George Mason University

[AmandaLemon]

Anybody else attending GMU this Fall?

 

I'll start my PhD in Math Education here

 

Also looking for the roommates 

[Roll Right]

I've been in the sociology grad program at Gmu for a few years now.

[AmandaLemon]

Can you please share your feelings about GMU?

Do you enjoy studying here? Do you like the campus?

Any information about the University and the town will be helpful.

I mean personal experience.

Thanks!

[VirginianFeminist]

I went to George Mason for undergrad. While that was a bit longer ago than I'd care to admit, I believe I can still say a few things about GMU.

 

Mason has a beautiful campus. Swaths of the campus were under construction when I was there, which removed a decent chunk of the forested area within Patriot Circle, but it's still leafy and pleasant. 

 

GMU is definitely still a commuter school, despite the Carnegie Foundation's reclassification of the campus as "primarily residential" a few years ago. There is a solid residential "core" in the student body, but without the commuters the campus gets fairly quiet on the weekends. 

 

Fairfax is the embodiment of suburbia. If you like strip malls and chain stores, you're well covered. There are few exceptions to this rule. I recommend traveling east to Arlington/Alexandria or DC if you want non-chain places. 

 

On the subject of DC, it's close and has tons of connections with GMU, but if you live on or near campus it can feel farther away than it actually is. If you want to take public transit to get to DC, you have to take a bus to the metro station and it ends up taking about an hour and a half to get there. I recommend living close to the Vienna metro station, if possible. When I was there, parking at Mason was more of a rite of passage than a convenience, but they've built a number of new lots since then.

 

There are a number of places to study on campus if you can study with ambient noise. The JC (Johnson Center) alone has a ton of great spots. The only quiet indoor study space is Fenwick Library. I logged hundreds of hours at Fenwick. Also, since GMU is a member of the Washington Research Library Consortium, you can borrow books from G'town, GW, American, etc. 

 

The Center for the Arts is beautiful and you can get free tickets to all sorts of performances from the Virginia Opera to Rockapella (wooo '90s kids). 

 

A couple of GMU's best qualities are difficult to quantify. First, Mason students take pride in the diversity and inclusivity of their university community. GMU is a young university, which means experimentation is encouraged. I've also studied at another Virginia University that is bound by Tradition, which showed me the value of an academic community that doesn't have those hang-ups. 

 

Finally, I'll just say that I really enjoyed my time at Mason, but it's important to leave campus (and Fairfax) and take advantage of GMU's proximity to DC.    

[kipaelimu]

I will also be at Mason this fall! Just left from visiting the school and area this weekend! I'm excited, yet nervous!

[Roll Right]

I have mixed feelings about the GMU campus and NOVA (Northern VA). I'll talk about NOVA first and then GMU.

 

Based on my personal experiences, NOVA is a suburban sprawl that is expensive to live in and difficult to get around in. It is populated by a great deal of wealthy folks who own townhouses that go for $500,000 or more. You'll see many of these townhouses as you drive or walk around the old city/university area. In sharp contrast to that, there are many neighborhoods that are underdeveloped and decaying, but you'll have to travel outside of the old city and university area to see those. Many of them are located on the outskirts of the city. This makes the search for affordable housing near the university a difficult one. I would start that search ASAP. When I began looking for housing, I started in June and was able to get a place secured by early August. It may help to use the GMU student forums to find roommates to mitigate the high cost of living.

 

I grew up in a rural setting, so the hustle and bustle of the NOVA area is not really my speed. I find the traffic to be a nuisance, and the organization of the Fairfax area is difficult to navigate and negotiate for pedestrians and those who take public transportation. If you own a car you'll be fine. Unfortunately, many of those who walk, cycle, or take public transport are economically disadvantaged and forced to live on the outskirts of the city. This intensifies the disadvantage because travel time, distance, and transportation schedules complicate the trek to work or school.

 

I live about a two miles outside of Fairfax city and my fiance uses our car to commute to and from work. I use a bicycle to get to campus, or I take a George Mason University shuttle which stops near my house. Either way, my trip can take anywhere between 25 and 45 minutes, and I only live a total of 7 miles from the campus. Its about 10 minutes by car. I've come to enjoy my commute though. I'm either reading or listening to music on the bus, and if I'm cycling I enjoy the excersize. Thats one way to deal with the inconvenience of not having a car.

