Hello. It’s me, a senior at James Madison University. I am here to tell you that out of whichever schools you are deciding on attending next year, you should choose JMU. I had never heard of JMU until I stumbled upon the name in an overwhelming “big book of colleges.” The more I looked into JMU, the more it fit my college criteria. I am originally from New England and the idea of going to a school 10 hours away was both thrilling and a little nerve-racking. After a lot of comparing and contrasting between other comparable and geographically closer schools, I ultimately decided on JMU.

As I am sure you have seen while on tours, online or at CHOICES this past weekend, JMU is a gorgeous campus. From the beautiful blue stones on the quad to the breath-taking Blue Ridge Mountains, nothing about the aesthetics of this campus will make you feel blue. And yes, I really did just have to say that.

JMU has beauty and brains. We are ranked seventh in Regional Universities in the South. JMU offers various majors, minors, concentrations and pre-professional programs that are bound to fit your interests. These are all things that I’m sure have been presented to you by tour guides and staff who know more about what JMU has to offer than I know.

As you near the end of your college decisions, after a while it’s like splitting hairs; you are choosing between schools that all begin to sound the same. JMU, like many other universities, offers an excellent education with many opportunities to get involved on and off campus. You can find your niche in any of our organizations and even start your own. You can study abroad, you can volunteer, you can hike, you can go to events downtown and so on.

Look, everyone has probably told you that your college experience is what you make of it. I agree with this; if you are uninvolved and withdrawn from school you are going to be miserable. No matter where you go, you should be involved in one thing or another in order to have a great experience and know you made the right choice. But what sold me specifically on JMU was how unanimously wonderful the JMU experience is.

I was impressed to discover that so many people at JMU love going here and want others to see why it is often deemed the best place on Earth. JMU students, faculty and alumni are proud to have called JMU home at some point in their lives. This pride is evident in the purple and gold you see in decorations and apparel around campus, the pure excitement that was captured on ESPN when College Game Day came to our Homecoming and a large number of students who are involved in and around campus. JMU’s 88 percent freshmen retention rate is not too shabby, either.

As a freshman, upperclassmen would tell me how lucky I was and how they wish they could be first-years and relive their time at JMU. I think it says a lot about a school when people do not want to graduate. I can tell you I truly, whole-heartedly do not want to leave this place. But I believe JMU has prepared me with the skills I need to slay the real world and have given me fantastic friends and memories along the way.

Choose wisely, my friends.

Go Dukes!