Decisions, decisions C lass of 2027 Early Action applications reach record high

from EARLY ACTION, page 1

A ccording to a Jan. 14 press release, JMU reported a 56% increase in first-generation applicants in the Early Action pool this year, a total of 4,106 compared to last year’s 2,644 firstgeneration applicants. The minority applicant pool saw an increase of 42%, with 6,764 applicants this year as compared to last year’s 4,786 minority applicants.

“By sheer volume of applications, JMU has admitted more students of color,” Wood say. “What cannot be predicted today is the number of students who will choose to enroll at JMU in the fall.”

Regarding the Early Action versus Regular Decision application process, an increase in students applying early has been a noticeable pattern within the last 3-4 years, according to Wood. She said a preference for the Early Action application process at JMU has been an “emerging trend” and that students have been applying Early Action increasingly over the years in order to have more time to explore opportunities of other colleges before commitment deadlines in May.

“That comes back to the students who want to know,” Wood said. “They want their decision. They want to be able to visit campus. They want to be able to look at scholarships and financial aid offers and make their decision by May 1, so it’s not a surprise that we’re seeing more students applying early.”

Several incoming students who spoke to The Breeze said JMU was their top pick and they wanted to know whether they got into JMU before going through the trouble of applying to other schools.

Emily Orabona, an incoming JMU freshman from northern Virginia, said she applied to JMU during the Early Action process and didn’t apply to any other schools. She only planned to apply during the regular decision process for her safety schools if she didn’t get accepted into JMU. She said JMU felt very homey and described it as her “spot.”

Madisson Fraysier, another incoming JMU freshman from Virginia Beach, Virginia, said JMU was the first school she toured in summer 2021 and again in spring 2022 — she immediately knew it was the school for her. She said JMU “feels like home,” and emphasized a comforting feeling of Harrisonburg and campus and the actions professors take to show they really care about the students’ success, including making an effort to keep students interested in the course content rather than just “talking, talking, talking.”

Fraysier, who said she plans to major in psychology, also emphasized the hands-on learning style JMU encourages in its classrooms works well for her. While touring other schools, she said the feeling she had each time was “good” but that “it wasn’t JMU,” which led her to submit her application in September — over a month before the Nov. 1 deadline — knowing she’d attend JMU if accepted.

Incoming freshman Tyler Chinn from Berryville, Virginia, said JMU felt like home to him as well. Originally having planned on attending college out of state, Chinn said the first time he drove onto campus last year to attend a basketball game with a friend, it felt like a place he wanted to be.

Chinn, who said he plans to major in media arts and design (SMAD) with a concentration in journalism, said his meeting with SMAD assistant professor Ryan Alessi made him feel like JMU could offer him all the resources he needed to become the person he wanted to be, like having the ability to be involved in different student media. Chinn said he only applied to one other school, the University of Alabama, but knew he wouldn’t consider attending if he got accepted into JMU.

Faced with the growing increase of applicants, Melinda Wood said JMU is staying consistent in its acceptance qualifications, and the decision “comes down to academic preparation” and how well students have done in high school.

“Every applicant pool is different,” Wood said. “It’s hard to say what our admission rate will be from year to year because it depends on the applicant pool. What’s most important to us is that we’re really consistent in our decisions ... We really know who can be successful here.”

CONTACT Abi Middleton at middleah@dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.