 

There are also fairly reliable bus systems. The City University Ecosaver (CUE) bus system is pretty good, and its free to GMU students. It can get you around Fairfax City, but it will not travel outside of the city limits. The Fairfax Connector is the bus system which takes you to locations that are outside of Fairfax City but within Fairfax County. It is not free to students, though, and I've never used it.

 

I mentioned the GMU shuttle buses: they circulate between shopping centers, the prince william campus, and the Fairfax/Vienna metro station. I happen to live near a shopping center that is serviced by a GMU shuttle, which makes life easier for me. They are fairly slow, however, and the drivers often skip stops. I've been left stranded a few times.

 

I'll say that the entire NOVA area is beautiful. Its well maintained and is very green and lush in the spring and summer months. The temperature can get very hot, though, and the "concrete island" effect really intesifies that heat. The fall months are extremely colorful and characterized by mild temperatures. During the winter, it tends to become pretty grey and dirty, but that is typical of suburban winter life.

 

The people in the NOVA area aren't too pleasant, and there really isn't a community to speak of. One professor told me that Fairfax is really just a working location -- people don't "live" here. They typically split their time between Fairfax (when they work) and some other town outside of NOVA on the weekends. For that reason it can seem pretty isolated here. Even the graduate students in my program (sociology PhD) are dispersed throughout the area -- some living in Fairfax, some in Arlington, some in Alexandria, some in Maryland. There was even one person who commuted from Fredricksburg for a while, which is over an hour away with I-95 traffic.

 

There is a lot to do around the Fairfax area. Tons of parks (and dog parks if you have doggies) and tons of walking/bike paths that span miles. There are a ton of things to do for free in the DC area too (museums, festivals, etc). If you have money, there are even more things to do (five star restaraunts, plays, musicals, concerts, theme parks, etc). The bar scene is ok, but you have to frequent a particular place to really start to enjoy it. If you like local dive bars, check out Fat Tuesdays. Its a New Orleans themed bar. I've had a beer or two in there on many occassions.

 

For anyone who wants to make friends and meet people, I welcome you to join the group of students who usually go out and have a drink on the night of orientation at GMU. Get in touch with me here or through a private message and we can network.

 

The GMU Fairfax campus is beautiful, though. Not quite as nice as my undergraduate (UMaine Orono), but they do a lot to keep the GMU campus looking neat and clean. The student body is pretty cool, too. Everyone is friendly, and the professors are pretty nice (at least in my department). The administration is becoming a bloated organ, though. Funding for graduate students is slowly being syphoned into other projects (probably beautification projects). My tuition waiver (and a colleague's) was almost sucked up into the dean's coffers, even though it was based on money that was donated by a private interest for the purposes of funding student research. Luckily a professor went to bat for us and ensured that we would be funded into the fall at least. Spring funding is still up in the air. At least my coursework is done....

 

The library system is awesome. I usually find whatever books I need at the Fenwick Library on campus. If I can't find it there, I can order it from another library. They have access to books at George Washington, American University, Catholic University, etc. And, the online subscriptions to academic journals is quite good. I've never had trouble accessing whatever literature I am looking for. Finding a space to work in the library is hard though. The tables on the first floor are usually occupied by 9 am, and the seating on the upper floors fills up fast too.

 

The Johnson Center also has a library and workspace in it, but its so damn loud in there. Its basically the central student hub - with food, IT services, a library, the bookstore, etc. I can't get a bit of work done in that building and I hate having to walk through it. Too many people....but I'm introverted anyway.

 

They have a bar on campus too, which serves beer and wine. I loved having a beer after class. Now that I'm done with coursework I'll have to find other excuses to stop in there.

 

The gyms are awesome, too. One is a basketball/weight and aerobic training center. The other is an auqatic/weights/aerobic center. They can get pretty busy but I've never had trouble finding machines or weights to use. They also offer classes on martial arts and physical fitness routines. I've never taken these classes but I'm considering a martial arts course.

[Roll Right]

There is usually a group of sociology grad students (new and old) who go out on the night of orientation for drinks. Anyone who wants to attend is welcome to message me to see about joining us.

[LAKingsMaverick]

I will be starting the MSW program at Mason in the fall! I did my undergrad at Marquette in Wisconsin but am originally from Sterling and will be commuting!