George Mason University | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Alissa

Class: Junior
Major: Government
Gender: F

High School: Middlesex High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

I can honestly say that George Mason University has become my home away from home. Coming from a small town in New Jersey, not many people have ever heard of GMU (at least not until after our run to the final four!), including myself. It was only by chance that I found out about this university through of friend of the family who attended in the 1970s. Once I set foot on the beautifull Fairfax campus, I fell in love. The first thing that drew me to this campus was its innovative atmosphere. The Johnson Center, our hub of student life, has a very modern design that was unlike any of the other schools I visited. On my campus tour, I started noticing that many of the buildings followed a very similar theme, showing a newer age of campus construction. Now, I watch the new innovation being built right before my eyes. Every day I get to see the progress of new research facilities and arts complexes under construction, making this school any even greater learning space than it already is. Mason's proximity to Washington, D.C. was another factor that drew me to the school. As a Government & International Politics major, being so close to the largest political arena in the country was a priority in choosing where to go to college. I did not, however, want to be directly in the city. I needed a campus that actually felt like a college campus, with grass and trees and a concentrated campus life. I didn't want my college experience to get lost on the busy streets of D.C., tucked away behind government offices and business complexes. However, because Mason is so close to D.C., I can just hop on the metro and head into the city whenever I want, whether it's for an internship, class assignment, or just to walk around the monuments. George Mason University is an amazing place to be. I am proud to be a student here and would not change a thing about my experiences here.

Academic Life

The academic atmosphere that Mason has to offer is very impressive. Professors make an effort to learn about their students, while sharing personal experiences about themselves. Students activiely participate in class discussions, broadening their views on real world events. Diversity can be seen in every single classroom. One of the great benefits of being in the Northern Virginina/Washington, D.C. area is that GMU employs some of the most qualified professors to teach at every level. One of my favorite aspects of GMU academics is our use of adjunct professors. Especially as a government major, I am always pleased to have a professor who has practiced what they preach. For a comparative politics class, I had a professor who worked in the military for thirty years, negotiated foreign policy in Greece, and now works at a think tank in Washington, D.C. The stories he would tell my class were amazing, and this was at a 100-level course! But, learning does not come only from the professors. In that same comparative politics class, I had classmates from Iran, Iraq, Albania, Algeria, Great Britain, and Egypt. It is one thing to learn about this countries from a text book. It is entirely different to hear what really goes on from first-hand experiences of my classmates. And, everyone can speak freely and opening about current situations because that is the kind of tone Mason sets for its students. We embrace diversity and only want to enhance our learning of one another.