For the last ten years, JMU has experienced a steady increase in applications from prospects who are the sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, grandchildren or siblings of JMU students and alumni. The term applied to a relative of alumni is "legacy." As an alumni or a relative of an alumni, I know you have questions concerning admissions criteria. We are all excited that you are looking at JMU and please feel free to click on the button at the bottom to submit any questions you may have.

An overview of the JMU admission process

Important Points:

1. JMU is considered to be a selective university. This means JMU receives more competitive applications than they can accommodate.  During the last five years, over 85 percent of JMUs applicants are truly competitive for admission (their academic record indicates that they will be successful at JMU). During the same period, JMU has admitted approximately 62 percent of its applicants. JMU is unable to admit all of their competitive applicants.
2. The admissions staff reads each application from cover to cover and evaluates the applicant’s curriculum, grades in core subjects, standardized test scores and other criteria (includes extracurricular activities, personal statement, recommendation, etc).
3. In the application review, the key criteria listed in order of importance are: strength of curriculum, grades and standardized test scores. An applicant must be competitive after a review of these three areas in order for them to move ahead in the admission process.
4. The legacy connection is noted in the review of the application. No points are awarded for being a legacy, but in the committee review, the legacy connection may be noted for applicants who are on the borderline.
5. If during the process it is determined that a legacy applicant is not competitive or admissible, the file is reviewed again by a different reader or committee to be sure the first decision was correct.

Legacy Admission Data
	Fall 2003	Fall 2004
Total Admit %	59.0	55.4
Legacy Admit %	63.7	60.9

Alumni and their legacies are important to James Madison University. Being a public university, the admissions committee must carefully balance the weight given to the legacy connection.

The Admissions Committee considers the following factors when reviewing applications:

CURRICULUM:

To be competitive an applicant needs:

Subject Area	Credits	Notes
English	4
Mathematics	4	Must include a full year past Algebra II, i.e. Trig & Math Analysis, Precalculus, Statistics, etc.
Lab Science	4	Preferably including Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
Social Science	4	History, Government, Sociology, Psychology, Geography, etc.
Foreign Language	3 or 2+2	Must be a spoken or written language.

Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Dual Enrollment, Honors.

If available, a competitive applicant will have taken some honors and either AP, IB or dual enrollment courses. Since the number of advanced courses varies by high school, we do not have a set number of courses required. A rigorous curriculum is essential for an applicant to be competitive.

GRADES:

1. A’s & B’s in the five core areas.
2. Grade trends through high school are considered.
3. Majority of successful candidates ranked in top 25 percent of class.
4. Since high schools use different formulas to determine GPA and different weighting scales, JMU looks at grades in core classes, not just the GPA provided by the high school. This allows the admissions committee to better analyze students from different schools and districts.

STANDARDIZED TESTS:

1. Either SAT I or ACT scores are acceptable
2. Highest verbal and math scores combined from different test dates (SAT)

2004 Admitted Freshman mid-50 percent range:

SAT: 1120 – 1200
ACT: 24-27

OTHER CRITERIA:

1. Extracurricular Activities - prefer quality involvement over quantity
   • Number of Years Involved
   • Special Positions Held
   • Include Honor Societies, Social Clubs, Athletics, Volunteer and Work Experience, Community Service
2. Personal Statement (Optional)
• This is an opportunity for the applicant to tell us what we need to know about them. Many use this as an opportunity to tell us something about themselves not reflected in their transcript.
3. Recommendation/Secondary School Report

Application Deadlines

Freshman Early Action (nonbinding):

Early Action is more competitive than the Regular Decision process. To be admitted through Early Action, a student needs to be superior in curriculum, grades, test scores and extracurricular activities. For the last two years, 35 percent of the students deferred from Early Action to Regular Decision were eventually admitted. Students who apply through the Early Action process do not have an advantage over students who apply Regular Decision.

• Application Postmark Deadline: November 1
• Approximate Notification Date: Mid January

Freshman Regular Decision:

Because Early Action is more competitive than Regular Decision, students who apply through Regular Decision are not at a disadvantage. For fall 2003, 80 percent of our applicants were competitive and 61 percent were admitted.

• Application Postmark Deadline: January 15 for all materials
• Approximate Notifcation Date: April 1

Transfer Admissions:

1. Summer Semester Dealine - January 15
2. Fall Semester Deadline - March 1
3. Spring Semester - November 1
   • JMU admits a limited number of students for Spring (35-50 students). Priority is given to applicants with Associate degrees and a 3.00 GPA.

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