James Madison University

Date: Dec 17 2007
Major: Accounting (This Major's Salary over time)
I came to James Madison University to study Accounting and get a business degree. After two years - I felt like some of the hype around JMU was oversold.

The accounting program was average at best and not competitive with some of the other universities in the state of Virginia. Your freshmen year is spent with a lot of useless general Ed classes. While I appreciate liberal arts classes like Philosophy, History, or archaelogy as a way to balance out a business or technical degree - JMU's approach provides little value and much frustration. In addition, the location of JMU prevents it from providing decent co-op or internship opportunities.

The campus is nice and remote. The bluestone section is pretty and it is what you see on all the brochures. However, the rest of the campus' architecture is pretty non-descript and bland looking. I was stuck in an old campus dorm that needed some decent maintenance.

It is true about the girls - plentiful and pretty. However, the social life centers around just drinking and partying. the clubs and activities are ok on campus - but some of the students can be snooty and off putting. The surrounding town doesn't like the students and has an iffy relationship with the university - so there is not much to do off campus.

Sports - well the football team is good. The rest of the programs are middling in their conference (the CAA).

Given the cost, remote location, and average quality of the accounting and general business program - I decided this was not the place for me. I transferred after my sophmore year.