I am planning on transferring to a 4 year university after I get done with my A.S. in business administration. I was wondering, from any of your experience, which is a better school GMU or JMU? and why?

JMU has stronger school spirit. Having a football team helps in that department.

GMU,with its proximity to Tysons Corner, the Dulles Corridor and the District, has more opportunities.

What are your goals?

I want to get a degree in Finance but GMU feels like too much of a commuter school, i might be wrong though. I am planning on going in the military as an officer after I get my Bachelors. While serving I would like to get my MBA and then transfer back to a civilian job. I am currently serving in the reserve unit but I would definetely like to go to school with good school spirit as I never got to experience that in high school or at the community college. My GPA right now is 3.9 and I meet the criteria for both schools so I was just trying to get third party opinion/

I want to get a degree in Finance but GMU feels like too much of a commuter school, i might be wrong though. I am planning on going in the military as an officer after I get my Bachelors. While serving I would like to get my MBA and then transfer back to a civilian job. I am currently serving in the reserve unit but I would definetely like to go to school with good school spirit as I never got to experience that in high school or at the community college. My GPA right now is 3.9 and I meet the criteria for both schools so I was just trying to get third party opinion

I would give the nod to GMU here.

Again, the connections to the business world of Northern Virginia are much stronger than those in the Shenandoah Valley. JMU is a fantastic place, but your chances of success are greater with a GMU sheepskin.

If you have a 3.9, you might want to consider UVa, William and Mary or Virginia Tech. Graduates of the Virginia Community System are guaranteed admission to the Big Three and other schools in the Commonwealth.

The financial aid package at UVa is the best around. Basically, if you get in, then you are in. A way will be found for you to attend school.

JMU by a mile. GMU is commuter school.

I'd go with GMU Hokie, see if you can get into UVa, Tech, or W&M.

After that, JMU and GMU are about tied, while GMU's a commuter school, it's closer in for internships and the like.

The whores at JMU are way better that the tramps at GMU. I boned 30 chicks who went to JMU

Dave Wrote:
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> The whores at JMU are way better that the tramps
> at GMU. I boned 30 chicks who went to JMU


THATS what I wanted to hear

JMU's wrestling is better.

JMU has just as many connections to business in the NoVA area. Just because it's 2 hours away doesn't mean that recruiters are looking only in this area. They go where the talent is. The VAST majority of students never do an internship, so it negates the location.

The majority of JMU's classes are taught by tenured, or tenure track professors. Almost 70% of Mason's classes are taught by Adjunct Professors (of which I'm one). That makes a huge difference in terms of academic rank and reputation.

I've been teaching at Mason for 9 years as a part time adjunct, and there is a difference between the two student populations. JMU is almost entirely "traditional" 4 year students, Mason has a mix of traditional students, part timers, older students returning to college, who rarely get their degrees in 4 years, which means that their graduation rate is much lower (they may eventually graduate in 6,7,or 8 years, but that's not taken into account).

Mason is notorious for underpaying it's Adjunct Professors, which means that they do not retain professors for specific classes, which in turn leads to a lack of continuity. The same class two years before may have been an excellent class, and this year, is poorly run and administrated. The lure of saying "I'm a professor" fades quickly when you are averaging 7 dollars and hour for teaching.

If you are going into Finance, or Business Administration, you are goign to have to get either a masters or a MBA. In terms of academic reputation, JMU traditionally ranks higher in the Princeton Review, and various other "my college is better than yours" polls. I don't have exact numbers, because they make you pay for it, but if I recall correctly, JMU has always been a top 75 school, and mason was usually somewhere in the 200's. Granted, they don't compare directly, because GMU is a Ph.D. granting institution, and JMU is not.

Lastly, I haven't been able to check my email on the school's website for the past 6 months without seeing the large flashing "GMU, the #1 School to watch" ad that they keep touting. That always struck me as an odd thing to say, since it means that mason is on the outside looking in, and hasnt' "made it" yet.

Professor of Sorts Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JMU has just as many connections to business in
> the NoVA area. Just because it's 2 hours away
> doesn't mean that recruiters are looking only in
> this area. They go where the talent is. The VAST
> majority of students never do an internship, so it
> negates the location.
>
> The majority of JMU's classes are taught by
> tenured, or tenure track professors. Almost 70%
> of Mason's classes are taught by Adjunct
> Professors (of which I'm one).

(What is the source of your claim)

That makes a huge
> difference in terms of academic rank and
> reputation.
>
> I've been teaching at Mason for 9 years as a part
> time adjunct, and there is a difference between
> the two student populations. JMU is almost
> entirely "traditional" 4 year students, Mason has
> a mix of traditional students, part timers, older
> students returning to college, who rarely get
> their degrees in 4 years, which means that their
> graduation rate is much lower (they may eventually
> graduate in 6,7,or 8 years, but that's not taken
> into account).
>
> Mason is notorious for underpaying it's Adjunct

(DON'T YOU MEAN "its" AS THE POSSESSIVE PRONOUN ?


