James Madison University

I attended JMU for one academic year (2004-2005), and then transfered back to my home state of New Jersey to attend Rutgers University. There were many aspects that I liked about JMU, but I believe this school is overrated and I found many of the positive things people told me about this school to just not be true. I mainly tranfered because JMU lacked a solid science department (exluding their ISAT), and JMU didn't have the majors I was interested in (nutrition and biochemistry). However, there were also some other reasons that prompted me to leave this school. I'm a white male, yet I can't believe how homogeneous the student body and faculty here are. Everyone at the school looked the same and acted the same (almost all your typical white conservatives), and I didn't like the conservative atmosphere. Furthermore, almost everyone here considers a good time to be getting drunk, even on weekdays. I like to drink on occasion, but I'm an athlete and don't enjoy getting "messed up" as often as most people here do, which made me feel excluded many times. Also, if your not a heavy drinker or partier (partys run rampant on all of the off campus apartments) there is NOTHING to do in this area. It was also tough not to have a car (freshmen can't have cars unless they're in a frat or for a special reason) to get around, and my parents had to drive very far to come pick me up for holidays which was very burdensome. I also found the academic atmosphere to be woefully lacking among most of the student body. I lived in a dorm called Eagle, and it was the noisiest dorm ever and I could hardly ever study in my room and get a good nights sleep, not to mention the fact that the elevators always broke down and they always closed the kitchen due to drunken vandalism. This dorm also had no air conditioning, which was horrible when it got hot and you lived on a higher floor. The food here is also overrated. While it does taste good, most of it is very unhealthy at the main dining hall called "D-Hall." The rec center had great equipment and facilities, but is always way too crowded. While most of the faculty and staff here are generally very nice, I encountered some sour apples in the science department when I was trying to change my major. The campus aesthetics were great, but they weren't anything mind blowing like some people claim and it's not any better than many other colleges I've seen. Two things that were spot on about this school though were the girls and the parties. Girls were amazing and that is one thing I actually really do miss. Most of the people were friendly, yet they could be very closeminded. If your thinking of majoring in science or math here (excluding ISAT programs), I would go somewhere else. This school is more geared towards liberal arts and humanities. If your not a mega partier or drinker I would go somewhere else.

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Surrounding City: F

I will start by saying that the Geographic Science program at JMU is fantastic, with a lot of very down to earth professors and students. Classes are taught in a warm environment, and it feels almost too good to be true. As a matter of fact, the whole science department is growing and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it becomes tough competition with Virginia Tech pretty soon. Now for the school itself, I can't complain. It's got good food, a good bus system, things to do on and off campus, and a good girl to guy ratio. Some of the students though, especially a lot of the "frat guys" can be very arrogant and obnoxious though. There isn't a lot of diversity within the student body, so there are quite a few of these types of people. Student body is very good looking too, so if you're average looking like myself, you may at times feel very self-conscious. In terms of how the students care about school, it really varies. I've met a lot of very motivated individuals, but also quite of few that are the opposite. While I did get into Virginia Tech, I chose JMU over it because I felt more comfortable on the campus and it is more affordable. Now, midway into my sophomore year, I am happy about that decision, yet slightly curious to know what it would've been like if I had gone there, and if I would've had a better experience there. All in all though, JMU is a decent school.

1st Year Male -- Class 2017

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Surrounding City: D