Super thankful for George Mason University. My oldest daughter was invited to be a youth delegate for the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment (WYSE). She was excited, but also very nervous, but I thought it was a great opportunity for her and a way out of her comfort zone. The advisers and faculty were amazing. Everything was very organized and they kept us parents very well informed. I was very impressed. The dorm she was in was honestly so cool! Was thankful they let us check out the campus a little bit before we said goodbye for 6 days. For being as nervous as she was leading up to the event, she ended up having the best time. She thoroughly enjoyed herself and now has some pretty cool opportunities potentially waiting for her! Thank you so much, WYSE and George Mason University for such a great program! read more

See all

First time at George Mason University. We went to the NAIA Spring Powwow in Dewberry Hall at the Johnson Center. The Center was clean, and it was easy to find the pow wow. Parking at the garage nearby was convenient. We parked there for 6-7 hours and were charged $10 for parking there. The food court on the first floor was nice and had a lot of food options. Lots of restroom locations in the building. The powwow was on the ground floor. It was the most comfortable venue I experienced for a powwow. The Native American & Indigenous Alliance provided free meals and bottles of water during the powwow. Admission was free. They also gave free offerings of Native American Indian post cards. The music and performances at the powwow were very entertaining. I loved the camaraderie between the performers and spectators. The outdoor campus is beautiful and well kept. We enjoyed our visit to George Mason University very much. read more

See all

Went on a campus tour with my sixth graders. It was a great experience and the freshman that gave us a tour did a great job.

Used to be a great university, but so abusive that just a horrible place. Professors tend to be excellent or horrible with little in between. read more

It was a beautiful landscape with a lot of trees. I enjoy how clean was the university and very easy to access we were able to find a very good parking spot. The purpose of my visit was we had a swim competition at their swim center. read more

See all

Don't go here. 0 student support. They just want your money and that's it. It's impossible to reach anyone for assistance with anything. They also didn't put my name in the commencement ceremony. Spend 8k a semester and they still can't do their job right. read more

Academic wise the university is not bad however they have the worst parking service I have ever experienced, they don't have a pay by phone system and you can only pay your ticket online or in person, but it's not that simple, if you choose to pay online you cannot make the payment through your phone you have to pay through the lap top using only google chrome otherwise the payment will not go through. They have literally 100 different parking permits to choose from, each permit is designed for a designated parking lot or area, otherwise you can buy a daily permit everyday or park at their overpriced paid parking. If you got a citation and failed to pay because of their outdated system or for any other reason, they will boot and impound your car until you pay the citation, I'm not sure if this is the policy of a university or a gang?! First off why parking is not free for students, if the internet can be free then parking can definitely be free, second why they don't have one permit that you can buy and park wherever your class is, why do you have to purchase different permits for different classes and why the paid parking has to so overpriced?! Plus who in 2026 doesn't have a pay by phone automated system?! Most importantly why they have to impound your car if the citation is not paid, why can't they take more civilized actions like sending the bill to a collector, or having a policy stating that you cannot graduate if you have unpaid citations or you can't register for new semester until you pay your citations, why impounding you car as if their lives depends on you paying that citation?! Parking problems are not real problems these are made-up problems to collect money out of people for no good reason, but impounding people's cars is a real and serious problem, whoever responsible for these policies need to learn how to deal with students in a proper and decent way. Last but not least, they do have payments plans for unpaid citations that they keep on inflating for no good reason, but they will never tell you about these payment plans until you mention that you don't have enough money to pay the citation only then they will offer their payment plans. As if student's life needs to be any more difficult, I really wish they can update their outdated system, have a pay by phone system, have one permit that can be bought and used anywhere on the campus and most importantly reconsider their policies regarding impounding cars, no car should be impounded unless there is a safety hazard not because of unpaid citations, this is ridiculous, do students have to worry their quizzes and exams or worry about citations?! read more

went for two years and transferred. The academic standing of this school is the best thing here. Outside of that there is no school culture. No one is active on campus and no one talks to random students like normal schools do. Don' t come here if you want to have a good college experience. The food is very okay. They just want your money and it feels like you get nothing in return. The parking service will ticket you if you don't have a front liscense plate. Student services are so bad at thier job. They don't understand the most simple tasks and will lead you in the wrong direction.Don't waste your money and time. read more

