Improve your chances of getting into college,

The best thing about GMU is how they put all the freshman in one area together. I lived in the Park and I had the best time of my life, that was my favorite year by far. You really get to know a lot of people in your class and it helps you to meet people. I would change how much they charge for parking on campus and for how many parking tickets they give out! I would also change where people are allowed to smoke on campus because I always hated walking out of the JC into a huge cloud of smoke, very gross and annoying. The school is getting to be too large for how much space they have. When I tell people I went to GMU, they now know what school I'm talking about since we went to the final four! When I was on campus I spent most of my time in the JC, and other than that, I spent most of my time in the dorms. GMU/fairfax is not a college town at all, that is one major downfall of going here. You don't have as much school spirit coming from the community as you do at other schools. I think GMU's administration is great, I really liked my professors in my Major (Tourism and Events Management). I think there is more school pride now after making the Final Four and then doing pretty well this year. The most frequent student complaints are parking and lack of food choices on campus.

In my core classes all my professors knew my name. My favorite class was wedding planning and Meetings & Conventions class. My least favorite was Bio and Stat 250. My major/department is small which makes it nice because all the teachers know your name and come up and talk to you, are interested in your life and how you are liking your classes. My professors were very friendly. I think students study all the time, I know I did. Class participation is very common. GMU students do have intellectual conversations outside of the classroom. GMU's academic requirements are good. I did spend time with my professors outside of the class and had a great time, its nice to get to know them on a more personal level. My major was geared toward getting a job as I got into higher level classes.

I learned a lot about different religions and races during my time at GMU. I don't think any kind of student would feel out of place at GMU b/c this campus is sooo diverse. Students wear jeans and shirts to class, depends on the person. Yes different students interact but students of the same race also tended to join together, except when they were in Frats or Sororities because then they had to mix. You could tell that many students that went to Mason have money, or came from families that have money. Yes students are politically aware and active. Predominantly Democratic. Students talk about how much they dream to earn one day.

Sororities and Fraternities are popular to join, also political groups. I was involved with Alpha Phi Sorority. Freshman year students leave their doors open, but as you get into upper class dorms they don't. Athletic events are becoming more popular as we are getting better at sports. Theater is sort of popular. The dating scene is not the best. I met my closest friends freshman year because we all lived on the same floor. People party a lot at Mason even though people do not think Mason is a party school. Fraternities and Sororities are very important especially freshman year b/c freshman wouldn't have any parties to go to if there weren't Greek life, it's also a great way to meet people and make friends. Last weekend I went home for Easter. On a Sat night I can stay in and have a movie night with my roommates or go bowling or something like that, which doesn't have to involve drinking.

That it is a commuter school.

Yes and no. Many people do commute but every year all my roommates were out-of-state students, so that shows that there are many students that come from different areas.