George Mason University OOS

[Anonymous]

DD is looking at schools that have strong programs in her artistic and academic interests and GMU has both. Having grown up in NOVA, I’d never considered it when I was researching colleges because it was known as a commuter college. We’re in MD now and would need merit aid to consider it. Her stats are good - 4.7 WGPA, 3.9 UW and strong ECs. She would need to audition for her artistic program and it’s extremely competitive. The academic program is very unique and appealing.

Anyone with recent firsthand experience to share about GMU? DD is fine with staying close to home, but she wants to live with friends and feel part of the campus. It would be a bummer if everyone left on the weekends.

[Anonymous]

Is it dance? I was so surprised to hear people so excited about Mason from oos but that program is sought after

[Anonymous]

GMU stopped being a commuter campus in 2010/2011 when the Carnegie foundation reclassified it as primarily residential. My DD lived there all four years on campus and loved her time there. she also got superlative internships in her field and had a concrete well-paying job offer in her field before graduation. FWIW she lived with many OOS and international students. Go and visit

[Anonymous]

GMU is the largest R1 university in the Commonwealth and the most diverse institution in Virginia. It has 40,000 students. there are now three other campuses in VA and one in South Korea. Dance is strong but so is engineering, economics, computer science, game design and cybersecurity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason_University
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason_University

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it dance? I was so surprised to hear people so excited about Mason from oos but that program is sought after

Yes it’s dance. Highly selective and I’m not sure she’ll get in, though she’s a strong dancer. The academic program has a partnership with the Smithsonian that’s really cool. If she could manage both, even in five years, it could be amazing. Glad to hear the campus vibe has improved recently. It was pretty sad in the late 80s and that’s been coloring my view. Sounds like it’s time to take a second look.

[Anonymous]

While I can't speak to the OOS experience directly, we live in NOVA (five miles away) and know quite a few in-state kids who go there and live on campus. They don't really come home. There is a lot to do in the area on campus and off.
Also, the recent graduates we know had excellent outcomes. I also grew up here and GMU is definitely different from the way it was in my high school days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GMU is the largest R1 university in the Commonwealth and the most diverse institution in Virginia. It has 40,000 students. there are now three other campuses in VA and one in South Korea. Dance is strong but so is engineering, economics, computer science, game design and cybersecurity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason_University
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason_University

Wow, I had no idea it was founded by UVA as a regional extension of the UVA campus.

[Anonymous]

GMU is 22% OOS and 11% international. to OP - with your daughter's stats, she might get honors college and merit money. A dear friend got a financial package he couldn't turn down and honors college. He's now in a top law school

[Anonymous]

I know a dance major who likes it. They are doing a minor I think and enjoy seeing kids outside of the dance program where they spend almost all their time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GMU is 22% OOS and 11% international. to OP - with your daughter's stats, she might get honors college and merit money. A dear friend got a financial package he couldn't turn down and honors college. He's now in a top law school

This is really encouraging, thank you!

[Anonymous]

We live very near campus and GMU is fantastic. Lots of great events and lots of kids that stay on and around campus. They have Greek chapters, sports, etc.

When my kids were little, we often found babysitters from the student pop there (all out of staters and all great). A silly data point but still.

[Anonymous]

They campus facilities are really nice. GMU has put a lot of money into getting kids on campus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GMU stopped being a commuter campus in 2010/2011 when the Carnegie foundation reclassified it as primarily residential. My DD lived there all four years on campus and loved her time there. she also got superlative internships in her field and had a concrete well-paying job offer in her field before graduation. FWIW she lived with many OOS and international students. Go and visit

I googled it recently and I thought that only 25% live on campus. Is this out-dated info?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GMU stopped being a commuter campus in 2010/2011 when the Carnegie foundation reclassified it as primarily residential. My DD lived there all four years on campus and loved her time there. she also got superlative internships in her field and had a concrete well-paying job offer in her field before graduation. FWIW she lived with many OOS and international students. Go and visit

I googled it recently and I thought that only 25% live on campus. Is this out-dated info?

I think that's right. But there are TONS of apartments right off campus (including my own neighborhood, unfortunately. I have a diff view of party houses as an adult) where the kids live and walk to campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GMU stopped being a commuter campus in 2010/2011 when the Carnegie foundation reclassified it as primarily residential. My DD lived there all four years on campus and loved her time there. she also got superlative internships in her field and had a concrete well-paying job offer in her field before graduation. FWIW she lived with many OOS and international students. Go and visit

I googled it recently and I thought that only 25% live on campus. Is this out-dated info?

The first year students are required to live on campus but can submit a request for a waiver under certain circumstances (live close to campus, etc., ) so about 75% of the first-year live on campus. My DD happened to like living all four years in dorms and did. GMU says: GMU has a total undergraduate enrollment of 27,014 (fall 2022), with a gender distribution of 51% male students and 49% female students. At this school, 21% of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 79% of students live off campus.

I don't know if that is out of date. If you choose to live on campus all four years (FWIW, I did not - I wanted off as soon as I could from my SLAC), you can, as my kid did. That way you make friends and go to campus activities together. She had a great experience with roommates en suite from all over the world.