First time at Eagle Bank Arena at George Mason University. I worked around the corner in Burke for many years but really never really came here. The campus is massive as they have added on quite a bit over the years. I have been to many graduations and I have to say this one was very well organized. Parking was easy and well directed. The instructions were very clear about what you could and could not bring in to thr arena ao I passed the test.The arena large and very clean which is a plus. They even offered food during graduation, but I was fasting during that time(My 40 year high school reunion is next month and I am not looking busted) I was pleasantly surprised. And even though I live in Maryland, I will definitely be back to partake of some of events at Eagle Bank Arena in the future. read more

See all

Amazing campus! Huge. Close enough to get to the city bustle easily. Loved this campus and design. read more

See all

My daughter just graduated GMU today. She enjoyed GMU. Some of her friends went there as well. She had a couple classes online and a couple where attendance in the classroom was mandatory. She loves school. She gets along with all teachers and Professors. She likes to lead in team projects. She just enjoys all that. I'm so happy for her. The campus seems clean and people friendly. I liked watching the delivery robots rolling across campus. Sometimes they get stuck or lost and move in circles. It's kinda funny. I had to chuckle about it. Buildings were nice and clean. Walkable from parking garage. I'm so glad she enjoyed her experience here and is able to take her lessons into a new life, ahead. read more

See all

College touring the huge campus. It seemed nice and pretty open. Our tour was great and we enjoyed the hour and a half tour. Very informative, but the freshman dorms. Small, tiny and very boxy!! Meaning...it's a box. Don't bring the house if you plan to attend this college. Hopefully the night life on campus is very lit....meaning the lighting. It's surrounded by trees and a land of forest. That would be my only concern. read more

I've been going to this university for over 4 years now. Literally everything except for classes is an absolute mess. There's nothing happening on campus. It's because George Mason's student population is 70% commuter students who leave after class. The campus dies over the weekend and you'll see only like 5 people max when walking from your dorm to the dining hall. The dorms are the bare minimum as well. I was forced to get a dorm each year since I lived too far to commute, so I've lived in a lot of different dorms like Commonwealth, Whitetop, Northern Neck, Rogers, and Sandbridge. Each one is the same copy paste building with 1 bathroom for every 4-5 students. Good luck taking a shower in the morning before your class since one of your roommates is already in there. The housing department makes all of this 10x worse. If you don't believe me, go check their 1.4 star rating on google. Now you gotta run since you need breakfast before going to class so stop by Southside, the worst dining hall on the east coast. The staff hates their jobs and will take out their frustrations on you. They're rude and rush you at worst, and incompetent at best. Head over to one of the stations to pick up some slop in a dried out hotdog bun and pray you don't get mold in it, which I've gotten twice before. I could write an entire other review about how much Southside sucks. Now you're late to class because the staff move so slow that a 10 person line formed. After class, you might as well just go back to your dorm and doom scroll, as that's the most entertaining thing on campus. If you thought to join a club, think again. 50% of the "clubs" are greek life that suck and don't even have parties big enough to be noticed by students, and half the others are groups who only let people of a certain race in, like the African Student Organization, or the Asian Student Advocacy Group. If you're a straight white male like me, you're excluded from all of these. So much for including everyone. Out of the remaining 25% of clubs, 90% of them won't be interesting. There'll be maybe 1 or 2 clubs that seem interesting, but you can't get into them since there's only one day out of the entire school year where they're recruiting and if you have class that day, you'll have to go through the Mason 360 app to contact them, which nobody looks at. Maybe you could go to a hangout spot to meet people. Nope. Everyone there is with their friends from high school and don't want to make new friends. George Mason is also one of the few colleges in the nation that offers game design as a major and not just as a minor, so all the introverted gamers flock here. What do introverted gamers like to do? Sit in their rooms all day playing video games. You'll never see these people outside of class and the dining hall, and they don't want to talk to you. So if you're also a gamer that is desperate for new friends with similar interests, you're screwed. How about you go to the student involvement events that sometimes happen? The activities either suck completely, or there's one fun thing there, and the line for it loops around the whole campus, so you'll sit in line for 3 hours for a 30 second experience and call it quits. Even Mason Day, which is the biggest event, suffers from this. They have some fun stuff, but the lines are even worse than normal events. Plus, anyone who isn't a mason student has to pay $45 for a ticket. This latest one had the headline singer flake last minute and they had to replace him with some random person. Also, the cost of living here is ridiculously high because they charge you for literally everything, and what they offer is the bare minimum they can get away with. I did the math, and if every student going here was to pay in state tuition, the university would make somewhere around $450 million every semester off of tuition ALONE. Where the hell is all that money going? It sure as hell isn't being used to improve the student experience. Maybe it's being wasted on constant pointless construction. During this past fall semester, I was unfortunate enough to have my room be directly above a construction project. They would start work at around 8 in the morning with jackhammers. It took them until the beginning of the spring semester to finish their work, and guess what they built. A small, thin arch near one of the side exits that didn't even provide cover from rain. Practically nobody is going to even see that arch, and even less are going to get use out of it. I spent an entire semester waking up at 8 in the morning and dodging wet concrete for an arch. No wonder they have to put up signs in the parking garage elevators telling people not to jump. There's more to say, but Yelp has a character limit. read more

