<p>My son just got into JMU RD after he was deferred EA. He was leaning heavily towards George Mason, where he was accepted EA, but now that he has gotten into JMU, he's a little confused. A lot of his friends are going from the local public high school (he went to a private one), and he is liking the idea of having them as a group of potential friends to start off with (he's not sick of them the way you might be if you had really been with them for all four years of HS).</p>
<p>Can anyone out there comment on the difference between the schools in terms of campus life? He's a pretty shy kid and I worry about him being all alone at Mason, knowing no one, yet I do feel that George Mason is a little bit more serious than JMU. It's got a pretty good list of some serious majors and it doesn't have quite the party school reputation. And, though it is huge, only about 9000 actually live on campus, so that may make it seem smaller, at least on the weekends. </p>
<p>Please give me your feedback. JMU students always <em>love</em> their school, so it's hard to turn it down.</p>
<p>The campuses are so different, can your son visit each school to see which campus he might prefer?</p>
<p>I do not have the impression the Mason is more “serious” than JMU. I think it is bigger, more of a city/ suburban campus, and has a larger commuter population.</p>
<p>What does he want to major in? Does he want to be closer to a city or on a campus in more of a college town?</p>
<p>Research. There are a bunch of sites out there that compare colleges. I’m confident that if you read and read and read, you’ll find the answer to your question. It won’t be a coin flip.</p>
<p>We attended the CHOICES session for accepted students yesterday so it was our first look at the campus.</p>
<p>My son was accepted EA to GMU and is waitlisted for VT. He was accepted for JMU RD. He was so disappointed in the tech waitlist situation yet, for some reason, going to GMU just doesn’t thrill him. It could be because we live about 30 minutes from GMU.</p>
<p>To me, even though GMU has made GREAT strides, it’s still very much a commuter school. It is situation right in the middle of a part of Fairfax, Virgina and seems very “secondary” to that area versus the situation where a college has a big presence and the town around it sort of serves the college.</p>
<p>I know most kids who go there are VERY happy and GMU grads have some of the best post-graduation employment rates of any school in Virginia (I recently read that statistic and was amazed). This is probably due to their proximity to DC and NoVA employment and their ability to make those contacts while interning in the summers. It’s a little bit harder to do that, I think, when you are 3-4 hours away from industry.</p>
<p>The <em>serious</em> vibe that you mentioned with GMU is probably superficial. It is because Fairfax is NOT a college town. I guess there are plusses to that, but I don’t think that’s the sort of college atmosphere I would personally want. It’s also pretty expensive just to live in this area and I think that this is something you need to think about down the road when your student needs to consider off-campus housing. Heck, the gas price in Harrisonburg was about 30 cents cheaper per gallon than it was in Fairfax!! I assume the rents and other stuff that are impacted by COL would be cheaper outside that area.</p>
<p>We were extremely impressed with JMU yesterday and my son’s depression is lifting!!!</p>
<p>I encourage you to spend the day at JMU before you make that decision.</p>
<p>My son graduated JMU May 2012 OOS from NY. Had two job offers by June, and is now working in Fairfax VA area. Loved JMU even with paying OOS tuition. I think for a shy person, knowing a few kids at school could be a good feeling to start off, knowing you have some friends available. Son lives near GMU now, but I don’t have any first hand knowledge, his opinion is that it is largely a commuter school.</p>
<p>Any school not in a college town is going to be considered a commuter school regardless of the fact that in college towns more students technically live off campus (except for maybe small private liberal arts colleges). The college town culture keeps commuters engaged on campus. If that’s an issue, then that helps eliminate GMU. Job prospects are probably pretty similar. Although JMU is geographically further away from the DC metro area most of their common employer network is still there.</p>
<p>I think the decision will come down to which school “feels” best when visiting.</p>