Virginia’s Colleges and Universities
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Anonymous
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New to this board. We are Virginia residents; AA so HBCU also under consideration
1. What surprised you most about any of the following schools? 2. What advice or areas would you encourage a family to more deeply explore when it comes to a specific school below: Four Year Colleges and Universities in Virginia: Averett College Bluefield College Bridgewater College Christendom College Christopher Newport University College of William and Mary Eastern Mennonite University Emory & Henry College Ferrum College George Mason University Hampton University Hollins University James Madison University Jefferson College of Health Sciences (now Radford University Carilion) Liberty University Longwood University Lynchburg College Mary Baldwin University(previously Mary Baldwin College) Marymount University Norfolk State University Old Dominion University Patrick Henry College Radford University Radford University Carilion (previously Jefferson College of Health Sciences) Randolph-Macon College Randolph College Regent University Roanoke College Southern Virginia University Shenandoah University Sweet Briar College University of Mary Washington University of Richmond University of Virginia University of Virginia-College at Wise Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Military Institute Virginia State University Virginia Tech Virginia Union University Virginia Wesleyan University (previously Virginia Wesleyan College; to become Batten University) Washington and Lee University Overall — Tell me what you wished you had known while your child was researching colleges. Undecided major at the moment. |
Anonymous
| You literally just listed every public college in Virginia. There’s no way your kid is interested in every one of these schools. They don’t have preference for small versus large, whether or not they have D1 sports, city/rural? |
Anonymous
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Random strangers cannot narrow the list for you.
We looked by SAT range pre-test optional and compared them to the T15 privates we were really targeting and only applied to the top two (UVA, W&M) as a backup. End of discussion for us, focus became fits OOS that were tops for stats or right under that level, as matches, to provide the right environment. Our neighbor had a kid who needed to be among the very top at college for fit reasons and a bad high school experience, and wanted a smaller school. UVA, WM, VT were off the list right away. They have thrived at Longwood! Every family is different. |
Anonymous
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Step one really is to figure out what the student wants to study -- if not a specific major than at least some general notion.
Most of those schools are fine for humanities or social sciences. Not all will be good for physical sciences (Chem, Bio, Physics). A small number will have engineering programs. Contrived Example: if the student wants some sort of engineering, that by itself shortens the list by a lot. |
Anonymous
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That is too big of a list.
Has your student narrowed down at least a little what type of school they want to go to? Size? Vibe? potential majors? My advice: visit several different types of schools so your kid can start to get a feel. Larger public, smaller public, smaller private, larger private, though none of Virginia’s private colleges are huge. Also, don’t assume public is cheaper. After aid, they can be comparable or even less than what you may pay at a public. That was the case for us. Since you list private schools, is there a particular reason why it is limited to Virginia? |
Anonymous
| I've heard great things about Randolph Macon. Happy students, close personal attention, and real academics but very supportive. It's very small, but if that doesn't bother your student then it could be a good choice. |
Anonymous
| I don't have direct experience with it, but every time I've heard someone talk about the University of Mary Washington, it's been extremely positive. |
Anonymous
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Sorry, but this post is ridiculous.
You have to actually do some work and start to narrow the list down yourself. You can’t narrow down the list based on random people on the internet. Does your kid want to be in a city? The answer will rule out a bunch of these schools. For example, if the answer is no, VCU can be crossed off immediately. What size do they want? Again, that will eliminate a bunch of schools. A kid who wants a small school won’t like VCU, VT, UVA, ODU, Mason or JMU. Do they want Greek life? Sports? Religious affiliation? Military affiliation? If they don’t know, then visit a few schools to get a feel. Also, look at admissions statistics. You’ve got some schools on this list that are really hard to get into, and some that admit almost anyone. Kids who have a shot at UVA aren’t applying to Bluefield, EMU, etc. So look at your child’s stats and the school’s stats to see where they have a reasonable chance of getting in and narrow the list accordingly. There are so many differences between these schools. Your child must have some opinions that shorten this list. |
Anonymous
Wait a second, there are universities other than UVA in VA? Are you sure? Reading this forum would lead you to believe that UVA is the ONLY one. Good for you to find a very long list amazing. |
Anonymous
No she listed every single college in the state both private and public which is even more ridiculous. |
Anonymous
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HA! Op, start looking up The Common Data Set on each one.
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Anonymous
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Start by looking at the SCHEV report average gpa and SAT for each school. You should have some idea where your kid falls in the mix and can cut some of them out.
https://research.schev.edu/enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp |
Anonymous
| The College Board's website is just one example of a site (use to anyway) where you can mark certain criteria (all Virginia colleges, for example) and then generate lists. You could choose ascending or descending order. Maybe you want to know: number of undergraduates, demographic make-up, % of full time students, % of students living on campus, % of students participating in greek life, % graduating within 6 years (4 years is ideal but they may only list 6 years), % that return after freshmen year. |
Anonymous
| I have kids graduating from college and high school senior graduating and...you need to know your kid's major and minor before anyone can possibly answer this question. Believe it or not, schools are good at different things. You need to know what your kid wants to do before you ask which school. |
Anonymous
OP's post is ridiculous but this is NOT true. |