> Professors, which means that they do not retain
> professors for specific classes, which in turn
> leads to a lack of continuity. The same class two
> years before may have been an excellent class, and
> this year, is poorly run and administrated. The
> lure of saying "I'm a professor" fades quickly
> when you are averaging 7 dollars and hour for
> teaching.
>
> If you are going into Finance, or Business
> Administration, you are goign to have to get
> either a masters or a MBA. In terms of academic
> reputation, JMU traditionally ranks higher in the
> Princeton Review, and various other "my college is
> better than yours" polls. I don't have exact
> numbers, because they make you pay for it, but if
> I recall correctly, JMU has always been a top 75
> school, and mason was usually somewhere in the
> 200's. Granted, they don't compare directly,
> because GMU is a Ph.D. granting institution, and
> JMU is not.
>
> Lastly, I haven't been able to check my email on
> the school's website for the past 6 months without
> seeing the large flashing "GMU, the #1 School to
> watch" ad that they keep touting. That always
> struck me as an odd thing to say, since it means
> that mason is on the outside looking in, and
> hasnt' "made it" yet.

GMU Hokie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> > The majority of JMU's classes are taught by
> > tenured, or tenure track professors. Almost
> 70%
> > of Mason's classes are taught by Adjunct
> > Professors (of which I'm one).
>
> (What is the source of your claim)


It was a number that came in an information packet that was given to adjunct professors by a group that is trying to unionize us. American Federation of Teachers put it together i believe. Except Virginia is a right to work state, so it pretty much died out. If I still have it, I'll scan it in and post it for you if it's that important.


> > Mason is notorious for underpaying it's Adjunct
>
> (DON'T YOU MEAN "its" AS THE POSSESSIVE PRONOUN ?
>
Yes. You'll have to excuse me. English is my 3rd language.

Please don't associate GMU with UVA, That's like saying Harvard law is associated with NOVA.

George Washington Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Please don't associate GMU with UVA, That's like
> saying Harvard law is associated with NOVA.


Stupid ass comparison right there George.

JMU has a very strong alumni network...I'd say JMU all the way.

Go to JMU, they have a MUCH better College of Business.

I am currently a School of Management (SOM) student at GMU. GMU has a good business school, and being close to DC gives you (as has been stated so many times previously) opportunities particularly if you are interested in a job with the federal government.

I can't speak about SOM with too much enthusiasm, mostly because I just decided, after being focused on management since 2004, that I want to go to medical school which is in a completely different direction and really needs a different degree.

But anyway, GMU is great, it is what you make of it really. GMU has no school spirit, or alot of it if you choose to involve yourself. No half-naked men will accost you while you are walking along just to shout in your face about which team "rulez" and why you should care. So the level of involvement really depends up to the individual. It is very much a commuter school, but since you don't live there it acts more like a clubhouse than anything.

A cousin of mine transferred about a year ago from JMU to GMU, citing some reason about JMU being too much of a party school. I don't know how true it was since I wasn't paying too much attention at the time.

I too was an adjunct at GMU. GMU saves a lot of money by using adjuncts. They hired me without even an interview. The phone call from the department chair was the only communication from the school, and that was just for my fax number so they can send me some documents. Luckily for the students that I am prepared for the subject and have a few years of industry experience on the topic.

English is not my native language either.


Professor of Sorts Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JMU has just as many connections to business in
> the NoVA area. Just because it's 2 hours away
> doesn't mean that recruiters are looking only in
> this area. They go where the talent is. The VAST
> majority of students never do an internship, so it
> negates the location.
>
> The majority of JMU's classes are taught by
> tenured, or tenure track professors. Almost 70%
> of Mason's classes are taught by Adjunct
> Professors (of which I'm one). That makes a huge
> difference in terms of academic rank and
> reputation.
>
> I've been teaching at Mason for 9 years as a part
> time adjunct, and there is a difference between
> the two student populations. JMU is almost
> entirely "traditional" 4 year students, Mason has
> a mix of traditional students, part timers, older
> students returning to college, who rarely get
> their degrees in 4 years, which means that their
> graduation rate is much lower (they may eventually
> graduate in 6,7,or 8 years, but that's not taken
> into account).
>
> Mason is notorious for underpaying it's Adjunct
> Professors, which means that they do not retain
> professors for specific classes, which in turn
> leads to a lack of continuity. The same class two
> years before may have been an excellent class, and
> this year, is poorly run and administrated. The
> lure of saying "I'm a professor" fades quickly
> when you are averaging 7 dollars and hour for
> teaching.
>
> If you are going into Finance, or Business
> Administration, you are goign to have to get
> either a masters or a MBA. In terms of academic
> reputation, JMU traditionally ranks higher in the
> Princeton Review, and various other "my college is
> better than yours" polls. I don't have exact
> numbers, because they make you pay for it, but if
> I recall correctly, JMU has always been a top 75
> school, and mason was usually somewhere in the
> 200's. Granted, they don't compare directly,
> because GMU is a Ph.D. granting institution, and
> JMU is not.
>
> Lastly, I haven't been able to check my email on
> the school's website for the past 6 months without
> seeing the large flashing "GMU, the #1 School to
> watch" ad that they keep touting. That always
> struck me as an odd thing to say, since it means
> that mason is on the outside looking in, and
> hasnt' "made it" yet.