DH finished there after transferring from another school out of state. Majored in econ and landed a great consulting job right out of school. It fit his needs because he was working while finishing his degree. He made good connections there and he's landed a couple of good jobs thanks to alums, then went on to a top business school. But the econ dept is strong. I don't know about other depts. He definitely said it had a commuter feel in some senses -- lots of people in his circumstances (older, or maybe working part time, etc). But he thought the quality of the education was good. It just didn't feel like a "traditional" campus if that makes sense. Granted this was in 2002. I am sure things have changed. Guess my point is, the degree has only helped him not hurt him, in his field.

Anonymous wrote:DS transferred there from a smaller public VA college. Grew up in Nova. Loves being back in a diverse community, is in CS and has been impressed by most of his professors. It draws on all the talent in DC for professors. Very solid school with smart immigrant kids whose parents want to save money on housing.

GMU is the most diverse institution of higher ed in the state. Also now the largest and an R1.

Anonymous wrote:OP should use term safety. Post sounds like campus might be dangerous.

More to the point, whether or not any school is a safety school depends on the kid.

OP should use term safety. Post sounds like campus might be dangerous.

DS transferred there from a smaller public VA college. Grew up in Nova. Loves being back in a diverse community, is in CS and has been impressed by most of his professors. It draws on all the talent in DC for professors. Very solid school with smart immigrant kids whose parents want to save money on housing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know lots of happy kids there. Their families are in FFX county, but they live in the dorms. The campus is beautiful, great food, everything is modern. The basketball team is good, lots of events on campus, the recreational facilities top notch, and lots of club sports.

It's a great academic school as well.

You need to make sure you aren't talking like this to your daughter. It sounds like you think you are too good for GMU and that is insulting to the many hardworking smart kids that go there

This line in particular- Is anyone that applied to George Mason applied because they want to go there?

I did a grad degree at GMU. I would not call the campus "beautiful." Not even close.

They've done a ton with the campus just over the last 5-10 years. It's vibrant and new and really attractive.

The newest dorms are extraordinary. DS's looked like hotel rooms. Full bath. Kitchen, etc. I had nothing like that at my SLAC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know lots of happy kids there. Their families are in FFX county, but they live in the dorms. The campus is beautiful, great food, everything is modern. The basketball team is good, lots of events on campus, the recreational facilities top notch, and lots of club sports.

It's a great academic school as well.

You need to make sure you aren't talking like this to your daughter. It sounds like you think you are too good for GMU and that is insulting to the many hardworking smart kids that go there

This line in particular- Is anyone that applied to George Mason applied because they want to go there?

I did a grad degree at GMU. I would not call the campus "beautiful." Not even close.

They've done a ton with the campus just over the last 5-10 years. It's vibrant and new and really attractive.

My kid was a Computer Game Design major there. I spent quite a bit of time on the Manassas Science and Technology Campus. Everything is state-of-the-art.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know lots of happy kids there. Their families are in FFX county, but they live in the dorms. The campus is beautiful, great food, everything is modern. The basketball team is good, lots of events on campus, the recreational facilities top notch, and lots of club sports.

It's a great academic school as well.

You need to make sure you aren't talking like this to your daughter. It sounds like you think you are too good for GMU and that is insulting to the many hardworking smart kids that go there

This line in particular- Is anyone that applied to George Mason applied because they want to go there?

I did a grad degree at GMU. I would not call the campus "beautiful." Not even close.

I think it's gorgeous! The pond? the trees? the setting? I loved going there while DC was a student. and it now has five campuses including Korea

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know lots of happy kids there. Their families are in FFX county, but they live in the dorms. The campus is beautiful, great food, everything is modern. The basketball team is good, lots of events on campus, the recreational facilities top notch, and lots of club sports.

It's a great academic school as well.

You need to make sure you aren't talking like this to your daughter. It sounds like you think you are too good for GMU and that is insulting to the many hardworking smart kids that go there

This line in particular- Is anyone that applied to George Mason applied because they want to go there?

I did a grad degree at GMU. I would not call the campus "beautiful." Not even close.

They've done a ton with the campus just over the last 5-10 years. It's vibrant and new and really attractive.

Anonymous wrote:We know lots of happy kids there. Their families are in FFX county, but they live in the dorms. The campus is beautiful, great food, everything is modern. The basketball team is good, lots of events on campus, the recreational facilities top notch, and lots of club sports.

It's a great academic school as well.

You need to make sure you aren't talking like this to your daughter. It sounds like you think you are too good for GMU and that is insulting to the many hardworking smart kids that go there

This line in particular- Is anyone that applied to George Mason applied because they want to go there?

I did a grad degree at GMU. I would not call the campus "beautiful." Not even close.

Just some sad sack with nothing else to due on a Tuesday night besides start a fight on DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GMU is less selective, but the education is solid and less costly than other institutions. There are many great opportunities there if you seek them out. There are Nobel Prize winners on the faculty... I wouldn't call it community college 2.0.

Yes to this! I went there part-time for business school several years ago (after going to a "better" Virginia school undergrad) and was so impressed by the professors in my program - and the school has continued to improve. Mason gets a bad rap.

This is one of the big positives to GMU - the grad students! My DS went there. One summer I had to drive him (SN) and sat in the back for a fascinating course on cinema. The grad students added the most interesting comments.

Anonymous wrote:GMU is less selective, but the education is solid and less costly than other institutions. There are many great opportunities there if you seek them out. There are Nobel Prize winners on the faculty... I wouldn't call it community college 2.0.

Yes to this! I went there part-time for business school several years ago (after going to a "better" Virginia school undergrad) and was so impressed by the professors in my program - and the school has continued to improve. Mason gets a bad rap.

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone that applied to George Mason applied because they want to go there?
Beside being near home what is one good thing about mason?

Its NOVA 2.0
it's pretty much a 4 year community college...

My daughter has a 3.5 GPA, not sure if it will be good enough for VT or UVA, but Mason will be in.

If you have to be sold on it, you should not go. You sound entitled yet it seems to be the only place your 3.5 GPA kid can get into. Listen to yourself.

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone that applied to George Mason applied because they want to go there?
Beside being near home what is one good thing about mason?

Its NOVA 2.0
it's pretty much a 4 year community college...

My daughter has a 3.5 GPA, not sure if it will be good enough for VT or UVA, but Mason will be in.

I'm assuming you are trolling OP, but in case you're not you need to go visit GMu. It's now the largest university in Virginia with five campuses, including one in Korea. All freshman are required to live on campus unless their waiver is granted 21 percent of all students live in GMU housing. Our DD lived there for four years. Her roommates were international and from the west coast. The engineering, econ, cyber security, computer science and game design programs are especially strong. DD had paid internships all three summers and was hired by Microsoft before graduation.

A 3.5 is not a lock. The state reports that the entering class last year had a 4.0 GPA, a 3.75 at the median and a 3.45 for bottom 25th percentile. ACT was 30 at the 75th percentile and 1330 SAT. https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Since GMU has expanded so much in the last twenty years, the facilities are state-of-the art. Be sure to tour the high tech campus out near Manassas.