Faber College is not on the shortlist

I'll give the VCU aspect - I know several people who went there for various majors (music, sports management, pre-med). It's in downtown Richmond and is definitely a commuter school. I think that of the three you've listed, their music program is the best. If he's interested in environmental science, it's closer to the beach/coast/EasternShore than the other two. Issues with JMU: I've heard that if you're not Greek, social life is harder. Also, it is HUGE. I've also heard of problems registering for classes in your major, which can make it harder to graduate in 4 years. This may be more problematic if he doesn't declare a major early. Although, based on your questions, I think VT would be the best fit for him.

Ok, I will take that back, I do know a JMU grad who I really like, and he majored in biotechnology and does environmental-related things now, so that is cool.

As a Tribe-person myself, blergh to W&M; there are some nice things about it, but overall, the most boring place and people on the planet. Of your three stated options: Tech is absolutely the highest regarded academically (and even more so once you get out of the Virginia/DC area), and increasingly so in recent years. VCU is probably the artsiest of the three, but JMU is specifically known for having a good theater department, and VT has plenty going on in that area too. I personally would have been intimidated of a school as large as any of the three - JMU is a little smaller than the others, but not all that much - but it doesn't sound like that's much of an issue for your son. On a personal level, I have a number of dear friends, coworkers, and exes from VT who pretty universally loved it (and they are a diverse bunch of people); the one VCU grad acquaintance who I can think of is doing some really unusual and interesting art-related work right now; and I really dislike pretty much everyone I know who went to JMU (apologies to JMU grad above, I'm sure you're great).

I go to W&M and my sister goes to VCU... I think W&M is pretty good for business and environmental science. They're really big on undergrad science research if he's into that kind of thing. Also, I hear the music dept. is pretty close knit. But like someone said above, Williamsburg isn't exactly a bastion of culture and diversity...(and that's putting it lightly). The academics are really good though, and the professors are great, and hey if he comes here maybe I'll have someone to skate with. Oh, and the administration is nice. It's easy to change your major or come up with a new one (interdisciplinary majors have to have courses that come from three departments though; I don't like that). And the core requirements are pretty easy...A really cool/bad feature of W&M (depending on how you look at it) is that most of the upper-level classes are open to all students; almost no classes have prereq's. VCU is in Richmond of course, and my sister's in the art school so I don't know much about the non-art part of the school...but from what I gather, it's more "social/college experience" oriented than W&M and isn't as academic-heavy. (Is there a nice way to say this?) VCU is known as the artsy school of VA so I'm assuming it'd be good for music.

I am a JMU alum ('00), current employee, and current grad student. All three experiences have been great and very different from each other. I chose JMU over VCU, but nearly 15 years later, I cannot remember why. JMU has a pretty strong reputation as a party school, but I think that overshadows all of the great things that are going on academically and culturally on campus. Students that I have had the chance to interact with across a broad spectrum of majors have generally been very impressive with their level of professionalism, intellect and overall engagement in learning. Harrisonburg is a very small town, but there really are a lot of things to be involved with both on and off campus. As someone up thread mentioned, we're right in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley which offers the opportunity for outdoor adventures, or just hanging out with good friends and enjoying the beautiful scenery. If he is into music, Harrisonburg has an annual indie rock festival called http://macrock.org/, and that brings a lot of cool bands to town each spring. Many of the local bars and restaurants have a variety of music styles most nights of the week. My husband and many good friends are VT alums and it sounds like they had really great experiences there too. VT is a bigger school, but still in a relatively small town.

I can't speak to the experience he would have at any of these schools as I didn't attend any of them (though I've worked with VT alumni), but when looking at resumes (I'm a software developer), the only one that my colleagues and I (we're in the Northeast, NYC to be specific) would immediately recognize is VT.

From your previous question, it sounds like your son has interests that are pretty similar to mine, but with slightly different focus. I love biology, farming, programming, UI design, hand crafts, building stuff, theatre design, urban planning, horticulture ... a huge range of topics, on both sides of the STEM/liberal arts divide. I went to Virginia Tech for my undergrad, starting about 10 years ago. I was very undecided, and wanted to go to a school that would have a lot of options. I was thinking I'd be choosing between a computer science degree, and a degree in technical theatre. I ended up getting a degree in agricultural education, and now I'm a computer programmer. So ... I definitely didn't know what I wanted to do. I'm very glad a went to Tech, and I think I got a good education, even if a lot of it was in things I never use. I was able to to take a really huge range of classes, which was fun. I took a construction class (framing walls, running electricity, etc.), a genetics class, and "Highlights of Modern Physics" (relativity, chaos theory, and other advanced physics without the math). I took "Poetry of Light in the Theatre", a introductory landscape architecture class, and some studio art classes. Being at a huge school where I could take high-level classes in a wide variety of topics was a huge plus for me, and I never would have ended up in the major I did if I'd gone to a smaller school More specifically, and less anecdotally, if he's considering music or theatre, it's important to note that VCU is a conservatory program, while Tech is not (no idea about JMU). I don't know about the quality of the music program, but the theatre programs at both schools were of similar quality, both with excellent faculty, but a very differently structured programs.

I was this guy about fifteen years ago. I visited all these schools. To me, JMU seemed pretty much just like high school academically and socially. VCU was too far away from my hometown and didn't have a media program to my liking back then. VT was too close to my hometown (or people from my hometown, which is basically the same thing). UVA was really really uptight and oddly pushy and clingy (when was the last time YOU were pressured by sociology grad students to major in sociology?). William and Mary seemed like the best fit for me in Virginia. In the end I went to UNC Chapel Hill, because I fell in love with it at first sight. My advice? Get him to as many schools as possible and see which one he falls in love with.

Though I agree the academics are not as competitive, I feel like the music program at VCU is someplace where he could build a great experience. I have friends who went there (about a decade ago, granted) and they still talk about the tight-knit Jazz performance program. (More than one are professional, full-time musicians in some capacity or another now. VCU Music is serious business.) So I think the school can cover his business-side interest as well. I don't know as much about the other academic programs, but I spent many a weekend at VCU when I was in undergrad, and found Richmond to be an absolutely great town. I refer to it as "my first city" because I had only really lived in suburbia before. It was a healthy experience for me to leave my very insulated, safe liberal arts school about an hour south and have to deal with the real world a little more (more on that below). That said, I agree that if JMU is on the table academically, then he should consider W&M. I am biased because I went there, but I think someone with interests as broad as his, and with a personality as dynamic as his sounds might find it very rewarding. It might also whip him into shape a little, if he's a slacker. Greek life there is totally optional (I wasn't Greek and still managed to have more fun than I should have most weekends.) The community on campus is tight-knit and supportive. They are great to their freshmen. I could go on, if he's interested in hearing more :) But I have to say, it is not for everyone. I don't know anything about VT except that people I know who went there love it still. I never considered it because I didn't want to move to Blacksburg. Ditto JMU/Harrisonburg. Williamsburg ain't much, but Richmond is an hour north, Va Beach/Norfolk an hour or so the other way... you can get out, you know what I mean?