Hello! I am a senior in high school trying to choose between two colleges, the University of Florida, and George Mason University. I’ve been accepted to both, and both are about equal in price. I’m looking to major in Political Science, and attend graduate school at a more prestigious institution like Harvard, to eventually work in National Government or politics. I really enjoy making friends + a comfortable experience overall. Any advice would be a huge help!
The following is my details list for the two colleges
UF:
General admission, not honors college (but can apply sophomore year)
Prestigious, top 5 public university + difficult to get into
Good law program
Currently removing classes/being censored by state legislation, unsure if students can speak their mind/learn what’s necessary
Friends attending as well (less important)
No guaranteed housing, would be off-campus first year
Great social life + school spirit
-GMU:
Chosen as a University Scholar, one of 20 each year (full tuition scholarship)
Honors student, with honors classes
Personal Advisor for internships and class advice (specifically assigned to me and a few other students)
Less prestigious, but honors program maybe makes up for that?
Guaranteed four-year housing IN honors dorm in middle of campus
Commuter college, only 7,000 students on campus out of 40,000 enrolled (terrible social life as far as I know)
RIGHT NEXT TO DC, with a 5-minute bus ride right into the middle of it (great for internships)
Thanks for your time, and I’d really appreciate any advice folks! I don’t want to make the wrong decision
Well, can you imagine yourself there for 4 years? It is quite a hike from DC. It is not Georgetown, GW or even American. Can you from UF get a semester in on of the above, if you so much want DC?
I am not sure what you asking. I told you above, that I would choose UF. (And I am from DC area.) GMU is like low tier place for VA students. They first go for UVA, Virginia Tech, William and Mary, VCU, JMU and probably after that for GMU unless there is some strong reason to stay close home. Then it is GMU. (This is obviously subjective)
I am NOT from the DC area and I know several terrific students who went to GMU. I don’t discount that its reputation locally may be lower than UVA and some of the other fine U’s in the area… but I don’t think the OP’s choice is as stark as you make it out to be.
There are a lot of reasons not to want to be in Florida (weather, politics, distance from home if the OP is from the Northeast) and if that’s the case, GMU is a fine choice. Solid faculty, many opportunities to get involved/volunteer/work/internships on the Hill.
I am suspect of the designation as a commuter campus. GMU reports that 55% of freshmen live on campus. If your figure of 7000 on campus is accurate, that would be only 17%.
The 55% of freshmen who live on campus didn’t suddenly move home after freshman year to lower the number to 17%. A more likely explanation is that a lot of students prefer to move off campus for their housing after freshman year. Using 55% as the more realistic number, that means more like 22,000 living on or around campus. With that number, I’m guessing that there is a lively social life.
Ah, I see what you mean. The current count of ‘on campus’ students at the Fairfax campus is 6,100, but you’re correct they’ve likely just moved to an apartment nearby.
Yes, it is common for many residential colleges and universities for students to live nearby off campus after frosh year. That is why frosh living on campus is usually a better proxy of how residential the campus is.
However, there are some other factors, like whether residential students display “suitcase” behavior (heading home most weekends), or residential frosh living in student-focused housing that is not owned or operated by the school.
55% of frosh living on campus suggests a small majority of residential students, although the commuter student population is significant.
Also apparently GMU has several campuses, so you probably were thinking about Arlington one. However, that one is not main campus.
When compare colleges I would look at selectivity too. GMU acceptance rate is close to 90%, that is very different from 24% at UF.
I disagree. GMU’s lower popularity among DC area and Northern Virginia high school students often stems from its proximity rather than academic quality. Students frequently seek the ‘going away to college’ experience, even when it means choosing colleges that are generally considered not as strong academically. I personally know engineering students who selected James Madison over GMU despite GMU offering a significantly stronger and more diverse engineering program. Their primary motivation? Simply wanting to ‘go away’ to school. Some might argue that you fall into this category as well.
GMU is actually an excellent choice that provides strong academics while offering access to Washington DC’s exceptional opportunities. That said, I do agree the campus isn’t quite as close to DC proper as some might suggest.
If you want to go to a very top grad program, you have to pick uf. The political science program at gmu is not mainstream, and this could hurt you significantly applying to top grad programs.
For top grad schools in liberal arts fields, which I know more about. Of course, they do accept people from lesser known schools, but it is a harder path. What you really want is a letter of recommendation from a scholar that the grad school admission committee has heard of and that is an efffusive letter. Top schools are more likely to recognize scholar names on lors from other top schools.
