46% of students commuting sounds like a commuter school to me. Also how many are part time students? Neither build a sense of community or campus life.

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow! I'm a racing liberal who WAS open to DD going to GMU. I know about the law school but the whole school leans right? No thanks. Question answered, OP.

Their economics department leans right and can brag of a Nobel Laureate. Of course, Mason basically stole their fame from Virginia Tech when they lured two Profs of Economics to Fairfax from Blacksburg. Both were University Distinguished Professors at the time at Tech.

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow! I'm a racing liberal who WAS open to DD going to GMU. I know about the law school but the whole school leans right? No thanks. Question answered, OP.

Cool, what do you race?

This is why https://www.desmog.com/koch-and-george-mason-university/

Oh wow! I'm a racing liberal who WAS open to DD going to GMU. I know about the law school but the whole school leans right? No thanks. Question answered, OP.

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there a lot of conservatives there?

Yuck.

Ignorant liberal.

Signed,
A liberal although becoming moderate more and more

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there a lot of conservatives there?

Yuck.

Between idiotic comments like this and the wildly outdated misinformation about it being a commuter school, you can see why people think VT is the only option.

Aren't there a lot of conservatives there?

Yuck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understand the idea about a school being too close to home. A student never has to go home if they don't want to. I went away to college in FL but my whole dad's side lived in the town about 5 mins away. I'm talking grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins. Family I love and am close to. I NEVER saw them unless I wanted to (random Sunday meals were nice). I had a full college experience.

The thing for George Mason is the issue for them is not just close to home it is the image and largely reality of being a suburban commuter school. If it was University of Florida then I don't think it would face the same level of issue.

I think one problem is that the perception was that the school is a public version of Liberty University. But it actually as a lot of strong graduate programs, in addition to strong undergrad tech programs.

I think one solution would be to offer an honors program that offers automatic access to a Capitol Hill, White House or Pentagon internship. Help people outside of Virginia understand that GMU is a solid, attainable university with easy access everything in DC.

I think another solution would be to make someone like Barack Obama the next president, just to make it clear that it’s not Heritage Foundation U.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understand the idea about a school being too close to home. A student never has to go home if they don't want to. I went away to college in FL but my whole dad's side lived in the town about 5 mins away. I'm talking grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins. Family I love and am close to. I NEVER saw them unless I wanted to (random Sunday meals were nice). I had a full college experience.

The thing for George Mason is the issue for them is not just close to home it is the image and largely reality of being a suburban commuter school. If it was University of Florida then I don't think it would face the same level of issue.

That stopped a long time ago. All freshman are required to live on campus. My DS spent all four years in the dorms.

Thanks for that information. Despite the image challenge, I think GMU has the best prospects for upward advancement of any Virginia public university. The school has a bunch of advantages - some strong programs and faculty, being in the DC area, a huge strong academic student pool in its backyard. This area is not sexy and we grow jaded living here - but DC area is an Economic and Educational Powerhouse, Major Immigration Destination etc. DC area helps attract higher end faculty.

I can see also the changes in the student population helping Mason some. Mason probably has the most diverse, multicultural student population of any Virginia public. That is a key asset these days and even a ratings booster. The new generation is also for better or worse just different from ours. I can see many of them taking a different view towards the college experience - having less value for our picture of the traditional college experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understand the idea about a school being too close to home. A student never has to go home if they don't want to. I went away to college in FL but my whole dad's side lived in the town about 5 mins away. I'm talking grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins. Family I love and am close to. I NEVER saw them unless I wanted to (random Sunday meals were nice). I had a full college experience.

The thing for George Mason is the issue for them is not just close to home it is the image and largely reality of being a suburban commuter school. If it was University of Florida then I don't think it would face the same level of issue.

That stopped a long time ago. All freshman are required to live on campus. My DS spent all four years in the dorms.

Not true. If the student plans to live at home with their parents in nearby counties (Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William, or Loudoun) they can apply for an exemption. I live in one of those areas and know many students who live with their parents and commute in.

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

It is true. All freshman live in the dorms. Yes, you can apply for an exemption. But space is allocated for every single freshman. This was a very big issue for upperclassmen like my DC who wanted to stay in the dorms but was kicked out to make room for the freshmen.

except for the 46% who live off campus and commute, per CDS.

https://oiep.gmu.edu/resources/student-consumer-information/common-data-set/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understand the idea about a school being too close to home. A student never has to go home if they don't want to. I went away to college in FL but my whole dad's side lived in the town about 5 mins away. I'm talking grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins. Family I love and am close to. I NEVER saw them unless I wanted to (random Sunday meals were nice). I had a full college experience.

The thing for George Mason is the issue for them is not just close to home it is the image and largely reality of being a suburban commuter school. If it was University of Florida then I don't think it would face the same level of issue.

That stopped a long time ago. All freshman are required to live on campus. My DS spent all four years in the dorms.

Not true. If the student plans to live at home with their parents in nearby counties (Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William, or Loudoun) they can apply for an exemption. I live in one of those areas and know many students who live with their parents and commute in.

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

It is true. All freshman live in the dorms. Yes, you can apply for an exemption. But space is allocated for every single freshman. This was a very big issue for upperclassmen like my DC who wanted to stay in the dorms but was kicked out to make room for the freshmen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understand the idea about a school being too close to home. A student never has to go home if they don't want to. I went away to college in FL but my whole dad's side lived in the town about 5 mins away. I'm talking grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins. Family I love and am close to. I NEVER saw them unless I wanted to (random Sunday meals were nice). I had a full college experience.

The thing for George Mason is the issue for them is not just close to home it is the image and largely reality of being a suburban commuter school. If it was University of Florida then I don't think it would face the same level of issue.

That stopped a long time ago. All freshman are required to live on campus. My DS spent all four years in the dorms.

Not true. If the student plans to live at home with their parents in nearby counties (Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William, or Loudoun) they can apply for an exemption. I live in one of those areas and know many students who live with their parents and commute in.

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

The choice might be for the type of engineering. My DS wanted aerospace - VT has its own stability wind tunnel as does Purdue and GT - so he applied there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understand the idea about a school being too close to home. A student never has to go home if they don't want to. I went away to college in FL but my whole dad's side lived in the town about 5 mins away. I'm talking grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins. Family I love and am close to. I NEVER saw them unless I wanted to (random Sunday meals were nice). I had a full college experience.

The thing for George Mason is the issue for them is not just close to home it is the image and largely reality of being a suburban commuter school. If it was University of Florida then I don't think it would face the same level of issue.

That stopped a long time ago. All freshman are required to live on campus. My DS spent all four years in the dorms.