George Mason University Top Questions

No, because the growing majority of students are not commuters. It is true George Mason University does have a lot of commuters but it is also in the heart of Northern Virginia. Most of the students I know are not commuter students they live on campus for their four years in college.

These stereotypes are accurate to some extent. But George Mason students also work on campus as well. Additionally, everyone at this school has a job. Some students have the luxury of focusing on their academic success and participating in several campus events. While students at George Mason are pretty diverse, the diversity isn't seen everywhere on campus. In most classes, the students are still mostly white with one to five minorities for the most part.

These stereotypes are accurate to some extent. But George Mason students also work on campus as well. Additionally, everyone at this school has a job. Some students have the luxury of focusing on their academic success and participating in several campus events.

Ten years ago, yes. Today, however, Mason has over 5,000 beds on campus with 2,000 more expected by 2010. The average GPA of incoming freshmen is above 3.5 and for the first time most applicants are rejected.

Mostly, with a few notable exceptions.

Genesee talks about GMU stereotypes.

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It does have a large commuter population, but it is important to recognize that the students who do live on campus are very active, so students who chose to live on campus (as I would recommend) will not feel all alone. George Mason is also not a “backup school” or “easy to get into”. Admission is becoming more and more competitive every year. Currently, College Board reports that only 56{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students who apply are accepted, making it an extremely competitive University. (For example, the same source lists Virginia Tech's admission rate at 67{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}).

No

Sometimes.

Yes, it's true it was a commuter school, but GMU is quickly changing that. Construction is underway for new research facilities for all the sciences and for new studio space for the fine arts. Also being built are new on campus housing buildings.

Mason is certainly not a commuter school anymore. We have grown so much since we became our own university in 1972 that we now have over 30,000 students enrolled at our 4 different campuses. THe image of a commuter school is a thing of the past.

Not at all

Absolutely, except for the small crowd who doesn't know any better.

Of course not. George Mason is a university, and a great one at that. We have sports teams and, believe it or not, on-campus housing.

No. This stereotype could not be any more false. There will be nearly 7,000 students living on campus by the Spring of 2009. We are currently one of the top three residential campuses in Virginia, soon to be in the top 50 in the country. People don't go home on the weekends, they're just not in the dorms because they're around campus participating in activities or in D.C. at a concert, show, or a nice restaurant.

yes and yes.