Virginia Tech vs. George Mason OOS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I don’t think anyone is saying that there aren’t students living on campus. Just that compared to many colleges, there is a larger percent who live at home with parents and come from the immediate area.

That was true in the 90s, not anymore

Among Virginia state schools it is true.
2019-2020, percent of first-time, first year students who live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing:
UVA - 100%
Virginia Tech - 99%
William and Mary - 99%
James Madison - 98%
Christopher Newport University - 98%
Longwood - 96%
Radford - 91%
VCU - 82%
Old Dominion University - 72%
GMU - 62%

Per common data set

What are the numbers after first year? I suspect GMU, UVA, Virginia Tech, JMU, VCU, ODU are well below 50% on campus for four years. William & Mary, CNU, Radford, and Longwood are probably above 50%.

Looking at numbers after the first year doesn’t tell you that much, because many students will move into apartments just slightly off campus but still walking to classes and integrated into the campus environment, but they’re still technically counted as off campus — that’s a very different situation than someone living a 20 or 30 minute drive from campus with parents or whomever. The reason you want to look at % of first year students living on campus is because at a lot of schools first years are required to live on campus unless they’re with parents. So if your school requires all freshman to live on campus (like GMU) but have a high percentage of freshmen NOT living on campus, then that’s more indicative of a commuter school, because the only way they can do that is if they live close by and commute.

One of my kids goes to a school (no where near VA) where 99% of freshmen live on campus and 46% of all undergrads do...that’s a residential school where students move to adjacent apartments as juniors. The other goes to a school where 97% live on campus as freshman and 30% of the school total does. That’s a residential school where kids move into adjacent housing as mostly as sophomores.

Perhaps, but a lot of the best schools have a high percentage of students living on campus for four years. Princeton 94%, Harvard 97%, Yale 84%, Stanford 93%, Chicago 85%, Duke 85%, MIT 92%, etc.

True. I just meant that in a *general* sense, looking at the % of all undergraduates students living on campus doesn’t always tell you if a school is a commuter school or not. I think most people know that Duke and UChicago aren’t commuter schools, but for those schools where you’re not really sure and are trying to figure it out...% of freshmen on campus is the better number to look at.

[Anonymous]

Given the OP's presented fact set, GMU seems to be a much better choice for a kid from a low income background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given the OP's presented fact set, GMU seems to be a much better choice for a kid from a low income background.

+1. It's the most diverse school in the state. DC had a great time there. He, too, lived in the dorms all four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the OP's presented fact set, GMU seems to be a much better choice for a kid from a low income background.

+1. It's the most diverse school in the state. DC had a great time there. He, too, lived in the dorms all four years.

My kid from a school in FCPS that has a 4.3 and could get in many other places is strongly considering it. After visiting his older brothers college so many times and seeing how self-segregated the students are, he wants place where he can have a friend group like he has in high school. His friends have always been from all over the globe and he doesn’t want to go to a college where that’s abnormal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the OP's presented fact set, GMU seems to be a much better choice for a kid from a low income background.

+1. It's the most diverse school in the state. DC had a great time there. He, too, lived in the dorms all four years.

My kid from a school in FCPS that has a 4.3 and could get in many other places is strongly considering it. After visiting his older brothers college so many times and seeing how self-segregated the students are, he wants place where he can have a friend group like he has in high school. His friends have always been from all over the globe and he doesn’t want to go to a college where that’s abnormal.

My experience at GMU was that since so many kids are local, a lot of kids hung out with people they knew from high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the OP's presented fact set, GMU seems to be a much better choice for a kid from a low income background.

+1. It's the most diverse school in the state. DC had a great time there. He, too, lived in the dorms all four years.

My kid from a school in FCPS that has a 4.3 and could get in many other places is strongly considering it. After visiting his older brothers college so many times and seeing how self-segregated the students are, he wants place where he can have a friend group like he has in high school. His friends have always been from all over the globe and he doesn’t want to go to a college where that’s abnormal.

My experience at GMU was that since so many kids are local, a lot of kids hung out with people they knew from high school.