Came here with my Mom to attend the Korean orchestra concert, A Summer Night's Dream, at the Harris Theater on August 11th at 5:00 PM. Parking was simple at the garage. Gettting seated inside was a breeze as there were ushers at the entrance. Once the opera singers and pianists came out, their performances were pretty scintillating! There were a whole lot of older Koreans, but my Mom seemed to enjoy it. As for me, it was alright since I prefer more so the K-Pop music. But overall, the performances were great! The Sopranos, the Pianists and the male singers had great voices. Overall, we enjoyed our time. read more

See all

I hate this campus with a burning passion. The professors and staff are fine and all. But the infrastructure. SUCKS! There is not nearly enough parking let alone DISABLED PARKING for students to get by! And you'd think that they'd have enough online classes to make up for this crowded lack of access! But no, asynchronous online classes are rare. Synchronous classes that we need most are nonexistent. I am writing as a mobily impaired student walking half a mile to get to my class. Because I was lucky to find ONE disabled parking space half a mile away. I am in pain. read more

Wish I could give a negative rating or at least a 0 rating. I feel scammed by this GMU. I applied to GMU with one day to spare for the deadline to register. They took more than 48 business hours to process my application causing me a late fee. This is the second time in a row that they do this. I strongly feel like they deliberately do this to take advantage of new students. GMU also creates unnecessary holes to jump through in the registration process in order to increase the chances of a late registration. I have applied to close to 20 different universities in my lifetime, this university has been the least welcoming, least accommodating and least willing to remove discouraging late registration fees. They also make the process very difficult to audit my first class that I would miss otherwise because they were late with my registration. I spoke with someone from graduate registration that could not even resend me the registration email for my acceptance. The acceptance email is the only way I can register for classes which is very limiting. read more

it's a good school for learning the right tools but they need help with different leadership skills. some teachers want tech kids at times to be care bots. read more

I'm a proud alumni of George Mason University who graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and was awarded the Psychology Outstanding Senior Award by the Psychology Department. It was given to me by Dr. Michael E. Hurley, who has continued to be my highly regarded associate and supporter. I had the honor of serving as Vice President of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, GMU chapter, with Dr. Hurley providing leadership. From the GMU website: "Dr. Hurley is the coordinator of the advising office for the undergraduate psychology program at George Mason University. He has been an administrative faculty member since joining the psychology department in 1993. Dr. Hurley also teaches in the undergraduate program, and has served as the faculty advisor for the GMU chapter of the Psi Chi honor society since 2004. Dr. Hurley was the first recipient of George Mason University's Academic Advisor of the Year award in 2005. He was also nominated for the university's Faculty Member of the Year award in 1996 and the Teaching Excellence award in 2007." Dr. Hurley is an integral and valuable member of George Mason University's leadership and faculty team, and he continues to positively impact student lives. I remember all of my amazing Professors at George Mason University and I had the honor of enrolling in and attending a History of Iran class with Dr. Shaul Bakhash, who continues to positively impact my life. I had the honor of having Dr. Bakhash as one of my advisors for my Master's thesis when I was a graduate student at The George Washington University. Dr. Bakhash has expert knowledge of Iran and I was able to use what I learned in his class toward writing my Master's thesis. From the George Mason University website: "Dr. Bakhash specializes in the history of the modern Middle East with a special interest in the history of Iran. He received his B. A. and M. A. from Harvard University and his D. Phil from Oxford University. He worked for many years as a journalist in Iran, writing for Tehran-based Kayhan Newspapers as well as for the London Times, the Financial Times, and the Economist. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and held fellowships at the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton and other research centers. He is the author of Iran: Monarchy, Bureaucracy and Reform Under the Qajars, 1858-1896; The Politics of Oil and Revolution in Iran; and Reign of the Ayatollahs: Iran and the Islamic Revolution. His articles have appeared in numerous scholarly journals and books, as well as in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers." My experience studying at George Mason University helped me to become who I am today and the wealth of information that was presented to me during my undergraduate studies has allowed me to build a solid understanding of the human mind and human behavior throughout the lifespan. I highly recommend the Psychology program to prospective students as the degree can be used in a variety of job settings including mental health, law enforcement, or business, and could provide students with a path to becoming a Psychologist, Neuroscientist, Nurse or Physician. Thank you to all GMU faculty for an amazing learning experience. read more

