James Madison University

Hardly a time when I had a negative experience here. The professors are willing to help you if you go to their office hours or schedule an appointment.
The campus itself is quite nice. Although there has been some construction, it didn’t really bother anyone hopefully.
I didn’t have a car so I didn’t have to deal with the parking nonsense that drivers talk about.
I was a science major so I wasn’t on the main campus much except for carrier.
The dining here is fantastic and I give it a thumbs up.
I like how everyone is so polite. Holding doors for each others and being helpful if you get lost.
Even though I only spent two years here as a transfer student, I really enjoy the Harrisonburg atmosphere. Ever since High school, I heard negative things about JMU as being a party school, but as much as the students know how to have fun, they do their homework and excel in the classes.
UREC is so nice! So many things to do.
There is so many places to go eat around campus and so many places to discover. It may seem like a small town, but there is a lot to be discovered and appreciated.

The foundation to become a Plastic Surgeon i learned at JMU. Great education, Great place to grow up and a great place to be an alumni. i bleed purple and gold.

Went for nursing school here for 4.5 years (changed my major during that time). Great school with a great nursing program I can’t speak enough for. Upon graduation and when entering the work force I felt so much better prepared my career compared to my peers who went to community colleges, or other programs like UVA or Radford. Although I’m currently suffering through paying off my student loans, the price compared to other VA schools is affordable. I’m considering going back for my Masters here next year due to price and experience. The whole JMU community is so friendly and inviting. The students and staff are what make JMU so special. Loved the campus from the food, to scenery, the quad, and the new technology. Harrisonburg as a town has greately grown and is becoming quite the college town. Highly recommend it.
*For those who say it is a party school. Clearly you’ve never been to college because JMU is no different from any other place I’ve visited/​partied. If anything the parties are open because JMU is friendly and doesn’t have a huge Greek Life like UVA where you have to know someone to be invited somewhere.

I came here for a writing center conference and had a great experience. I can’t speak for the academics, but the campus is beautiful and everyone was so helpful.
They have a new Student Success Center, which is modern and filled with technology (including courtesy charging stations). Plenty of room to sit down and do some work in between sessions.

I bleed purple!
I love JMU. Attended from 2002 – 2005 and graduated a semester early with my B.A. in English Literature.
They say the best measure of a place is what people say about it later, if that is true I am a dedicated spokesperson for JMU because I tell everyone who asks that it is the best school not only in Virginia, but in the United States. Sure there is Ivy League, but I lived, I loved and I regret nothing. Haha.
Really though, JMU has changed quite a bit in the 8 years since I left with the addition of the tunnel under the road leading to the new performing arts building across from the quad and the huge new sports complex and stadium. What remains the same and probably always will is how much JMU really is a way of life. Nearly every student there is there because something made them love JMU and know that there was no other place for them.
I remember touring this school as a senior in 2001 with my high school guidance counselor. She said she loved JMU and wished she had been able to go there. Frankly, it wasn’t on my list of schools, I was looking at UVA and Hofstra mostly but I went on the campus visit because my counselor insisted I see it. As soon as I set foot on campus and had a tour by two enthusiastic students I knew it was home. I went right home and filled out an early admission application (I think there was less than a month left for the deadline at the time) and when I was accepted we sent the check and it was never even a consideration for me to attend anywhere else even when I did later get accepted to Hofstra and UVA.
JMU is a beautiful campus with the old, classic side at the quad with the stone buildings and Wilson and Keezell Hall, as well as the lake, but the new ISAT side (where I lived for three years in Chesapeake — woo woo) is also very well done.
The University Recreation Center (UREC) is one of the best I’ve seen with a huge swimming pool, plenty of exercise equipment, and a large track on the third floor overlooking the volleyball and basketball courts. I also climbed the rock wall a few times as well which spans all three floors and can be seen when you first enter. There are some nice raquetball courts too.
While at JMU I enjoyed attending the early screening of movies at Grafton-​Stovall and remember standing in line with my friends and roommates at midnight on my 21^st birthday to see House of Wax one week before it was released for free. The food is fabulous with more than a dozen dining options (and Chick-​Fil-​A!) and they have a large Greek presence on campus. President Rose was President of JMU during my time there and I felt that he really loved JMU and cared about the school. My teachers were engaging and genuinely seemed to love JMU and their jobs. I made friendships that will last a lifetime and I have memories that are some of the fondest in my mind almost 10 years later. They really were the best years of my life.
On top of my praise for JMU, my parents loved it and were always happy to come visit and have me treat them to dinner at D-​hall with my dining dollars. They knew I was happy and I rarely wanted to come home for holidays…
After attending ODU for my M.A. (due to proximity not choice) I appreciate the college experience I had at JMU. Students were engaged, filled with pride for their school, everyone bled purple, there were tons of sports, activities and groups, and I always felt happy and loved and safe. I felt that leadership cared and I enjoyed the beautiful mountains and aesthetic of the school. There is no where I’d rather have attended school and I am proud that JMU is my alma mater. It’s difficult to find anyone who doesn’t feel that way who attended JMU so I’m just one of many.
Goooo dukes!
(No I wasn’t paid to write this I promise — it might sound cheesy but if you went to a school like ODU where students get mugged and robbed and shot every day walking home from class in the dark, you’d have a whole new appreciation for safe and happy college students roaming campus at night in their college bubble blissfully unaware of what evil is as I was.)