My DC from Langley high did not find that to be true at all. In fact, she says that not that many from Langley went her year. She made her friends in the dorm and through the Honors program. It can be true if your DC files the waiver and lives at home, that they will gravitate back to their high school friends who are not in college, just out of habit, but DC was in the dorms all four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the OP's presented fact set, GMU seems to be a much better choice for a kid from a low income background.

+1. It's the most diverse school in the state. DC had a great time there. He, too, lived in the dorms all four years.

My kid from a school in FCPS that has a 4.3 and could get in many other places is strongly considering it. After visiting his older brothers college so many times and seeing how self-segregated the students are, he wants place where he can have a friend group like he has in high school. His friends have always been from all over the globe and he doesn’t want to go to a college where that’s abnormal.

My experience at GMU was that since so many kids are local, a lot of kids hung out with people they knew from high school.

My DC from Langley high did not find that to be true at all. In fact, she says that not that many from Langley went her year. She made her friends in the dorm and through the Honors program. It can be true if your DC files the waiver and lives at home, that they will gravitate back to their high school friends who are not in college, just out of habit, but DC was in the dorms all four years.

This is reassuring to hear. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the OP's presented fact set, GMU seems to be a much better choice for a kid from a low income background.

+1. It's the most diverse school in the state. DC had a great time there. He, too, lived in the dorms all four years.

My kid from a school in FCPS that has a 4.3 and could get in many other places is strongly considering it. After visiting his older brothers college so many times and seeing how self-segregated the students are, he wants place where he can have a friend group like he has in high school. His friends have always been from all over the globe and he doesn’t want to go to a college where that’s abnormal.

My experience at GMU was that since so many kids are local, a lot of kids hung out with people they knew from high school.

My DC from Langley high did not find that to be true at all. In fact, she says that not that many from Langley went her year. She made her friends in the dorm and through the Honors program. It can be true if your DC files the waiver and lives at home, that they will gravitate back to their high school friends who are not in college, just out of habit, but DC was in the dorms all four years.

This is reassuring to hear. Thank you.

You're welcome. Do you have any other questions I can answer? I've had two DCs attend there. Both lived in the dorms. Both got great educations and are working fulltime in their fields.

[Anonymous]

I have my BS and MS in CS from Tech and one year left in my PHD from GMU.

I spent five years in Silicon Valley, have been back in DC working for AWS for the last ten years, and have been involved in new grad hiring and internship programs for the last handful of cycles.

Both are outstanding and challenging programs. A good GPA from with will guarantee you a job.

Tech’s reputation will only grown stronger as its collaborations with Amazon grown in the next few years but Mason has made incredible connections with local companies and the gov as a CS incubated in the area.

One isn’t head and shoulders better then the other, so don’t make a choice on name reputation alone. They are two completely different experiences. Personally I would have hated to go to GMU as a 22 year old undergrad and would hate to be in Blacksburg as a 30 something part time PHD student.

Visit the schools, figure out what feels comfortable and realize you will be spending a lot more time in the lab then socializing with your BA friends

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have my BS and MS in CS from Tech and one year left in my PHD from GMU.

I spent five years in Silicon Valley, have been back in DC working for AWS for the last ten years, and have been involved in new grad hiring and internship programs for the last handful of cycles.

Both are outstanding and challenging programs. A good GPA from with will guarantee you a job.

Tech’s reputation will only grown stronger as its collaborations with Amazon grown in the next few years but Mason has made incredible connections with local companies and the gov as a CS incubated in the area.

One isn’t head and shoulders better then the other, so don’t make a choice on name reputation alone. They are two completely different experiences. Personally I would have hated to go to GMU as a 22 year old undergrad and would hate to be in Blacksburg as a 30 something part time PHD student.

Visit the schools, figure out what feels comfortable and realize you will be spending a lot more time in the lab then socializing with your BA friends

Campus life has changed a lot since you were at GMU. My DD lived all four years in dorms on campus and had a wonderful experience. As you probably know, the campus is engaged in non-stop building. The dorms are new and huge. The students come from everywhere (DD had international and roommates from Alaska and Las Vegas, Hawaii and India). The facilities are state-of-art. The only downside was the constant building. I took classes there during the summer and enjoyed the green oasis feel. I also liked Tech and the energy on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have my BS and MS in CS from Tech and one year left in my PHD from GMU.

