Hi everyone! Now that you (or your children) are being accepted, or are waiting to hear, I figured I'd create a thread so you can ask questions of students that are in JMU now.
Please don't ask about admissions stuff (i.e. My son has a 2400 SAT and a 4.1 GPA, does he have a chance? or My daughter hasn't heard anything yet, what do we do?); if you have questions, ALWAYS check the Admissions website FAQs or email/call them. Don't be pushy about acceptance notification if you know it's coming out on a certain date; they don't like having to tell you again and again "It's released in April, we'll notify you then, thank you".
If you want to know about Honors, dorms, food, organizations, Greek life, anything like that, this where to ask it. Thanks, and congrats on being accepted to James Madison! We hope to see some of you as new Dukes in Fall 2012!
I do have a question for you. My D (who is currently deciding where to go next year) is thinking about the Ashby substance free dorm. She said she thought it would be good not to have to worry about parties/partying in the dorm at all hours and it looks like a nice dorm. My only concern is whether the residents of that dorm are overly religious/stuffy/judgmental. I think having this choice is a great idea, but I don;t want her to be stuck with people she does not like either. Does this dorm bond well? do they have a good rep/still have fun? At some schools, this is a great choice, at others it is very confining. Any thoughts?
@momofa12 From what I've heard, there tends to be a more "drama" that occurs because people in that dorm tend not to go out on weekends, and so don't let off a lot of the steam/tension they have. It's a great option for people that will have most of their classes on the Quad (English, languages, History, Comm majors).
I wouldn't worry about people partying all the time and being crazy; most people go out on Fridays and weekends, so she'll know when to expect some noisiness. Most people keep fairly quiet and don't make a scene, so if that's her concern, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. Even in a sub-free dorm, people will still go out to the parties and will still be loud and noisy at times; dealing with that is just a part of living in the dorms.
Last edited by jmadison2015; 01-27-2012 at 11:07 PM.
Reason: more relevancy to the question; typo!
@pamom59 I'm from out of state; I'm from New Jersey. My parents usually have driven me, but I'm finding a lot of people from New Jersey, so carpooling and getting rides home from others is also an option for me. Another option I have (but I haven't used), is the HomeRide bus. It costs $100-200 roundtrip, and runs for Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring breaks, and takes the students to selected locations. You're in PA; the ones I can remember are one near Philly, I think, and one in upstate NJ near the Meadowlands. Most people find friends and carpool for breaks; we have a Zimride "ride board" site where people can post where they're going and when, and others can ask for rides with them. If people really need to get home fast or live farther away, Dulles airport is the most commonly used one.
Last edited by jmadison2015; 01-27-2012 at 11:02 PM.
Reason: changed a cost value I included, homeride bus stops
Pamom59...D attends JMU and we never had to pick her up for breaks. There are plenty of people driving home to PA and NJ and finding a ride is easy. The furthest I ever had to drive to pick her up from a drop off point was 20 miles.
Hi Thank you for starting this thread. I have a question, my son, who has been accepted is trying to decide between JMU and UMD (still waiting to hear from them) and is interested in public policy/pol. science. UMD is closer to DC but I have heard there is a "campus" for JMU students in DC. My question is do you know how easy it is to be classes/internships there since it is (I think) 2 hours away?
Hi I have a question about "concentrations." I'm majoring in biology and I've heard a lot of people say I'm majoring in ____, concentrating in ____." I'm confused what exactly the concentration is. I'm on a premed track. Is it beneficial to concentrate in something? And info would be great.
@nymomof3boys I know the school has done internships for students there, but I don't think we have any established location in DC. Most people who do internships do them during breaks, so he would be working and staying in DC, not at JMU. I would contact the department head that governs his major and ask about what internships have been done, where, and how students have made living arrangements work. Usually they'll put in contact with students who have done internships so you can get a firsthand account.
@lizz2152 Concentrating can be done within certain majors, like anthropology or bio. If you find you're interested in archaeology specifically or enjoy molecular biology, you can "concentrate" in that section and take more elective classes that deal with that-- you still come away with a BS or BA in Anthro or Bio, but you have more experience in those specific fields. If you are planning on going into a pre-professional program, like pre-med, you will have an extra advisor making sure you fulfill requisites for that program; it is NOT a major itself, we don't offer a pre-law, pre-vet, pre-PT/OT, pre-med major. Concentrating is something people tend to declare their junior or senior years when they start getting into more electives and figure out if they like something specifically; it doesn't help or hurt to concentrate. It's just an extra line on your diploma, haha. Hope this helps.
And thank you Calvinsmom! It's very true, loads of people carpool and get rides from each other. I didn't know that like 2 people in my hall were from my section of NJ, so I've been having my parents drive until now, but I'll likely be getting a ride home from a friend come March.
Although, JMU is 2 hours from DC it has the same if not more internship opportunities as UMD.
JMU is a much safer campus than UMD. Class size are traditionally smaller at JMU. UMD can be described as a commuter campus, most kids head home on the weekends.
Both schools hava a large disadvantage in that if a student is not accepted into for example the Business school out right it can be hard to get in once the student applies as a sophmore. Any of the restricted majors have this problem. Also, both schools it can be hard to get out in four years.
Both schools are great, but students need to understand the pros and cons before committing.
I am from the Maryland suburbs, 6 kids have applied to both schools and have gotten in. Youngest is having trouble deciding leaning towards JMU as we live only 45 min from UMD.
Hey! I thought I would join this as well! I am a Freshman at JMU this year and a Political Science major and just applied to be a Media Arts and Design double major with a concentration in Journalism. I am an out of state student (from NJ) and would love to help if I can!
Trying to talk my daughter into the Honor Program. We both have a few questions. The requirement is one class per semester. Is that one class in addition to the standard classes she will be taking? I know there are specific dorms for these students. If she has chosen a roommate who will not be participating in the Honor Program, can she still room here with that roommate? She wants to know if not, would she get priority over another dorm? Thanks for the help.
