We live a mile from JMU and our daughter got her undergrad there a year ago and is now in a Masters program there...I know nothing about the swimming there, but can address some basic "quality of life" issues. JMU & Harrisonburg have a love-hate relationship as many smaller college towns do. The locals feel JMU is overtaking the town, but yet JMU provides a strong and stable economic base for the town. JMU buys property and expands every chance they get. A large college population comes from the northeast (PA, MD, DE, NJ, NY) and culturally they bring a different flair that doesn't jive so well with some locals. I believe most kids have to life off-campus other than freshmen, due to limited dorm space. That has driven rental prices up and large mega-complexes are built to cater to the students. Many are 4-bedroom but it takes 4 students to afford the rent. JMU greatly subsidizes public transportation so there is an abundance of routes/buses available, but unfortunately many kids still want to drive. On and near-campus parking is limited and a campus parking pass is several hundred per year. But that does not assure you of a space, or one very close. My daughter used to circle for 30 minutes to wait for a space. JMU subsidizes our public bus system so the bus transportation is plentiful, but because so many kids drive it clogs up the roads, and even the buses have a hard time staying on schedule. There are a lot of good food choices on campus and my daughter goes there just to eat sometimes. There are many food options around the outer rim of the campus and also in the downtown area which is popular with students. Our main shopping area is a mile from campus and the buses shuttle the students there. Our son got his PhD from UVA and he didn't like the college overall (other than his Chemistry dept)., because it's a "stuffy and stuck-up" student body according to him. Good luck!