Very exciting times for JMU, finally FBS and now getting press and attention at the national level. In the next few months we'll probably also see JMU finally ranked among "national" universities in the US News & World Report.

Save the blah, blah, blah about rankings being bullsh@t. Of course they're hardly perfect and get gamed by schools, regardless it's very prominent national exposure for JMU. Things have changed quite a bit for JMU since I attended, the mission to grow may not have affected the quality of education, but many metrics have diluted things compared to schools when I was looking. Schools like Maryland and U of Miami were a joke, now the likes Univ of South Florida sniffing the top 100 and George Mason at 148.

So, where does JMU rank?

Winner gets a case or bottle of their favorite intoxicant up to $100. It looks like USNWR clumps a lot of schools with tie rankings, so there could very well be a tie in this contest (some ranks have a dozen or more schools). If that's the case, I'll come up with an entertaining way to break the tie. By that, of course, I mean it will be entertaining for us and not the winners.

My guess: 130

(04-29-2022 03:57 PM)2Buck Wrote:  Very exciting times for JMU, finally FBS and now getting press and attention at the national level. In the next few months we'll probably also see JMU finally ranked among "national" universities in the US News & World Report.

Save the blah, blah, blah about rankings being bullsh@t. Of course they're hardly perfect and get gamed by schools, regardless it's very prominent national exposure for JMU. Things have changed quite a bit for JMU since I attended, the mission to grow may not have affected the quality of education, but many metrics have diluted things compared to schools when I was looking. Schools like Maryland and U of Miami were a joke, now the likes Univ of South Florida sniffing the top 100 and George Mason at 148.

So, where does JMU rank?

Winner gets a case or bottle of their favorite intoxicant up to $100. It looks like USNWR clumps a lot of schools with tie rankings, so there could very well be a tie in this contest (some ranks have a dozen or more schools). If that's the case, I'll come up with an entertaining way to break the tie. By that, of course, I mean it will be entertaining for us and not the winners.

My guess: 130

#114

#121

#143

148

109

117

131

136.

I also can't believe Tech is as high as 75th. Are they firmly ahead of JMU in the VA academic prestige ranking now? Is JMU a Tech student's safety school at this point? I haven't applied to college in almost 20 years, so I really have no idea anymore.

Also, how are the two major AZ schools 117th and better? I thought ASU was considered one of the worst P5 schools from an academic standpoint, equal to WVU and TX Tech? Are they benefitting from an exodus of So Cal high school students bringing the quality of their student body up?

So much as changed with getting into school over last 20 years. Many of the big state schools that were a joke 20 years ago are now highly competitive to get into. I’m not sure they are any better schools but much more selective.

Florida State was one side of a piece of paper 30 years ago and if you had a pulse you were accepted. It now takes over 1200 on the SAT to get in.

Oh and university of Miami has never really been a joke to get into. Maryland on the other hand has gotten super competitive. Just for comparison to 30 years ago Villanova was my safety school and I wouldn’t sniff getting in there today.

(04-29-2022 08:58 PM)jmu98 Wrote:  Oh and university of Miami has never really been a joke to get into. Maryland on the other hand has gotten super competitive. Just for comparison to 30 years ago Villanova was my safety school and I wouldn’t sniff getting in there today.

Part of that is 1) media coverage of FBS and the exposure it brings but also 2) with each generation, more Americans are going to college than the last and you're quite literally competing with more people than past generations had to.

(04-29-2022 09:00 PM)Potomac Wrote:  

(04-29-2022 08:58 PM)jmu98 Wrote:  Oh and university of Miami has never really been a joke to get into. Maryland on the other hand has gotten super competitive. Just for comparison to 30 years ago Villanova was my safety school and I wouldn’t sniff getting in there today.

Part of that is 1) media coverage of FBS and the exposure it brings but also 2) with each generation, more Americans are going to college than the last and you're quite literally competing with more people than past generations had to.

Much like UVA, Villanova wasn’t easy to get into but has gotten a lot more difficult due to their success in basketball.

For a bottle of Makers I’ll go

156.

I hope I’m dreadfully wrong, but after my chillin’s 3-1/2 years there (class of ‘20), I’m not sure that’s far off.

Feelin the 129.... 99 within 10 years

I don't believe we'll get a lot of respect this first year.

#188

How about 166

143

146

I thought I posted this the other day, but don't see it (sorry if it a dupe).

We were in the top 100 in Forbes last year, which is awesome!

Tech was in the top 75, and even gmu was a couple spots ahead of us. It looks like the second level of va schools (ie, not uva or w&m) are getting more respect as a whole, but the hierarchy within that group is not what it once was.

Oh, and in the forbes list, richmond was outside the top 100. Just thought I'd throw that out there.