Hey everyone, thanks for catching up with YouniversityTV. I'm Jessica.

And I'm Levon, and we're coming at you from Harrisonburg, Virginia. Could you guess which school we're exploring today?

Oh, I want to guess.

Wait, you know what school we're at? Okay, let me give you some clues. We're two hours from DC and Richmond. It was named after the fourth President of the United States, who was also from Virginia. And, it's on your t-shirt.

Oh James Madison University. Come on let's go check it out.

All right.

James Madison University's campus is nestled in the city of Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, located between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains. Harrisonburg is only a two-hour trip from Washington, DC and Richmond, Virginia.

There's lots of different shows, plays, concerts, festivals. Harrisonburg is such a welcoming town for the college students. They've got all these different block parties, the Renaissance Festival, or Renaissance Fair that they put on every year.

James Madison University sits on 676 acres of landscaped campus. 125 of them include an arboretum where you can study or job on the war ship trails while taking in the views of the mountains from campus.

Paying a visit to the kissing rock has been a long standing tradition since 1908.

And legend has it, if you kiss your girlfriend on this rock, you're destined to get married.

That's pretty cool.

Um, well, I'm kind of embarrassed, but Jessica we have known each other for a while now. And this is the kissing rock. So you know I, I was thinking, maybe you and I could.

[ Static ] No. Do it better like that? Well, oh.

James Madison enrolls more than 16,000 undergrads, 30 percent come from out of state, 39 percent are male, 61 percent female, and 12 percent are multi-cultural.

The instant I stepped on campus I felt like I just belonged. People were smiling, saying hi, even though I was a complete stranger. Just opening up doors and holding them open for you, and you were 30 feet away. And they still do that, just every day. It's such a great positive environment to be around.

JMU?s admission process is competitive. Freshmen typically hold an SAT score between 1100 and 1260, or an ACT between 24 and 28.

Annual tuition and fees for an in-state student is around 7,000 dollars. While out-of-staters pay close to 19,000 dollars and all students will pay roughly 7,000 dollars in room and board. Are you kidding me? An actual movie theater on campus.

Yes, that's right, tickets on the university campus are a lot cheaper than the regular movie theater. And it's a cool place to take a hot date. Or you can pick someone of Jessica's caliber.

[ Music ] JMU has 200 majors, minors, and concentrations.

And more than 75 percent of students have completed an internship by the time they graduate.

Because James Madison University is close to big cities, the location is a really good benefit in terms of finding internships. Students have internships in Richmond, Virginia, in Washington, DC, both just a couple of hours away. As well as in local schools and agencies. We have a number of partners in the community and the surrounding communities.

Communications major, business, education and engineering degrees are just a few of student's favorites.

JMU employs 854 full time professors, 398 part time faculty members, with 81 percent holding their doctoral or terminal degree.

I think the uniqueness of JMU is that although we have grown in size as an institution, we have remained student-centered.

The professors are so wonderful. They absolutely give the students individual attention. During their office hours, they are always so willing to meet with me one on one, and help me with any concerns I have.

I think they hire people here who really care about their students and really care about the learning process. And want to help the students thrive and excel here.

Our strength is really, what happens in the classroom. It's accessibility of our faculty. Our faculty are focused on the undergraduates because, again, that's our primary interests. And we have been rated as one of the top 35 schools in the country. And when it comes to providing research opportunity for our students.

The Madison Dukes compete in the NCAA?s Division One [inaudible] Athletic Association. And the Eastern College Athletic Conference for 18 intercollegiate sports teams.

The Tailor Down Under is definitely the hot spot on campus.

It's a cool place to study, chill, hang out with friends. And on the stage behind me, there are poetry readings, even open mike nights.

Hey and if you need a little pick me up, head over to Java City.

Sounds good, let's get some now.

Oh. This is good.

[ Lots of background talking ] James Madison has 36 residence halls. With 25 exclusively for first year students.

Living on campus was a blast. I only lived on campus my freshman year, and at times sophomore year. I regretted moving off, just because when you live here freshman year, you're, being on campus you're in the center of everything. So I mean you can, you walk everywhere with your friends. All your friends live right next door to you or down the hall.

Madison offers over 300 club [inaudible] organizations.

[ Background talking ] Performance opportunities to participate in or to simply enjoy.

Levon.

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Hey undergraduates get the same access to research equipment and opportunities as graduate students do in other schools.

Students work in the most up-to-date labs and clinical field programs.

Well guys, thank you so much for hanging out with us today at James Madison University.

It's time for us to hit the road, right Duke Dog? Then make sure you don't pause too long before you check out this university.

For YouniversityTV, I'm Levon.

I'm Jessica. We'll catch you next time.

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