Is there any academic reason to pick George Mason over W&M?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a student who has no personal need to stay in Northern Virginia and will be living in a dorm the first year (and will try to for future years), does Mason offer any advantages? In anything? (I am not going to tell kid where to go; I've just been asking "Well, which do you think would be better as far as X?" questions. And I think a kid can have a good experience anywhere. But I don't know if I'm asking the right questions.)

Obviously W&M is more prestigious and competitive, and more of a "classic" college experience in terms of the dorm life and the relative isolation of the student body, but there are many reasons to choose Mason as well. For one, Mason is in a better location, making it easier to get internships and experiences directly related to a future career. It also has a lot of programs that are well integrated into the community and into local businesses and institutions, especially govt and education. And it's hard to look for a job when you are far away on a small college campus like W&M, so I think that for many careers Mason will lead to an easier transition to the workforce.

Princeton Review ranks W&M #1 for public schools for internships.

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=top-20-best-schools-for-internships-public-schools

I mean, perhaps it is but this list certainly does not seem very accurate.

Berkeley and UCLA, two major schools in major metropolitan areas not even being ranked is a sign. Are recruiters really going to go to the middle of Missouri instead of across the street to recruit students?

Berkeley and UCLA aren't on the USNWR list someone cited either. There were only four publics on that list with no Virginia schools, including GMU (Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Purdue, and Clemson). Niche says 88% of Berkeley graduates and 91% of UCLA graduates thought the career center was helpful in finding them a job or internships, which sounds pretty high, but the numbers are 89% for GMU and 95% for William and Mary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a student who has no personal need to stay in Northern Virginia and will be living in a dorm the first year (and will try to for future years), does Mason offer any advantages? In anything? (I am not going to tell kid where to go; I've just been asking "Well, which do you think would be better as far as X?" questions. And I think a kid can have a good experience anywhere. But I don't know if I'm asking the right questions.)

Obviously W&M is more prestigious and competitive, and more of a "classic" college experience in terms of the dorm life and the relative isolation of the student body, but there are many reasons to choose Mason as well. For one, Mason is in a better location, making it easier to get internships and experiences directly related to a future career. It also has a lot of programs that are well integrated into the community and into local businesses and institutions, especially govt and education. And it's hard to look for a job when you are far away on a small college campus like W&M, so I think that for many careers Mason will lead to an easier transition to the workforce.

A “better” location in the sense only that it’s close to DC? I mean, William and Mary has a DC program. I’m not sure that mere proximity to DC is worth spending four to seven years on that glorified commuter college campus.

I see the oldsters have returned. Why don’t you go tour GMU (and it’s four other campuses, including Mason Korea) and then come back and say that. All freshmen are required to live on campus. The commuter status is long gone. GMU was, in fact, redesignated by Carnegie over two decades ago from commuter to residential. FWIW my GMU student lived all four years in the dorms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a student who has no personal need to stay in Northern Virginia and will be living in a dorm the first year (and will try to for future years), does Mason offer any advantages? In anything? (I am not going to tell kid where to go; I've just been asking "Well, which do you think would be better as far as X?" questions. And I think a kid can have a good experience anywhere. But I don't know if I'm asking the right questions.)

Obviously W&M is more prestigious and competitive, and more of a "classic" college experience in terms of the dorm life and the relative isolation of the student body, but there are many reasons to choose Mason as well. For one, Mason is in a better location, making it easier to get internships and experiences directly related to a future career. It also has a lot of programs that are well integrated into the community and into local businesses and institutions, especially govt and education. And it's hard to look for a job when you are far away on a small college campus like W&M, so I think that for many careers Mason will lead to an easier transition to the workforce.

A “better” location in the sense only that it’s close to DC? I mean, William and Mary has a DC program. I’m not sure that mere proximity to DC is worth spending four to seven years on that glorified commuter college campus.

I see the oldsters have returned. Why don’t you go tour GMU (and it’s four other campuses, including Mason Korea) and then come back and say that. All freshmen are required to live on campus. The commuter status is long gone. GMU was, in fact, redesignated by Carnegie over two decades ago from commuter to residential. FWIW my GMU student lived all four years in the dorms.

You can get an examption.

Exemptions will be accepted for students who will be above the age of 20 by the start of Fall 2021 or who have close residency to campus with a parent or legal guardian. The residence must be within the counties of Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William, or Loudoun.

https://housing.gmu.edu/apply/new-students/apply-exemption

[Anonymous]

Yes, but still all freshman are required to live on campus and not everyone is granted the waiver.