There are lots of bushes on this campus. And GMU is such a Republican school, I'm surprised they didn't use that as an excuse to rename it George Bush University. But GBU sounds a lot like GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm). Which I don't think ever happened to me here. Did I mention this was my University for 3 years of my life? I know this campus like the back of my hand. I met John Kerry here, we saw Obama here, we went all the way to the Final Four against all odds. We ate the crap food on a daily basis. I slept with so many girls and a few boys and a few I'm not sure of. I lived on campus, near campus and then off campus. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was a waste of time. The University scores 5 except that they never gave me my diploma. Ever. Because I owed for a parking ticket that I never actually got... ever. I disputed it, it was never resolved, so I never got my diploma. They should be ashamed, really. I'm not paying for a parking ticket I didn't get. The professors - mostly - are 5-star rated. Except for the ones that aren't. The gorgeous campus is a 10 out of 5. Secluded and perfect. It's expanded a lot lately unfortunately but it's still lovely. I could go on all day about this place but my stomach feels engeorged, I must be hungry. I'm going down and mason myself some breakfast. read more

See all

Update: Never received a degree despite graduating. Classes still cost the same even though all classes were online and were nothing but busy work. Unresponsive administrative staff The only thing I learned was how the American education system has failed an entire generation of students. read more

I came here for Health Wellness Expo. It was hard to find parking spots and the venue. No signs for this event. Not organized well at all. The event was good enough. Free product samples and vouchers. The best one is a free 5 mnts massage. Students are really energetic! Parking: Not free. $3 first 1 hour. I paid $6 means I stayed longer than I thought. Many parking say you need a ticket or a permission. So you have to park in the building at the center. read more

See all

My experience for my Masters of Social Work was an odd one. When I was accepted, I was not informed the program was actually in a dingy office building way off-campus in Old Town Fairfax which had no computers, no vending machines, no WiFi, no access to food-but oh, there was free parking. My last semester of the program (Spring 2018), we were moved on-campus to a brand new, beautiful building with access to all the on-campus amenities, including the privilege to pay absurd amounts to park on-campus. Had I been on-campus the entire time, I might feel slightly less jaded and like this program even mattered slightly to the university. As for faculty, I can count on one hand the number of professors over the course of 4 semesters that were actually engaged in teaching. After getting frustrated that a tenured professor whom should never have been teaching kept being assigned to sections of classes I wanted to take, I had to work my entire schedule around avoiding their sections so I could *perhaps* actually learn something and not have a 3 hour "study hall". I did not expect this at the graduate level, I can say that for sure. Some buildings are nice, some are old and deteriorating. The Johnson Center, which again I only had access to my last semester, had a nice variety of dining options. Lots of green spaces on campus too. I much more prefer an urban campus vs. a self-contained one, so I know I would not have been happy here as an undergrad for 4 years, but if that's your jam, this should fit you well. Basically I ended up at GMU because 1. there are no other MSW programs that are full time in Virginia except at VCU and I was NOT commuting to Richmond and 2. I was granted in-state tuition. In fact, the only options in DC for an MSW program are at Catholic and Howard, both considerably more expensive considering they are private schools. Bottom line: I am happy I got my MSW so I can pursue the work I want, but I feel the MSW program here is considerably lacking in both the quality of faculty and fellow students. However, I would hope that the program is now on-campus, a prospective student would have a more enjoyable 2 years than I had. read more

