement all these guidelines--in fact they work with them every day. They may have already issued clarifications.

Now, looking at your criteria, let me think:

1. VA or MD, close to Portsmouth or Alexandria/DC:
Virginia state schools: ODU & CNU, George Mason, Mary Washington "U".
MD: University of MD (College Park). (Not so familiar, but that seems to be all)
DC: No public schools worthy of mention.

2. IS or IT degree. GMU has an IT degree at its Prince William campus (some distance from Alexandria, no public transportation). It does not seem to be math heavy. Check out the department at: http://ait.gmu.edu/

3. Not ridiculous math or physics.
I don't see this as a problem. Info tech will more likely use discrete math, probability and statistics, and logic. There will be less need for advanced calculus (diff eq., linear algebra, etc.)

Good luck

redbeard · 11-04-2005, 09:52 PM

Well, we're now 2/3 of the way through the first semester. School is hard work, but he told me today that, unlike HS, he has completed every single homework assignment. And, it shows. He's been maintaining a "B" average throughout.

More important, he really seems to be enjoing the academic part. Either he brought it, or the school inspired it, but I'm sensing a real love of learning. There's talk about graduate school.

I have not had a chance to quiz him about his classmates: Is he alone in his success or are there others who are similarly inspired. Or, alternatively, do many of the kids go the opposite direction and enter a dropout/death spiral. It will be an interesting break.

redbeard · 11-04-2005, 09:54 PM

My son just registered for next semester. All the courses he wanted were available. What's more he complete the registration now, in early November. This is quite early. Another benefit of a small school.

New2this · 11-07-2005, 07:30 PM

Been watching your posts redbeard and happy to see some activity here. My daughter is currently at CNU as well and I have also noticed that she is very much into her courses, profs seem to know her and engage one-on-one, is already registered for the spring with her choices available, involved in a number of study groups which is a first for her and grades are mostly A's. This is great news for me as she wanted a DC college, extremely disappointed since there was no way to make tuition numbers work. CNU had a couple programs offering her $1K here and there so we gave it a try. She said she works hard but sees the payoff. She also said she's begun to notice a number of skips/don't bother to prepare students and the grades reflect it. Campus life leaves something to be desired as they struggle to become more of a university. After a really rough start, I am impressed by whatever has caused her to pull it together and make something of it. I'd have to say at the moment, the interaction of professors seems to be a key factor.

tron123 · 11-10-2005, 11:51 AM

i didnt get all the classes i wanted.. i got like 2 of the original 5 i wanted so i got really bad times/teachers

dont know if i mentioned this earlier but im trying to transfer out of this place to either JMU or tech

redbeard · 11-17-2005, 01:46 PM

Hmm. Tron, I think you will find those problems will follow you to JMU or Tech. Those schools do have better parties, though, if that's your preference.

For those who remain in the audience (both of you), I offer to pose questions to our captive freshman during the upcoming Thanksgiving break. Some of you are thinking about schools, and I can offer some good insights into "real life" at CNU.

This is important for CNU, because the school is so small. It seems you can throw a stick here in Northern Virginia and hit somebody from JMU or Tech, so information on those big dogs is pretty easy to come by.

So, let's try to work up a dialogue. You can get your money's worth from the CC subscription.

JayHova2k5 · 11-17-2005, 02:09 PM

I go to CNU as well, but I, like many, am in the process of applying to other schools as a transfer student. I could prob answer some questions though if you have any.

tron123 · 11-17-2005, 02:39 PM

there is little or nothing to do here at cnu.. im pretty sure id be able to find things to do at jmu or tech

razzledazzlechic · 11-19-2005, 10:19 PM

CNU is my third choice of four schools that applying to (the other being GMU, VCU, Radford-in that order).

Is there any reason why I should but CNU before the two other schools?

Also it seems like the school has been accepting a lot more people this year than in previous years, anyone know why?