I spent five years in Silicon Valley, have been back in DC working for AWS for the last ten years, and have been involved in new grad hiring and internship programs for the last handful of cycles.

Both are outstanding and challenging programs. A good GPA from with will guarantee you a job.

Tech’s reputation will only grown stronger as its collaborations with Amazon grown in the next few years but Mason has made incredible connections with local companies and the gov as a CS incubated in the area.

One isn’t head and shoulders better then the other, so don’t make a choice on name reputation alone. They are two completely different experiences. Personally I would have hated to go to GMU as a 22 year old undergrad and would hate to be in Blacksburg as a 30 something part time PHD student.

Visit the schools, figure out what feels comfortable and realize you will be spending a lot more time in the lab then socializing with your BA friends

This is an excellent even-handed response. Both schools are good options for the major and both will set the student up well. VT has slightly stronger reputation and more traditional, active on-campus life, GMU has better access to internships throughout undergrad studies, is cheaper, has a more diverse student body, and has more cultural access in the surrounding environment. If the cost difference makes a difference, GMU is the better bet. If it's not that big of a difference, go with student's perception of fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have my BS and MS in CS from Tech and one year left in my PHD from GMU.

I spent five years in Silicon Valley, have been back in DC working for AWS for the last ten years, and have been involved in new grad hiring and internship programs for the last handful of cycles.

Both are outstanding and challenging programs. A good GPA from with will guarantee you a job.

Tech’s reputation will only grown stronger as its collaborations with Amazon grown in the next few years but Mason has made incredible connections with local companies and the gov as a CS incubated in the area.

One isn’t head and shoulders better then the other, so don’t make a choice on name reputation alone. They are two completely different experiences. Personally I would have hated to go to GMU as a 22 year old undergrad and would hate to be in Blacksburg as a 30 something part time PHD student.

Visit the schools, figure out what feels comfortable and realize you will be spending a lot more time in the lab then socializing with your BA friends

This is an excellent even-handed response. Both schools are good options for the major and both will set the student up well. VT has slightly stronger reputation and more traditional, active on-campus life, GMU has better access to internships throughout undergrad studies, is cheaper, has a more diverse student body, and has more cultural access in the surrounding environment. If the cost difference makes a difference, GMU is the better bet. If it's not that big of a difference, go with student's perception of fit.

GMU has the added benefits of five campuses, including the new South Korean campus and the Arlington one (Amazon jobs). My DD lived at the Fairfax campus but often took the campus bus to the Priince William campus for computer classes/cybersecurity. On the other hand, I enjoyed the cohesive feel of VT. They are just different but DD didn't want to be that far out in Blacksburg. She made use of the campus jitney busses to get around and go out for dinner with friends.

[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.

Picking GMU is a no-brainer here, unless the kid loves Virginia Tech or hates GMU.

The family is broke and can’t really afford Virginia Tech.

Computer science is a field where what you can do matters more than prestigious, and GMU probably has the money and location to get great faculty.

Even if Virginia Tech is more prestigious, the GMU location makes it better for jobs and internships.

Going to the less prestigious school may make getting good grades and impressing faculty easier.

Finally, to regular people outside of Virginia and Maryland, they’re at the same prestige level: big, accredited schools are not nearly as well-known as UVA or William & Mary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the OP's presented fact set, GMU seems to be a much better choice for a kid from a low income background.

+1. It's the most diverse school in the state. DC had a great time there. He, too, lived in the dorms all four years.

My kid from a school in FCPS that has a 4.3 and could get in many other places is strongly considering it. After visiting his older brothers college so many times and seeing how self-segregated the students are, he wants place where he can have a friend group like he has in high school. His friends have always been from all over the globe and he doesn’t want to go to a college where that’s abnormal.

Is GMU still like this? My DC and DH are strongly considering GMU with possibly living at home Freshman year. We live 15 min from campus.

DC has a very strong family connection and does not want to move far away. What are the similar schools in 100 miles of the beltway that DC should consider?

[Anonymous]

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

Disagree. GMU very strong for CS.