We had a great weekend visiting JMU! The people, including our Student Ambassador Guide, Zach from Canada in the attention grabbing yellow pants were all kinds of friendly. I came to introduce my son (a rising senior) to the culture and get a peek for myself but left with my daughter (a rising sophmore) totally impressed, ready to enroll and wearing a JMU shirt. The town of Harrisonburg was perfectly situated for someone with a creative streak, a high social drive but a love of small towns (unexpectedly). She was pulled in by the diversity of the campus as far as what they offered in extracurricular activities and majors but also loved the hipster vibe – that’s what I think anyway.
Afterward we had a great lunch at Clementine’s where we engaged with a sophomore transfer student from Northern VA and her mother. They gave us great additional insight and some tips and it really solidified my daughter’s interest. So in three years, I’ll have a JMU Freshmen apparently but I’ve got to get this Junior situated now!

This is just a rating of the Admissions web site and is limited to someone pre-​visiting JMU online — so read on only if you are a first-​time visitor, or the good folks in charge of Admissions or the Campus web site.
After an hour of de-​coding the web site, I finally figured out that Sonner Hall Admissions office is off Bluestone Drive, near the Newman Lake. The online Campus Map doesn’t have an entry for «Admissions Office» You have to look for «Sonner Hall» which does not have «Admissions» by its name in the Legend. (When you search the map — you’ll see a reference to Sonner Hall Admissions on the map itself, but not the Legend — I know it’s picky but it sure wasted my afternoon until I broke the code.)
If you are driving an SUV (some of those are 6ft, 6inches, 7 feet, etc.), you will if you are like me spend a long time trying to find the answer to which parking garage for visitors accommodates taller vehicles, such as SUVs and Vans. I finally found a defunct web site for an event that says the Warsaw Avenue Parking Deck has capability for vehicles 8 feet, 2 inches.
There are two other parking decks — Grace Street and Cantrell Avenue. But I cannot find their maximum clearance height on line (Update: We visited JMU — it’s 6ft, 6in for Grace Street Parking Deck). JMU Web site folks: Please post the maximum clearance prominently — that saves everyone time and will prevent the Get Lost Factor. (Also from the Update — the campus is getting bigger with all the growth — JMU could use some more campus maps installed on campus for visitors.)
When you search for the Admissions Office, you get the mystifying address: «MSC 0101 481 Bluestone Drive.» For some reason, that address doesn’t refer to Sonner Hall, and to add to bafflement for the first — time visitor, «MSC» does not appear in the campus map.
We only hear great things about JMU. But it can be hard for web designers (who probably live in Harrisonburg and are probably alums) to understand the «get lost» factor of a first-​time campus visitor.
Update: The Admissions Office people could not have been nicer. Get yourself a color map there, when driving on campus for the first time. Then if Mon-​Fri, go to the Parking Services, next to the stadium. That’s a bit of a riddle — there’s no Parking for Parking Services evident — apparently there are meters inside the Parking Deck at the stadium.
We loved our JMU visit. This is a beautiful school, with amazing scenery in its setting in the mountains. The faculty is friendly and warm — they care about the students. The students are impressive and very friendly and helpful. Parents (and future students): there’s a full Starbucks inside the Library — Carrier Library. Thank you — we made good use of it on our trip to JMU.

