James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA
James Madison University is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a small city, with 20,888 undergraduates. Health professions and communication are its signature fields: together they make up 27% of its bachelor's degrees, about twice their share across the colleges we cover. 80% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $69,954 ten years after starting.
James Madison University admitted 27,258 of 35,750 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (76.2%).
- Acceptance rate
- 76.2%
- Fall 2023 class
- In-state tuition
- $14,250
- $31,604 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $23,322
- Average, students with aid
- ACT, middle 50%
- 25–29
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What James Madison University is known for
Measured by the 4,595 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Health professions
18.3%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 9.1% share across the colleges we cover.
Communication
9.0%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 4.5% share across the colleges we cover.
- Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions4159.0% of degrees$67,033+29% vs $52,119 nationally
- Communication and Media Studies4139.0% of degrees$66,436+18% vs $56,359 nationally
- Psychology3307.2% of degrees$56,212+11% vs $50,706 nationally
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing2866.2% of degrees$87,056About the $88,910 national median
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness2725.9% of degrees$63,065+16% vs $54,562 nationally
- Biology1793.9% of degrees$62,914+10% vs $57,214 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Small city
Harrisonburg, VA
Undergraduates
20,888
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, high research activity
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
17 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at James Madison University
Three things James Madison University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
19% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 3% sent an ACT. James Madison University files test scores under “considered”.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
James Madison University asks for no supplemental essay.
Of the 2 prompts we track for this application, none is one you would have to write.
Source: the prompts we track for this application
Families paid $23,322 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
76.2%
27,258 admitted of 35,750 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 600–670Math 570–650
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
25–29
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
19%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
3%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at James Madison University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What James Madison University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $14,250 ($31,604 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $31,735. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $23,322 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$14,250
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$31,604
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$31,735
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$23,322
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $31,735 full cost.
- Under $30k$11,444Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$12,977Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$16,475Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$22,343Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$30,147Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
80%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
92%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$69,954
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$20,093
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What James Madison University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Essayconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Class rank
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Essays on this application
2 essay prompts on the application.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Virginia
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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