I can't speak for all since I am one of the thousands of students that have attended the school during the 2010's: The Good: the location of the school is great for those who want to be in a metropolitan area. Fairfax is a nice and quiet suburban place with a cute old town with mom and pop businesses and restaurants but it isn't exactly poppin when it comes to bars and nightlife. On the days I wanted to have fun, I was able to freely use the shuttle or the CUE bus, hop on the metro and head to Arlington/D.C. Whether for work, internships or to have fun at the bars/clubs/museums, being close to D.C. was a huge plus on choosing GMU. Unless you have the means to pay for a private university by scholarships or being lucky to have parents who are willing to pay for school, there aren't a lot of choices in universities that give you value in the D.C. area while offering a variety of programs. P.S. I read an article ranking universities/colleges on default rates and GMU is one of the top schools were students were least likely to default on student loans. I like that I was able to meet people from around the world. One of my classmates had to move away during the semester and when she had to switch universities, she missed the diversity she experienced attending GMU. The opportunities I found here were great and it was easy finding a job after graduation. Whether you want to work in the public or private sector, GMU hosts many events for employment and networking opportunities. I loved the the career center that is catered to the business school majors and they helped me with my resume. They also hosted many interviews for various companies. The events and concerts were cool at The Patriot Center (I refuse to call the new name!). The basketball games, comedians, bands and singers have definitely made my experience at GMU. The ehhhhh: I majored in Accounting and the professors I had were either really good or really bad. No joke, I had a professor that refused to help me and told me "that's what the tutoring center is for". I can only speak for my major but I like how the good professors had real world experience working in the Accounting field. GMU should definitely hire more professors with real world experience. The bad: For a school with the reputation for being a commuter school, the parking is a joke. Instead of making fancy new buildings, they need to make more parking garages. It gets worse when there is a big event going on. Getting enrolled in the class you need is a pain for a university that has more than 20,000 students. Either hire more professors or stop admitting students. What is the point of increasing enrollment if you don't have room to class all of them? And with a reputation of being a commuter school, there isn't a lot of classes that happen after 5pm. It does get better when you become a junior/senior since you get priority to those evening classes. I hate that they took away the cheap dining options such as the Burger King and Taco Bell in The Johnson Center. For the broke students, go to Chick Fil A in Student Union. The dining halls rarely serve any good food. I would just stay at Ike's the whole day to get more value for my money and it was open 24/7. The 'honorable mention': I know some people complain about not making friends, GMU not being in a college town, it needs to have a football team, etc. I can't speak for everyone but college is what you make of it and there is no perfect university will fit all students needs. I had class mates from out of the area that choose to attend or transfer from other universities to GMU specifically for the good reasons I listed above. I had no problem making friends at GMU from and I still talk to them to this day. I found that people who didn't grow up in this area cherished the opportunity in attending GMU. Depending on what you want to study, GMU is a great choice and I am looking forward to what the future holds at GMU. Proud Patriot! read more

I'm attending Mason for my BA in IR and so far Mason has exceeded my expectations. As a person who lives in walking distance to the campus, I get to fully appreciate the beauty the campus has to offer. There are plenty of areas for students to hang out and enjoy the sun. Professors of the Schar School for Policy and Government are beyond intelligent and all of them have their PhDs in the respected field. GMU required many of their professors to have experience in what they are teaching so I can relax and know that these professors are coming from a place of knowledge. Infrastructure wise Mason is really up and coming. With the completion of Fenwick Librarys expansion, Perterson Health, and the upcoming new Robinson building(s) the campus looks right out of the future. Housing for students is difficult with not many options but with new apartments being built in the heart of campus you can count on the number of units available rising. A great research University with a prestigious government program puts the school on top. read more

