Ranking Virginia Colleges? (Columbia: look for a job, construction, community college)

[Megadell]

Nova is a good one. I think all the cc's have transfer agreements though. Get an associated with a certain gpa and you're good. They reserve a number of spots specifically for Virginias cc's.

[jpktch]

I am a JMU grad who graduated in the 80's. It was not as well known back then. However, after moving to the deep south and now returning, my husband and I were talking about colleges for our high school son. While we think that VA has so many highly regarded schools and we have a vast list of choices, we truly think that in many fields people are not going to be looking so much as what school you went to but what you studied, etc. Unless of course, they are school snobs, then it might matter a whole lot. I would go where I felt I would be happy and where they offered the program that I am interested in.

As far as art and philosophy being useless, I can only gather from your comments that the NAME of the school matters more to YOU than it would to your potential employers. If that's the case, then go to Harvard.

[AdumaU]

Originally Posted by jpktch

I am a JMU grad who graduated in the 80's. It was not as well known back then. However, after moving to the deep south and now returning, my husband and I were talking about colleges for our high school son. While we think that VA has so many highly regarded schools and we have a vast list of choices, we truly think that in many fields people are not going to be looking so much as what school you went to but what you studied, etc. Unless of course, they are school snobs, then it might matter a whole lot. I would go where I felt I would be happy and where they offered the program that I am interested in.

As far as art and philosophy being useless, I can only gather from your comments that the NAME of the school matters more to YOU than it would to your potential employers. If that's the case, then go to Harvard.

Where you go to school does matter to your employer, at least for your first job out of college. Alot of the big companies are going to be recruiting at UVa, VT, and W&M and not the others.

[Megadell]

And you know this how? You're right though, if your school isn't top 25 your degree is worthless.

Your logic is screwed. If brand recognition is all that matters why aren't you just applying for the ivy league so you can name drop your college and expect that to be guaranteed entry?

[Bigfoot424]

We all know that opinions are like ***holes. We all have one. I know from experience that JMU has an excellent Business school that is both tough to get in and stay in once there. Doesn't mean it's a top school though. UVA and VT are certainly damn fine schools but a friend of mines daughter has an Engineering degree from VT and has not been able to land a job. She was an excellent student with excellent grades. Look at top CEO's around the country and you'll see quite a mix of colleges they graduated from.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

We all know that opinions are like ***holes. We all have one. I know from experience that JMU has an excellent Business school that is both tough to get in and stay in once there. Doesn't mean it's a top school though. UVA and VT are certainly damn fine schools but a friend of mines daughter has an Engineering degree from VT and has not been able to land a job. She was an excellent student with excellent grades. Look at top CEO's around the country and you'll see quite a mix of colleges they graduated from.

My 20 something daughter graduated from JMU and she and her friends from there all have very good jobs at some top flight companies in the area. Not a one is unemployed or underemployed. They weren't all business majors either. The school is very social which means most of the kids have strong networks to help them find jobs, places to live, etc. It's often not the hiring manager's school that matters so much as where the rest of the staff went. Many if not most of my kids' JMU friends got their first real jobs out of school because their fellow JMUers referred them. On-campus recruiting pales in comparison with social networking for landing a position. I'll bet if you looked into it, you'd find the average JMU grad did just as well or better in the job market as the average UVA, VT, or W&M grad.

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by Megadell

I hear Blacksburg is rural as hell. There's the school, a movie theatre, and a deer.

It's not that bad. Montgomery County has 100,000 people and borders the 350,000 Roanoke metro area. Not as bad as people make it seem. I enjoyed going to school in that corner of the state. Relaxing, great spring/summer/fall, low cost of living, friendly down-to-earth people (or "dumb hicks" as Northern Virginians call them).

[chariega]

People underestimate effort and actual social skills in landing a job. Where you went to school may be important, but there are still Ivy League grads who work for my husband (who never graduated college) in retail. Why? Because they lack the social skills and work ethic to make that degree work somewhere else besides the college lawn. If you put all your eggs in the "where I went to college" basket, you may find that you're back home with the 'rents watching Seinfeld for longer than you intended.

Social skills, humility and a degree of hard work<--a lot of that is missing with some of the youth these days (and I say that as someone who hasn't quite hit 30...)

[chariega]

Originally Posted by VTHokieFan

It's not that bad. Montgomery County has 100,000 people and borders the 350,000 Roanoke metro area. Not as bad as people make it seem. I enjoyed going to school in that corner of the state. Relaxing, great spring/summer/fall, low cost of living, friendly down-to-earth people (or "dumb hicks" as Northern Virginians call them).

or "townies" as we used to call them...lol

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

My 20 something daughter graduated from JMU and she and her friends from there all have very good jobs at some top flight companies in the area. Not a one is unemployed or underemployed. They weren't all business majors either. The school is very social which means most of the kids have strong networks to help them find jobs, places to live, etc. It's often not the hiring manager's school that matters so much as where the rest of the staff went. Many if not most of my kids' JMU friends got their first real jobs out of school because their fellow JMUers referred them. On-campus recruiting pales in comparison with social networking for landing a position. I'll bet if you looked into it, you'd find the average JMU grad did just as well or better in the job market as the average UVA, VT, or W&M grad.

My son is a junior at JMU and loves it. We have a lot of friends and acquaintances who graduated there and they have excellent jobs or have retired from excellent jobs. One was a city council member and is a highly regarded member of the community. It's all about what the kids make of the experience. If they screw up and barely scrape by then no matter the school they'll likely do the same in real life. Be it JMU, UVA or any other school.