Virginia Tech vs. George Mason OOS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/12/11/gmu-expanding-arlington-campus-thanks-amazon-hq2.html

^Damn! Nice job, GMU!!

[Anonymous]

I would generally prefer Tech over Mason but $60K in loans is waaaay too much compared to $20K. Comp sci is good at Mason. Plus it’s nice to be in the area for internship opportunities.

[Anonymous]

GMU's comsci program is very good. For the cost, the proximity to home, and the proximity to internships, I think this student will end up with a better experience going to GMU.

[Anonymous]

GMU does a good job with the DC kids who need financial aid and helps them with the transition to college.
VT is harder for the urban kids to get to and fit in.

[Anonymous]

The debt isn’t worth the more expensive school unless there is a specific professor/ lab/ program ( like a summer academy or corps of cadets or research lab) of interest to the student . Also what PP said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posting for a friend who lives in DC so no viable state university option.
Is there a big difference between CS major at GMU and Virginia Tech? Kid got into both but would need to take out at least 15k in loans per year for Virginia Tech but only 5k per year at GMU. This is after including DC TAG that gives you $10K per year towards public universities if you are a DC resident. Is GMU the obvious choice here or am I missing something?

Aren't Tech and GMU about the same price? Did the student get merit aid from GMU?

Seems to have gotten a few more grants from GMU including some merit aid. I’m guessing financial aid is limited for this kid because he is not instate. He did get some but family is not in a position to pay anything especially now and he will have to cover his portion through loans.

Merit Aid is limited for OOS not need based. I would have thought that VT would have offered more Merit as they have a bigger endowment.

[Anonymous]

Most NOVAns, but not all, would choose VT over GM if given the choice. GMU is in our backyard and our kids disparage it because they don't want to stay home.

But I can think of many reasons a person would make the opposite choice. Blacksburg is very far from any urban life and internship opportunities abound for Mason kids who want to mix work and study.

[Anonymous]

I think Blacksburg will be very difficult for a low income, urban kid. He will feel like a fish out of water and will not have much of a support network. My guess is that he is first generation to go to colleges. Lots of kids fitting his profile end up dropping out of college when they go far from home.

Would strongly encourage him to do GMU at a cheaper cost. Further, the proximity to Amazon HQ2 will make for awesome PAID internship opportunities during the school year.

The great thing about doing undergrad or grad school in the DC area is that there is very little competition for paid internships during the school year. Given the proximity to HQ2 and the Dulles Corridor, this kid could graduate school with multiple prestigious internships under his belt and very likely multiple job offers before graduating. Hell, they may even ask him to start working and pay his tuition for part-time classes. It happens all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/12/11/gmu-expanding-arlington-campus-thanks-amazon-hq2.html

^Damn! Nice job, GMU!!

+1. Very exciting to see GMU grow and expand. While my DD was there, she commented on the constant construction going on on campus (try sleeping in late when a new library is being built outside your dorm window) but that University is just exploding. And, Yes, the computer science program there is excellent, as is any type of engineering program, too. Take word of a PhD from there: "I did my Ph.D. in Climate Dynamics from George Mason University. I know a couple of folks in Computer Science major. Overall, GMU is one of the fastest growing universities, and it maintains excellent teaching and research standards. Computer Science program is one of the best programs offered by GMU. The course might be a little bit more expensive though."

[Anonymous]

My DD is a freshman at VT. My 12-year old DS will most likely be going to GMU. He’s into computers, but doesn’t have the drive to get scores required for VT and other more competitive VA state schools.

Long run we save money. This pandemic thing will be changing how we view colleges and costs mo big forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GMU does a good job with the DC kids who need financial aid and helps them with the transition to college.
VT is harder for the urban kids to get to and fit in.

+1 GMU has way more low-income city kids, kids who transfer from CC and is good at supporting them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GMU does a good job with the DC kids who need financial aid and helps them with the transition to college.
VT is harder for the urban kids to get to and fit in.

+1 GMU has way more low-income city kids, kids who transfer from CC and is good at supporting them.

This.

GMU is good for the kids who might come from a less traditional background who just want to get their degree, get some experience, and move on. For someone who is interested in the traditional image of “college” then Tech would be a better choice.

They both have their pros and cons and what may seem ideal for one student is a turnoff to another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GMU has excellent connections for jobs post college. VT is in the middle of nowhere but GMU is in the middle of job opportunities.

+1

[Anonymous]

I posted earlier that I’d go with low to no debt and diversity of GMU. It is a current goal of VT to significantly increase their first gen college students and overall diversity, so, the diversity factor may be improving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA Tech CS is a strong program, and very selective. Much better regarded than GMU

This is not true.