George Mason University - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

See all

Awesome campus. I have been before years ago when I was the CCBC Essex volleyball's manager. We walked around the campus while waiting for our event to start and was able to enjoy the campus's dining hall. I was happy to see my favorite food spot Garbanzos, which are only close to Virginia or the DC area. There were several students who were very helpful with directions around campus. Parking was not that bad before and after the event. read more

George Mason University - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

GMU is an idyllic looking campus smack in the middle of Fairfax, Va. I agree that it is mostly a commuter school (although this has been rapidly changing) but I found that a lot of my classmates were entrepreneurial moguls on the side, thanks to Northern Virginia's booming technology industry. I was lucky enough to live both on and off campus and found the school to be a bustling hot spot of student activity...if you actively seeked it out. I met a lot of people who complained that GMU was not a "real" school but these were the people who went to class and then ran back home to their mommy and daddy's house after their two hours was up. A few notes: - Although you will be tempted to eat Chickfila every single day, please don't. It WILL catch up with you. - As an added bonus, you will graduate with a masters degree in finding a parking spot in a crowded lot in the end of your term here. - La Pat has the BEST chocolate croissants in the world. - GMU Basketball love runs deep. - Asians hang out on the third floor. - Don't be surprised to see people praying on mats several times a day. GMU is a truly international school and you will feel more cultured by the end of your tenure here. - First Fridays are a cheap way to get entertained on the cheap! First run movies, drag queen karaoke, free food, and more! Simply put: I met the love of my life here and am getting married to him this summer and I now have a gig with the greatest company in the world thanks to my edumacation here. What more can you want? read more

DON'T GO!!!! They are absolutely the worst college of all. My daughter went there for a year and it made her so depressed and alone feeling, she never wants to hear the name spoken. The students are so stuck up and snobby whatever friends she did make, so she thought they were friends. They used her for money and her intelligence and when she refused once they blew her off and put her down. Also the riots that occurred on campus were out of control. My daughter was so SCARED one weekend that she was afraid to leave her dorm to eat she was afrai for her safety and no guards or staff was around to help. The school also has professors that teach classes they don't have any knowledge in and when you go to talk to them for help they can't. Think about it do you really want your child to go to George Mason!!! There so much more wrong with that school it would take me forever to tell you all. read more

OH GMU, how I love U. Great education.. especially for the cost. Obtained my Bachelor's and Master's degree from GMU. Best bang for the buck. So much construction going on though.. you can definitely tell the college is expanding. Currently over 30,000 students.. with some of the best graduate programs in the area. Public university = cheap tuition for in-state students. My M.S. degree only cost $15k. read more

There's the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good: I took a Japanese summer class here for fun and it was fabulous. The bad: I tried taking a biology 101 summer class here, and it was pathetic. The teacher would pronounce polysyllabic words like the students had learning disabilities. I dropped the class and asked for my money back after the first day. The ugly: The parking - I was here for a school competition, and after winning, I found a 50$ parking ticket on my car, even though I was parked legally. Parking was basically a mess when they were doing all of the construction. The cherry on top was that after attending a friend's graduation, the attendees were so crass that they caused me to dent the back of my car. The campus police were no help after that. They told me just to drive away, basically, and not report it. (I have a moral code, so I definitely reported it) I've made a solemn oath never to drive back there again. read more

It's the bee's knees... The cat's meow... Plus I like to call it Jorge Mass-soon for sh*ts and giggles... Oh, so many great memories of days passed...so long ago. **tears up as that warm nostalgic feeling comes over him** read more

George Mason University - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

See all

Jean Paul Sartre once said that Hell is other people. After my experiences at GMU, I believe he was referring to the sprawling, expendable, incompetent, toadying bureaucracy that has infected the school like a tumor in a cheap suit. It took over a year to get a degree awarded even though I completed all the work on time. M.R. & A.R.'s reviews are spot-on. Expect posturing, indoctrination, and any original thought or dedication to be crushed beneath the weight of the administration. read more

