Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[guardian]

Anonymous wrote:GMU is much more conservative (lots of conservative donors) and CNU is much more conservative because the white community / military in Hampton Roads is more conservative.

GMU students are not conservative. They are like the rest of the DMV.

The rest of the DMV went to better colleges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

My DC also turned down UVA this past year in favor of another instate option. When I asked him why, his impression was that it was filled with pretentious assholes and he'd had enough of that in high school. Based on many of the UVA boosters on this board, I'd say he was probably correct.

A kid who felt this way never would have applied in the first place.

He applied because we asked him to keep his options open.

Sure he did.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

My DC also turned down UVA this past year in favor of another instate option. When I asked him why, his impression was that it was filled with pretentious assholes and he'd had enough of that in high school. Based on many of the UVA boosters on this board, I'd say he was probably correct.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

Anonymous wrote:[guardian]

Anonymous wrote:GMU is much more conservative (lots of conservative donors) and CNU is much more conservative because the white community / military in Hampton Roads is more conservative.

GMU students are not conservative. They are like the rest of the DMV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[guardian]

Anonymous wrote:GMU is much more conservative (lots of conservative donors) and CNU is much more conservative because the white community / military in Hampton Roads is more conservative.

GMU students are not conservative. They are like the rest of the DMV.

The libertarian/conservative donors donate to the Law School, the economics dept. and its Mercatus Center. The rest of the university has no connection. The remaining faculty and students tend liberal/left though there's the usual variety. The school is also known for things more associated with liberal concerns: a strong climate change research and conservation center (that routinely gets harassed by rightwing folks outside the university), excellent media and African American studies, the center for new media and digital history (which has , conflict resolution and transformation (which works on issues related to refugees and DREAMers), and for providing graduate education for most of the area educators. It is also one of the most ethnically and racially diverse schools in the US. I would say its defining feature in terms of politics is inclusiveness.

Anonymous wrote:[guardian]

Anonymous wrote:GMU is much more conservative (lots of conservative donors) and CNU is much more conservative because the white community / military in Hampton Roads is more conservative.

GMU students are not conservative. They are like the rest of the DMV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
First visit complete. Went to George Mason.
My impressions...
Doesn't feel like a commuter school. When you are walking around it, it feels like self-contained college campus. While I was aware I was in Fairfax County, I could not see the surrounding suburbs when walking through the campus. We got to walk through the dorm section--actually got to see a room. Perfectly acceptable. They emphasized the opportunities for undergraduate research, as well as internships. Students we met were from PA, NY, and MA, so seems like a good mix of different people.
Attractive campus. Not as charming as the much older colleges, but attractive. Also good use of space. Despite being big enough to have 26,000 undergraduates, you can walk from one end of the campus to another in approximately 15 minutes.
We also went to the separate orientation about the Honors College. Seems to be a very competitive program, that offers a condensed high-level version of the required courses, option for living in the honors dormitory, smaller classes and priority at registration.
I assured my kid that if they attended GM I would not be "dropping by" to visit--that I'd treat it as if they left for a more distant college. Fortunately, based on my parenting style up to this point, kid could believe me! Overall impression was that it was a good solid choice. Not really able to compare it to others, as it's our first visit, but think kid was happy to have seen a college, feel confident they could get in, and more importantly they would have a good experience going there.

+1 My hs kid and his friends sometimes go to events at GMU on their own and go to a dining hall ($10 bucks) or to one of the food spots in the Johnson Center and get just a little feel for what independent life at college is like. One thing he's realized since he started doing this is that while he used to say 'no way I'm going to GMU' because it's too close to home, he realized that it feels totally self-contained, is its own world, and there are a LOT of students there--it's now a perfectly acceptable option to him.

+2
I concur with both PPs. My son, who was accepted at UVA, was *NOT* accepted GMU Honors. So, UVA wacko booster - let that sink in for a minute.

Honors programs are tough admits, and admissions decisions can seem arbitrary sometimes. Congrats to your son for squeaking into UVA. I assume he went to UVA and ending up performing mediocre there?

Ha - nope! He declined UVA in favor of another VA school which he loves and which I won't even bother to name because I'm not interested in your absurd assessments. Have a great night!

I don't believe he got into UVA

My DC also turned down UVA this past year in favor of another instate option. When I asked him why, his impression was that it was filled with pretentious assholes and he'd had enough of that in high school. Based on many of the UVA boosters on this board, I'd say he was probably correct.

A kid who felt this way never would have applied in the first place.

He applied because we asked him to keep his options open.

Sure he did.

Case in point.