<p>I have recently been accepted to both George Mason University and American University. I like American University better (at least in terms of what I have seen when visiting both campuses). Both schools were generous in terms of scholarships/financial aid, but George Mason offered considerably more than American. In your opinion, which school do you think is a better choice.</p>
<p>Things To Keep in Mind:
1.) I am going to be a Political Science Major.
2.) My parents told me that they will pay for American, but it would put them in financial straits. I really don't want to strain my parent's finances. However, it appears (for now) there would be no need for loans.</p>
<p>Academically, both are good schools and both have good political science departments although American’s is certainly more established and better known. GMU has been building up its political science department in recent years and it now has a number of good, young faculty. But American’s deparment is better. I would pay more to go to American, just from an academic point of view, but probably not a great deal more. </p>
<p>The biggest difference between the schools is cultural, not academic. GMU is a large, public institution which has made great strides in improving itself academically but it is nonetheless at best fourth, if not fifth, in public universities in Virginia (clearly behind, UVa, W&M and VaTech; arguably even with or slightly behind James Madison). Most of the students are from Northern Virginia. The average student will be less qualified than the average AU student–and the lower tiered students will be less qualified by a considerable margin. But the better students at GMU will be comparable to AU students. GMU used to be completely a commuter school; it has become increasingly a residential school but still, it has a large number of commuters. There is little school spirit as a result although the basketball team has begun to turn that around a bit in recent years. I suspect that many GMU students view their college experience as pretty much an extension of high school.</p>
<p>In comparison to GMU, AU has a much smaller student body and it has much more of a national and international draw, although the majority of the students still come from the Northeast, New Jersey and New York in particular. It is much more residential than GMU (although many upperclassmen live off campus but in nearby apartments); relatively few students commute from home. AU will be much more of a traditional college experience than GMU is likely to be.</p>
<p>In my mind, those type of cultural differences can make a huge difference in your college experience. As a general rule, you will learn more from your classmates than from your professors. For this reason, the stronger the student body the better the learning environment. A better cultural environment has value. How much value, however, is a very individual thing. Since I don’t know you, I couldn’t begin to guess how much it might be worth to you. You should try to spend some time on each campus. I suspect that most students would prefer the AU environment but I also suspect that you will find some people who might like GMU better.</p>
<p>Finally, as to the financial decision, since you said that you wouldn’t be taking out loans either way, it seems to me that the final decision is really up to your parents. You certainly can get a decent education at GMU so it is not like you don’t have a reasonable alternative. Only your parents can determine if they can swing the additional amount if you’d rather go to AU, and if it is worth it in their minds.</p>
<p>I appreciate your very detailed response. I am looking for a more traditional college experience, and I liked AU more to begin with, so it is looking increasingly attractive.</p>
<p>I know you mentioned higher-tier and lower-tier students. To put that into context, I was accepted into the Honors Program at both American and George Mason. Does that change your opinion at all?</p>
<p>Also, there is another point I would like to bring up. While my parents have told me they can afford AU, it would be a big strain on their finances. I feel very guilty in putting them in this position, and there would be absolutely no money left for graduate/law school.</p>
<p>As to your last question–the answer will depend a lot on what you plan to do after college. If you plan to go to law school, understand that, unless you are an URM, you pretty much have to pay full freight for law school although loans are generally available. Whether it is worth while to take out loans for law school depends upon a number of factors, including which law school (the average salaries for recent law school graduates are highly correlated to law school rank) and how well you do in law school–factors which would be impossible to predict for a current high school student. But, if you’re sure you want to go to law school, you might want to lean toward the less expensive college and save the difference for law school.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you plan a get a Ph.D in political science, most of the better political science graduate programs provide tuition waivers and living stipends to Ph.D students in return for teaching and research assistance. In that case, graduate school doesn’t cost you anything (in dollars at least–its costs a lot in time and effort).</p>
<p>As to the question about whether being in an honors program will make a difference, I suspect it would but I don’t really know anything about GMU’s honors program. Your best bet is to talk to current students in the program. I suggest you call the department and ask the department secretary to put you in touch with some students in the honors program.</p>
<p>There are no scholarships for law school except if you are a URM? Also, another factor to consider is that even if I went to the less expensive college, I still wouldn’t have a whole lot of money left for law school (and would still need many scholarships/loans).</p>
<p>I guess my final questions is if you were me, knowing what you know and that I would like to go into a political career later on in life, which college would you choose?</p>
<p>I really appreciate that your taking the time to answer my questions so in-depth. This is probably the hardest decision of my life so far and I am really unsure of what to do.</p>
<p>As I suggested, grants are few and far between for law students who aren’t URMs. Most law students take out loans. Some have no trouble paying them back. Others have a lot of trouble. The practice of law–and the ability to find a good job in law–has always been cyclical. Some years there is a seller’s market and good paying jobs are plentiful; other years (such as the last two years) are a buyer’s market and good jobs are very scarce. Right now, there are many recent law school grads (and some not so recent grads) looking for jobs. If I had any idea of what the market would look like in 7-10 years when you might be finishing law school, I might be rich. My advice to anyone is only go to law school if, after researching the law profession, you determine that is really what you want to do for the rest of your life. If that is the case, the benefits are likely to outweight the risks. On the other hand, far too many people go to law school because they don’t know what else to do and someone told them that law school will at least teach you to think clearly. Many of those people end up regreting the decision, and owing a lot of money due to student loans. </p>
<p>But that is far down the road. My suggestion to you now is to continue to do your research on the two programs and come up with a list of the pros and cons of each, from your prospective. Then sit down with your parents and have a frank discussion with them. While it is laudable for you to be concerned about the financial impact upon them, that is really their decision. If you and your parents are frank with each other and respect each others opinions and issues, I’m sure you will jointly come out with the proper decision. Keep in mind that, while the choice is important, it is far less important than many other decisions you probably will make during your lifetime. You have two reasonable alternatives, and even if it turns out that you attend GMU although you might prefer AU–that decision is not likely to have a decisive effect on the rest of your life. You can get a fine enough education at GMU.</p>
<p>By the way, if by “political career” you mean that you want to be an elected politician, I believe that you will find that most career politicians went to their state’s “flagship” university (i.e., a UVa or U Md College Park). AU has produced a few famous politicians such as the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia (and former Senate Majority Leader), who earned his law degree from AU. But AU is probably more famous for producing political journalists, like David Gregory and Neil Cavuto.</p>
<p>If you want to be President, history would suggest a clear advantage to going to Harvard or Yale.</p>