James Madison University

I absolutely loved JMU. I just graduated there in December ('12). The education I received was not only of an excellent quality, but it truly shaped who I am now for the better. JMU truly helped me become an adult and a committed active citizen. I had great opportunities there that have given me invaluable experience, such as creating my own non-profit organization, working in an office, being a peer educator, and more. I applied to some of the top universities in the country (GWU, BU, and Emory) and got into all of them, and I couldn't have done it without the quality education I got at JMU. But of course, not everything is perfect there.

Cons: this school is inundated with white, upper middle class, typical American "hot" bros and biddies. There is certainly a white wash at this school and if you don't look like the typical JMU student, you may feel a bit isolated. This is especially true for the girls because of the way off ratio of women to men. This is coming from the perspective of a black woman with natural hair; if I had to stereotype myself, it would be a hippie health nerd. That being said, everyone is so nice and I didn't find it hard to get along with people, but I didn't make any true friends outside of my group of friends I made freshmen year. If you're not a typical JMU student, I would say definitely try to make a good group of friends early and stick with them, you guys will get each other through in a special and important way. But again, everyone is really nice, approachable, and open.

Pros: pretty much everything else! The campus is beautiful and well laid out, there are SOO many awesome student resources, the professors are great (for the most part, there are certainly bad ones), the academics are quality, and there are a lot of awesome opportunities. There is certainly a good party scene, but it's only exciting if you like to get very drunk in stuffed apartments with good looking white frat and sorority types. Don't get me wrong, I partied quite a bit when I was a freshman and sophomore, but by the end of my second year I was officially over that scene; some love it all 4 years.

The best thing about this university is that it is so student focused! During the search for graduate schools, I realized that many big universities with the academic quality of a place like JMU tend to be heavily researched based, at the expense of their students. My professors were incredibly accessible, overall friendly, and there are plenty of resources that the school put forward that ensure success. We recently got a new president (Alger) and he went on a listening tour throughout the university to create a development plan for JMU that will further launch the school. I got to be a part of this tour and there are a lot of exciting things that are about to happen at this school, it's a good time to enroll!If you're willing to put in the work and can take the overall homogeneous demographics...go to this school. I've met some of my best friends there, have grown into a competent young adult, and my degree is competitive. Myself and all of my alumni friends are incredibly proud of our alma mater and I can't think of any other school in the state that I would have rather gone to.

4th Year Female -- Class 2012

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Innovation: B

JMU was the greatest 4 years of my life. I would got back in a heartbeat if I could. I am currently doing great and have a job in my preferred field. The only suggestion would be to get an internship between junior and senior year. I did not and it took a while to find a job, unlike friends I know that had one and got a job right away.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

My first year at JMU was socially tough. I don't think freshmen should be housed in the village; suites don't allow enough opportunity to meet a lot of people. By the end of freshman year I'd found my niche and moved off campus sophomore year. I wasn't thrilled with all the required Gen Ed classes but in hindsight I have to say I learned a lot from them. The professors in all of my classes (but especially my major)were approachable, available, and seemed to enjoy what they do.

Everyone talks about the wonderful food and beautiful campus (both true) but a university is much more than that. JMU offers so many opportunities and it's up to the student to take advantage of them. I loved that everyone wore the school colors all the time. The school is the perfect size; not so small that everyone knows your business but not so big that you don't run into people you know. If I had it to do all over again, I'd still choose JMU.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000