Early Action (non-binding)
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 class entering in the 2006 Fall semester, 49 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.
Early Action Application Deadlines:
November 1: Application deadline for all admissions materials
Mid-January: Admission decisions mailed
May 1: Intent to enroll deposit deadline
Regular Decision
Because Early Action is more competitive than Regular Decision, students who apply though Regular Decision are not at a disadvantage. Typically about 80 percent of our applicants are competitive but space constrains us to admitting only about 60 percent.
Regular Decision Application Deadlines:
January 15: Application deadline for all admissions materials
Early April: Admission decisions mailed
May 1: Intent to enroll deposit deadline
Important Factors in Admission to JMU
There are six factors which will be used to evaluate applicants for admission to JMU. The order of importance for our decision process is: Quality of High School Academics, Academic Achievement, Standardized Test Scores, Secondary School Report Form, Extracurricular Activities, and an optional Personal Statement.
1. Quality of High School Academics
The Admissions Committee is most interested in the quality of the applicant's high school program of study. Students with solid achievement in four or more academic courses each year of high school will have a distinct advantage in the admission process. Competitive candidates for admission will have taken upper level coursework (i.e. Honors, AP, IB, Dual Enrollment) in the core academic areas when available in their high school.
2. Academic Achievement
Competitive candidates will have mostly As and Bs in the core academic areas: English, math, lab science, social science and foreign language. While we focus on the individual grades in each core academic class the admissions committee notes the high school grade point average and class rank if reported by the high school. JMU is more interested in how a prospective student performs over the four year high school program than the results of a standardized test.
3. Standardized Tests
Performance on the SAT I or ACT helps the committee discern applicants' past academic achievement and their potential for future academic achievement.
JMU accepts and recognizes both the SAT and ACT. We ask that you send all of your scores. When reviewing test scores we use the highest individual verbal and highest individual math scores from the SAT. For the ACT we use your single highest composite score.
JMU requires an official score report to complete your application. Official results include a photocopy or fax of your official scores received at your home address, scores reported to JMU from your high school, or scores sent directly to JMU from the testing agency. Results printed from CollegeBoard.com are not official and will not be accepted.
4. Secondary School Report and Recommendation Letter
The Secondary School Report form is available from the online application menu. Many high schools have developed their own version of this form. Please check with your guidance counselor to see if you need to provide him or her a copy before you download one. Your counselor will complete the form and submit it with your transcript. This is how the Admissions Committee will learn about your high school environment.
A letter of recommendation is optional, but to be reviewed it must either arrive with your official high school transcript, or be attached to a JMU Letter of Recommendation Cover Sheet. Letters that are not with your transcript or accompanied by the official cover sheet will not be read. Please select one person who is either an academic teacher, a principal/assistant principal, or your guidance counselor to write your recommendation letter.
The letter and the secondary school report are not the same thing. Always give the secondary school report to your counselor, even if you ask a teacher or principal/assistant principal to write you a letter.
5. Extracurricular Activities
We are looking for quality involvement rather than quantity of involvement. We like to see the type of involvement students have in particular clubs and/or organizations rather than just being a member. Please tell us about club, organization and athletic activity. We are also interested in students who have been involved in community service or held part time jobs.
6. Personal Statement (Optional)
We do not require a particular topic for the Personal Statement. We allow applicants to decide what the committee still needs to know in order to accurately evaluate their application. Please do not repeat information that can be found in the application. This space is provided to help the committee get to know the applicant better. We encourage students to be creative and have fun with it! Please know that the committee will consider content and grammar as well as spelling. Personal Statements should be no longer than 500 words.
Need more information? Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions section, contact your admissions counselor or complete the Information Request Form.