George Mason is a terrible university. So many professors cant speak English, a lot of them don't care and the overall quality of education is just poor. Small handful of decent professors against the other 90% who are just awful. The only reason why GMU is still even operating is because of the convenience of being in Fairfax (a commuter school), if it were anywhere else, they would have shut down. Alongside the fact you didn't get into the better universities in and out of state or you couldn't afford to go to a better school. GMU also makes any and every attempt to stifle you out of money. Making a ridiculous fee for everything and you cant even use what you are being charged for. If you are a part time student, which a lot of people are because GMU Financial Aid Package SUCK (like REALLY REALLY suck) and all you get is $2000 per semester which doesnt even cover half of part time tuition AND fees, so part time is what you can pretty much afford, and guess what-- you can't use amenities on GMU campus BECAUSE you are part time unless you are willing to pay full price on the gym and pool and parking and recreation. GMU is planning to take on more students and add more ridiculous fees. I had enough and gained enough sense to finally just transfer out to a much better and prestigious university. (Go Hokies!) GMU tries to act like it is a great university (and everyone with half a brain knows darn well that it isnt) and is trying to get more and more money via tuition like a prestigious public university like W&M, VT, UVA, W&L, and their university is awful. If you are going to spend a lot of money, go to a better university with better aid packages, and respectable alumni. GMU will never had the incentive to change if you keep blowing your money there. It takes people 7- 10 years to complete bachelors degrees because of their crappy aid packages. read more

Oh Mason. I have been meaning to write this review for some time now. I was accepted to this institution to pursue my B.S. in 2007. I started off as an Electrical Engineering major and realized that although I could do the program, I just couldn't see myself being happy with the profession long term. So I had a late freshman/ early sophomore year crisis and decided to pursue Computer Science instead. One of the best decisions I have ever made. I graduated in Spring of 2012, have been back and forth to the campus for small events here and there, tutored some students in my spare time here, and finally decided to make the plunge to get my M.S. in Digital Forensics starting Spring 2016. I have recently graduated this past Spring semester of 2018 and I feel that my time with GMU has come to an end. I no longer have any major connections there. All the students that I knew from my time there have since then graduated and moved on. I really have little purpose on the campus anymore. So from the time I first set foot on campus in Summer of 2007 for freshman orientation, to the time I walked off presumably for the last time at my graduation in Spring 2018, here is my overall review of George Mason University from over the years. 1 - Leadership *5-Star* When I first came here, it was right after GMU had their famous Final-Four run. GMU was not really a school that stood out to me (possibly because I lived in Maryland at the time). It seemed only known to people in Virginia. After their run in the tournament, they were all over the news. Ever since then, the campus has grown tremendously. The only downside is the constant construction from when I was there but I get it, growing pains. The University has grown A LOT in the last ten years and I mean A LOT. It is hardly recognizable anymore. The schools president was Dr. Alan Merten and during my senior year in 2011-2012 was proceeded by Dr. Angel Cabrera. Both have show excellent leadership for the school over the years and have helped keep the school in a constant state of growth to turn this University into a major competitor not only in the DMV or the state of VA, but on the East Coast and maybe even the entire country as well. 2 - Campus Experience *3-Star* The overall campus experience for me was have to be a 3 out of 5 stars. I made plenty of friends and long lasting relationships while I was here, participated in student organizations, knew plenty of people who were in Greek organizations, participated in my fair share of parties, went to sporting events, seen protests, people standing on the main grounds shouting about salvation etc. However, I could not help but feel like something was missing. I have visited friends on their campuses of Howard University and University of Maryland for example and there was definitely a better sense of school pride. That's what Mason is missing. School Pride. I could never understand why I would see more VT gear up this way over Mason Gear. Now, in 2018, that has changed, I see a lot more Mason gear now, but it still lacks something. Mason is missing that college town feel. University Mall can't be all we have outside of campus. To be fair though, Mason is a young school. So far from what they have it's actually doing pretty well in that perspective. Hence why I gave leadership such a high mark. 3 - Return on Investment *4-Star* Graduating with a B.S. and M.S. from this school has yielded some good outcomes in terms of my career and connections. You cannot beat our location. Mason is in a Prime location being that it's main campus in in Northern Virginia. Once you graduate, it's easy to find a potential job out in the Suburbs or in DC. Maryland too if you wanted too. I am overall happy with the results so far. In a few years, I might need to update this to a 5-Star but it's too soon to tell. So far so good. In the future, I would really like Mason to keep growing as a university. I hope that one day they really work on fostering a sense of school pride, but that does come with time. Another thing Mason could do to foster school pride is to really work on Homecoming. Basketball is great and all but nothing screams homecoming season like a Football Game. Mason seems to strictly focus on Academics and Research as their top priorities. For that, I will give this school a 4 out of five rating. Given the price of tuition, I expect the "FULL" college experience. If I could have done it again, I might have just gone to University of Maryland in state, but at the same time, I can't say my time at GMU hasn't been rewarding either. Green and Gold will be with me forever. read more