[Anonymous]

Side question: Why does GMU you get flagged for having an ugly campus? It has really pretty aspects to it. In the woods, nice facilities, and a pretty pond. I understand there is a very suburban parking lot aspect to it but I would never call it ugly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Side question: Why does GMU you get flagged for having an ugly campus? It has really pretty aspects to it. In the woods, nice facilities, and a pretty pond. I understand there is a very suburban parking lot aspect to it but I would never call it ugly.

I don't think it is ugly, but the most liked campuses are almost never all modern architecture. Christopher Newport chose to go in exactly the opposite direction and chose classical architecture and I think it has benefited them greatly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a student who has no personal need to stay in Northern Virginia and will be living in a dorm the first year (and will try to for future years), does Mason offer any advantages? In anything? (I am not going to tell kid where to go; I've just been asking "Well, which do you think would be better as far as X?" questions. And I think a kid can have a good experience anywhere. But I don't know if I'm asking the right questions.)

Obviously W&M is more prestigious and competitive, and more of a "classic" college experience in terms of the dorm life and the relative isolation of the student body, but there are many reasons to choose Mason as well. For one, Mason is in a better location, making it easier to get internships and experiences directly related to a future career. It also has a lot of programs that are well integrated into the community and into local businesses and institutions, especially govt and education. And it's hard to look for a job when you are far away on a small college campus like W&M, so I think that for many careers Mason will lead to an easier transition to the workforce.

A “better” location in the sense only that it’s close to DC? I mean, William and Mary has a DC program. I’m not sure that mere proximity to DC is worth spending four to seven years on that glorified commuter college campus.

I see the oldsters have returned. Why don’t you go tour GMU (and it’s four other campuses, including Mason Korea) and then come back and say that. All freshmen are required to live on campus. The commuter status is long gone. GMU was, in fact, redesignated by Carnegie over two decades ago from commuter to residential. FWIW my GMU student lived all four years in the dorms.

You can get an examption.

Exemptions will be accepted for students who will be above the age of 20 by the start of Fall 2021 or who have close residency to campus with a parent or legal guardian. The residence must be within the counties of Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William, or Loudoun.

https://housing.gmu.edu/apply/new-students/apply-exemption

Exemption means just that . . . the general rule is you need to be on campus.

[Anonymous]

None.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Side question: Why does GMU you get flagged for having an ugly campus? It has really pretty aspects to it. In the woods, nice facilities, and a pretty pond. I understand there is a very suburban parking lot aspect to it but I would never call it ugly.

C’mon man.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a student who has no personal need to stay in Northern Virginia and will be living in a dorm the first year (and will try to for future years), does Mason offer any advantages? In anything? (I am not going to tell kid where to go; I've just been asking "Well, which do you think would be better as far as X?" questions. And I think a kid can have a good experience anywhere. But I don't know if I'm asking the right questions.)

Obviously W&M is more prestigious and competitive, and more of a "classic" college experience in terms of the dorm life and the relative isolation of the student body, but there are many reasons to choose Mason as well. For one, Mason is in a better location, making it easier to get internships and experiences directly related to a future career. It also has a lot of programs that are well integrated into the community and into local businesses and institutions, especially govt and education. And it's hard to look for a job when you are far away on a small college campus like W&M, so I think that for many careers Mason will lead to an easier transition to the workforce.

A “better” location in the sense only that it’s close to DC? I mean, William and Mary has a DC program. I’m not sure that mere proximity to DC is worth spending four to seven years on that glorified commuter college campus.

I see the oldsters have returned. Why don’t you go tour GMU (and it’s four other campuses, including Mason Korea) and then come back and say that. All freshmen are required to live on campus. The commuter status is long gone. GMU was, in fact, redesignated by Carnegie over two decades ago from commuter to residential. FWIW my GMU student lived all four years in the dorms.

Yeah, Mason Arlington is a site to behold. It’s breathtaking!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Side question: Why does GMU you get flagged for having an ugly campus? It has really pretty aspects to it. In the woods, nice facilities, and a pretty pond. I understand there is a very suburban parking lot aspect to it but I would never call it ugly.

C’mon man.

I think the campus is OK. Most prospective students are probably going to favor the looks of William & Mary, UVA, Virginia Tech, and CNU, though, which are more traditional and look more historic. VCU gets some additional points for being more urban. I think GMU rates with JMU on appearances, and many find JMU attractive.