<p>i will be visiting the school next month and i wanted to know what the area is like. is the campus an urban feeling or suburban feeling? also, what's the immediate surrounding? i know that its 20 minutes from washington d.c. are the students and staff friendly. can you compare this school to jmu, odu, and vcu?
thanks</p>
<p>Visited with my D earlier in the year. The campus is smack in the middle of suburbia but is isolated from surrounding neighborhoods. There are few roads leading directly into the school, and the campus is large. It is heavily wooded, making it seem more remote than it is. (That was a plus.) Fairfax, based on what we saw, is an upscale area, established and pretty, and GMU is close to shopping, restaurants, and hotels. </p>
<p>DC is 20 mins. away? Traffic in Fairfax at rush hour(s) is horrible, and it doesn’t matter which direction you are going. We didn’t drive directly into DC from GMU, but if it takes 20 mins., that’s probably because it’s 10am or 10pm. There is some sort of GMU transportation offered into DC, but I don’t recall specifics (surely on the website though).</p>
<p>We went at the end of June, and there was plenty of activity on campus, a lot of students in the main student area. (Sorry I am not more specific.) We toured at my insistence; D was not interested at first. After listening to the pitch and learning about the campus, the study abroad program, the large number of international students, the proximity to DC, and more, the school made her short list to apply. I found the school vibrant and continuing to work to overcome its former status as a commuter college/safety school. There was a lot of construction going on at the school, and the only bad thing I can say is three kids are stuffed into freshman dorms originally intended for two people.</p>
<p>During that trip to DC, D also toured American, which had interested her. It was a surprise to see her flipflop and scratch American off of her list.</p>
<p>GMU compared to JMU? Again, without checking myself, these are my impressions. JMU is more spread out, less intimate. JMU seems to promote itself as a great school that will make great students. On the other hand, GMU seemed to promote that the students are what makes the school great. I had not realized this until writing it now. Neither is bad, and it’s not meant to be negative of JMU. D’s toured JMU twice and is also applying there.</p>
<p>I’m interested to hear other opinions.</p>
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<p>The only way to get from George Mason to DC in 20 minutes is by helicopter. ;)</p>
<p>And, if you’re visiting GMU next month anyway you’ll see what the area is like for yourself.</p>
<p>It’s suburbia.</p>
<p>[Fairfax</a> County, Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfax_County,_Virginia]Fairfax”>Fairfax County, Virginia - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I’d appreciate more input from folks about GMU. DS was accepted and we thought it should be on his short list but got word from a local yesterday that it is very much a commuter campus. We do not want that for DS. What is the experience of students who attend or who live in the area? Thanks~</p>
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<p>This has been asked and discussed several times here on CC before:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/george-mason-university/439219-more-commuter-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/george-mason-university/439219-more-commuter-college.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/607468-george-mason-commuter-school.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/607468-george-mason-commuter-school.html</a></p>
<p>It may have been partly true at one time but GMU has responded head on:</p>
<p>[It?s</a> Official: Mason Is a Residential University – University News - George Mason University](<a href=“http://news.gmu.edu/articles/5326]It?s”>The George)</p>
<p>My personal opinion:</p>
<p>I ignore anyone’s description of any college as a “commuter school,” “a party school,” a “suitcase school,” etc.</p>
<p>Thanks, golf. will read those closely. Had not been able to find them on my own.</p>
<p>There is a bus from GMU that will take you to the metro stop and from there you can get to DC. GMU is trying to overcome the “commuter” tag and many students live on campus. DS was impressed with the school when we visited. He met with the dean of the computer science dept. and toured the engineering building. A strong plus for him was the internship/coop opportunities in the DC metro area. If DS decides to attend, he will live on campus even though we are less than an hour away.</p>