Does George Mason have very unusual admission policies?

[InquilineKea]

In fact, George Mason economists are really active on the blogosphere, so they're often the most famous economists among undergraduates, especially those from fields other than economics.

So do they have very unusual admission policies, especially for schools of their ranking? Do they get to pick and choose which students they want the most?

[jblsmith]

I'm fairly familiar with George Mason as I thought of applying there and have met some of the faculty at conferences. George Mason is indeed a strange department becasue, as you point out, they study Austrian economics. Austrian economics is on the fringe as it largely rejects the use of quantitative methods in favor of a more heterodox methodology. This to be expected as the school is located in Washington, D.C. and they are more interested in political economy and policy making. This makes it hard for Austrian economist to publish in Tier 1 journals and explains why they are more active in the blogosphere. I'm lead to believe that the department would have largely been discounted by the mainstream except for Profs. Buchanan and Smith.

In sum, an usual admission policy would be in keeping with their unusual department.