James Madison University Top Questions

The most frustrating thing about my school is that there is nothing to do if you do not like to drink.

The false perception that JMU is a "party" school. Yes, there is a party and alcohol culture here, but this is found at most colleges. It should also be noted that everyone is not involved in this scene and there are plenty of other fun things to do around campus and in Harrisonburg. Any bad reputation JMU has acquired (mostly a result of the Springfest incident), is not a good representation of this wonderful school.

Staying involved in the numerous clubs and events offered is probably most frustrating. The demand from a student's academic life takes a lot of time out of social and extra criteria. One must sacrifice certain clubs and events often in order to stay onto of the competitive academies.

Not diverse

Our campus is very spread out, so parking and getting from class to class can be frustrating. It is not a very wise campus layout. It can take up to fifteen minutes on the bus, depending on traffic, to get from one building to another on different sides of campus.

James Madison University is an unique university and I would encourage anyone who is applying for colleges to look into this one.With 15,000+ students attending here there is one thing that frustrates me. The Harrisonburg Bus system.With students living on and off campus, at centain times of the day there is just not enough buses that can accommodate all the students going to classes and other places. At peak times, for example from 12-2 and 3-4 there just isn't enough room for the students who are trying to get to class on time.

Financial aid here sucks. Minimum scholarships are given to transfers and freshmen.

The way scheduling is set up; the tiered priority by grades and within grades put freshmen trying to get into certain classes at a disadvantage, and students who would like to take certain courses are sometimes unable to because of specific major restrictions.

There is nothing that i dislike about James Madison University. I absolutely love my choice of college!!

Drinking. The reputation of JMU as a party school has started to outweigh it's reputation as an academic institution. If you are our on a Friday night, you can see why. When the weekend comes students seem to forget the purpose for why they are here, to be students. You often see heavy drinking, sloppy behavior and dangerous decisions. The 65/35 ration of girls to guys does not help. Girls here often feel insecure, and the need to compete for the attention of guys. When drunk, this leads to embarrassing decisions.