Terrible university. It's a glorified commuter and community college that tries to act like it's an Ivy League. Enjoy most of the undergrad classes being taught by graduate students with zero real world experience. The professors who do have experience will ghost you at the drop of a hat. (Especially if you're a *gasp* Republican.) Also, watch out for "job fair" seminars that are just money traps to get you to pay them more. You think you'll get a shot a recruiter only to get hit with, "pay xxx to attend this different seminar" instead. Enjoy paying hundreds a year in parking with no actual guarantee of a spot. (If you can't park to take a final exam? So sad too bad.) Good luck with student organizations to resume build when the campus is dead on the weekends. Internships are a crapshoot decided purely on if the department administrators like you and if you have the right politics. Look forward to extended unemployment and underemployment if you graduate. Lord help you if you took out any serious student loans. (Oh and parents, enjoy the predatory credit card companies that are welcomed on campus enticing your kids to sign up for a brand new high interest rate!) Why are so many of my class barely making 30k a year and working part time Mason? read more

Coming here freshman year and living on campus was not what I excepted. I have always been told coming here would be a commuter school and nothing more. After going here for four years it felt just like any college in virginia. Greek life is a great choice for creating more of a community. Their government program is great. Their biology department lacks in what other schools have. Pre-Health is difficult here. There is only one pre-health advisor for the entire university. However, there is a great college experience at George Mason if you put the effort in. read more

George Mason University - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Graduated in 99' reading the reviews n WOW!! Same **it twenty two years later... high tuition, student professors and an overpaid administration who do not care! Yep ! Same Mason I attended.. What's the salary of the president again..? And the basketball has gone to hell...! Shameful and embarrassing. read more

The worst school ever, no one cares about the student!! They say they care but not really. The Worst experience of my life. read more

Oh George Mason, what I love hate relationship I have with you my scornful beloved alma matter. You are bureaucratic nightmare, lost my paperwork more times than I can possibly count, you were a ghost town on the weekend, George Mason police and housing department were the fun Gestapo. You constantly made stupid decisions, like giving RA jobs to people who had never lived away from home before, or putting a 31-year old RA with 18 year olds? I know you contract out housing but still? Your food is less than mediocre. Your construction started at 5:55am. College students just love that, I will neve forget hearing the power drill at 6am on a Friday morning. Karl Rove is an alumni. And we were the ones who gave Fox News the study that they were "Fair & Balanced". In a more serious note--this school takes drinking, partying, and drugs very seriously. If you get caught, and don't get kicked off campus you are lucky. Last week according to the police blotter someone got arrested for littering. On the other hand, I have made great friends here from countries that sound like the Olympics: Nigeria, UAE, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. This is truly vauable. George Mason really has students from every walk of life. This is truly the truth. I have met students who are Muslim, Morman, Jewish, Catholic, Wiccan, Athetist. I have met humans who are retired war vets, young mothers, poor, rich, snobby and kind hearted. I have met students who are drug addicts and students who have never touched alochol. I have met people who are from every walk of life, and every age. I had a human sexuality class with 8 women and one 75 year old man! The professors here are wonderful and caring and brilliant. I have to say almost every professor here, shows empathy and kindness and brilliance in their field. There is a beauty in the diversity of this school, it something that despite my love hate relationship with it, makes me totally love it. They say it's hard to make friends here, and while that's true if you reach out, you'll end up with more friends than you can possibly dream of! read more

To All my Yelping friends I bring to you all the good, the bad and all the trends All I know I learned at this school To get somewhere in life and not stay a fool Over 50 concentrations they offer Fill your mind and brain, this is your coffer Almost all of it is good, there is very little bad Anyways I don't look for perfection: it's not be had You may be a mother or a dad A girl or a lad Come here and refine your mind The world awaits to be conquered, it will then be thine. read more

One star for the lack of outlets, it literally takes me so much time to find a table with outlets. Step it up mason.