James Madison University

James Madison University is one of five colleges Lara Jean applies to as she plans for life after high school. Though she is glad to be accepted, she treats it less as a destination than as a contingency: her hopes remain fixed on the University of Virginia, and after that rejection she imagines attending William & Mary before transferring to UVA.

Place in Lara Jean’s College Plans

Lara Jean’s original list consists of the University of Virginia, William & Mary, the University of Richmond, and James Madison University. The first is her clear favorite and only fifteen minutes from home; William & Mary, two hours away, is her second choice, while James Madison and the University of Richmond share third place. Lara Jean initially wants to apply early to UVA, but her guidance counselor, Mrs. Duvall, recommends waiting so admissions officers can consider her senior-year midyear grades. Mrs. Duvall also encourages her to apply to one out-of-state school, so Lara Jean adds the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an additional option.

The list reflects how strongly Lara Jean measures college against the idea of home. She sees UVA as the perfect campus and does not want to go far away, unlike her older sister Margot, whose dream is to see the world. James Madison is among the in-state choices that keep Lara Jean’s future within reach of her family, but it does not displace UVA as the place she most wants to belong.

Acceptance and the Rejection from UVA

When Lara Jean learns that she has not been admitted to UVA, Mrs. Duvall is surprised: she considers Lara Jean a strong applicant and a wonderful student, and had expected at least a wait-list decision. She points out that UVA received several thousand more applications than in previous years and reminds Lara Jean that decisions from other colleges are still coming. Lara Jean cannot bring herself to say that both of them had expected her to get in; she manages only a weak smile.

By the end of the week, Lara Jean has been accepted by James Madison University and the University of Richmond. She is happy about both admissions, but her attention remains on William & Mary. She has visited Williamsburg with her family and can picture herself at its small, pretty campus, less than two hours from home. Her proposed solution is to attend William & Mary for a year and then transfer to UVA, restoring the future she had imagined. James Madison therefore enters the story as a real acceptance, but not as the school around which she builds that plan.

Significance

James Madison University marks the difference between having viable choices and feeling ready to choose among them. Its place on Lara Jean’s list and its acceptance confirm that the UVA rejection does not leave her without college options. Yet her immediate response is to construct a route back to her first choice rather than reconsider what she wants. The school’s narrative significance lies in that contrast: it is a concrete opportunity, while Lara Jean’s attachment to UVA makes her future feel, for the moment, as though it must still lead home.