While attending JMU from 2000 – 2004 met so many amazing, special people and developed lifelong friendships. Class of 2004.

BEST PLACE TO BE! Its an amazing school with a beautiful campus and the weekends are ALWAYS fun.
–Great food
–Great professors
–Wonderful campus life
–Plenty of organizations to join
–Friendly workers
–Friendly students
–AWESOME parties
–Great late night places open for delivery (Jimmy Johns, China King, Chanellos, etc)
–Easy to meet lots of new people
–Plenty of places to go to get school work done
I would not want to be anywhere else, and I would HIGHLY recommend visiting and attending this institution.
J-​M-​U wish you were a duke dog!
JMU Alum from day one :)
Dukes for life

JMU… THE university of Virginia.
pros:
1. highly rated programs (from our B-​school to nursing to education)
2. brand spankin new stadium (phase 1 is complete, looks awesome). Also, tailgaiting is a blast.
3. Harrisonburg is a small, beautiful college town
4. the people are (for the most part) some of the nicest and friendliest people you will meet. (Harrisonburg’s nickname is «the friendly city» after all)
5. Awesome party scene. Unlike other schools, no one ever collects money for beer. literally not once in the 4 years I attended.
6. rated #2 in the COUNTRY for food. not too shabby.
7. Snowboarding /​Skiing is only 30 minutes away at Massanutten
8. There are too many pro’s to list!!!
cons:
1. not very diverse
2. well, its not harvard.

«JMU is not an institution. It’s a way of life.»

I was a visitor of this fine campus!
The stone work on all the buildings is fabulous!
The new art building is worth a trip!

Why go to college when you could go to JMU?

Visited a friend here in 2005 who ended up transferring, but enjoyed my stay there. Nice campus with the perks of a private school and a convenient now-​omnipresent «drunk bus». Know a few others who did undegrad and grad school here, so it rubs some people the right way for sure,

Currently in the nation’s top 50 for business schools. The campus is beautiful, the people are hot (ranked in playboy’s top 10), UREC is the best gym you’ll ever have at your fingertips in your life, house parties are free, frat parties are free, «clubs» are scarce but the ones that are around are always a good time despite their small size… and the sports teams are working their way up in the ranks. :-)
A few notes:
1. Make friends with a cab driver and get his cell # — comes in handy when you only have to wait 15 min for a cab as opposed to 30 and 45 min on a weekend. — Musa is awesome and so is his brother Ali
2. FIJI Islander kicks Sigma Nu’s islander’s ass
3. Parties at Melrose = early and very drunk, only attempt to go to another party after Melrose if you’re able to hold your alcohol
4. Football parties are great, but you’ll be fighting for beer unless you know someone on the team to hook you up, and be careful of the dance floor if they’re still in the house where the floor shakes
5. «Stalk» people for parking spaces — and/​or offer to drive them to their car — especially around Showker
6. The parking «nazis» can, and will give you a ticket EVERY time.
7. Watch out where you park at friend’s apartment complexes… you WILL be towed, even if you’re only gone for 5 minutes.
8. When you can, take the bus that runs to the apt complexes — it runs late.
9. Learn how to play beer pong — this is the game of choice
10. The Arboretum is beautiful.
11. Summertime = Quad and half naked people with books, frisbees, and dogs
12. The Village is a fun place to live Freshman year although HOT in August w/​o AC
JMU DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKES.
Madison, James Madison… We are the dukes of JMU…
Madison, James Madison… the fighting dukes of JMU.
Fight for glory, honors won… brighten the lights of Madison
GO GO GO
Madison, James Madison… show your colors proud and true…
WE ARE THE DUKES OF JMU!!!