George Mason University Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Yazeed

Basketball and international week are the most popular event in George mason.

Thomas

It is sometimes difficult to find things to do on Mason's campus, especially during breaks and even sometimes on weekends, but much of the extra-curricular and after-class activities are provided by the various student organizations and Greek organizations. Being involved with something like that is the best way to find things to do on campus. There is a thriving Greek seen and dozens of cultural organizations. There is always something going on campus, but Mason may not always tell you. Being a part of an organization (or having friends that are) is essentially to keeping up with many campus events.

Meagan

Sports teams (especially basketball), sororities/fraternities, and student government are what get most of the students involved here. People at GMU go crazy for basketball games, and there are a lot of pre-game activities for bigger games. We're fairly close to Washington, D.C., as well, which is just a Metro ride away.

.

.

Vladyslav

There are more that 400 student organizations a student can join. They are subdivided on different categories such as sports, academic clubs, sororities and fraternities, business related clubs and organizations, and cultural groups. When I was a freshman, I was involved with the Chess Club and the Investment Club. Both of them were fun and engaging. Chess Club helped me improve my game, and I met a lot of interesting people in the process. Investment Club helped me learn more about investing and company analysis. George Mason University hosts various events that span from sports games that are very popular to theater performances and interesting educational lectures from the school professors about their own research.

Vladyslav

There are more that 400 student organizations a student can join. They are subdivided on different categories such as sports, academic clubs, sororities and fraternities, business related clubs and organizations, and cultural groups. When I was a freshman, I was involved with the Chess Club and the Investment Club. Both of them were fun and engaging. Chess Club helped me improve my game, and I met a lot of interesting people in the process. Investment Club helped me learn more about investing and company analysis. George Mason University hosts various events that span from sports games that are very popular to theater performances and interesting educational lectures from the school professors about their own research.

Vladyslav

There are more that 400 student organizations a student can join. They are subdivided on different categories such as sports, academic clubs, sororities and fraternities, business related clubs and organizations, and cultural groups. When I was a freshman, I was involved with the Chess Club and the Investment Club. Both of them were fun and engaging. Chess Club helped me improve my game, and I met a lot of interesting people in the process. Investment Club helped me learn more about investing and company analysis. George Mason University hosts various events that span from sports games that are very popular to theater performances and interesting educational lectures from the school professors about their own research.

Jessica

Under water hockey is pretty popular but so is greek life at Mason. We currently don't have housing specifically for the greek community but it something that is in the works. There are all different types of greek organizations as well. Every week at Mason there is a game of the week where the university gives students a shirt, food, or something as added incentive to come out to sporting events, and students definitely take advantage of that. Our biggest sports teams are basketball, baseball, soccer, and swimming, but we have many more teams as well. Thirty Thursday are popular with students who are 21 and over. We all go out to a local wing place and drink then walk across the street to another restruant/bar and dance until early in the morning. On the weekends most people party in DC or go to house parties. There are lots of things to do that don't involve drinking in DC, lots of musuems, 18 and up clubs to just go dancing, nice places to eat and lots of places to shop. On the weekends I am typically doing something involved with my sorority,fraternity or with Mason Atheletics. I do go out from time to time to party with my friends but I do not consider myself the typical college party girl.

Jessica

There are a lot of things to do at George Mason, including getting involved with sports, clubs, volunteering, the Greek organization, and hanging out on campus with friends. Personally, I knew I wanted to get involved when I got to George Mason University, so I decided to volunteer about ten hours a week at Sexual Assault Services. They host some of the most incredible events on campus each year: The Vagina Monologues, The White Ribbon Campaign, Take Back the Night, and other events that spread awareness about sexual assault on campus. If you're in the mood for getting in the Mason Spirit, you can join everyone at Welcome Week at the kickoff of the school year. You should definitely attend the Homecoming game in the Spring when the students and alumni and friends tailgate before the basketball game. There are tons of things for students to do to get involved and meet other people. Within your majors, there are honors societies and clubs and activities to meet other people with similar interests. At Mason you will always find something fun to do!

Jessica

There are a lot of things to do at George Mason, including getting involved with sports, clubs, volunteering, the Greek organization, and hanging out on campus with friends. Personally, I knew I wanted to get involved when I got to George Mason University, so I decided to volunteer about ten hours a week at Sexual Assault Services. They host some of the most incredible events on campus each year: The Vagina Monologues, The White Ribbon Campaign, Take Back the Night, and other events that spread awareness about sexual assault on campus. If you're in the mood for getting in the Mason Spirit, you can join everyone at Welcome Week at the kickoff of the school year. You should definitely attend the Homecoming game in the Spring when the students and alumni and friends tailgate before the basketball game. There are tons of things for students to do to get involved and meet other people. Within your majors, there are honors societies and clubs and activities to meet other people with similar interests. At Mason you will always find something fun to do!

Jessica

There are a lot of things to do at George Mason, including getting involved with sports, clubs, volunteering, the Greek organization, and hanging out on campus with friends. Personally, I knew I wanted to get involved when I got to George Mason University, so I decided to volunteer about ten hours a week at Sexual Assault Services. They host some of the most incredible events on campus each year: The Vagina Monologues, The White Ribbon Campaign, Take Back the Night, and other events that spread awareness about sexual assault on campus. If you're in the mood for getting in the Mason Spirit, you can join everyone at Welcome Week at the kickoff of the school year. You should definitely attend the Homecoming game in the Spring when the students and alumni and friends tailgate before the basketball game. There are tons of things for students to do to get involved and meet other people. Within your majors, there are honors societies and clubs and activities to meet other people with similar interests. At Mason you will always find something fun to do!

Maram

Joining a sorority or fraternity is a favorite among freshmen and newly transferred students; it's an easy way to make new lifelong friends and have a good time, too. There are many premedical societies available that help me with my career path, and there are bound to be others tailored towards specific careers. LGBTQ is very active on campus, as well as MSA (Muslim Students Association).

Brittany

I can't say that there is one most popular group to get involved with at George Mason. I think that there are popular organizations within certain categories. For instance, if you are interested in writing you would definitely want to get involved with Connect2Mason, the emerging online student newspaper. If you want to meet tons of new people but don't know where to start, fraternities or sororities are great options. If you feel strongly about your culture, clubs abound from those dedicated to hispanic heritage to those dedicated to European background. Religious organizations abound. My point is, there is no one outstanding group to join -- there are various groups you can find to suit your interests.

Carolyn

If you get involved in any organization, you are guaranteed to have friends! Students are really passionate about what they do and most students are involved in multiple organizations. There's also tons of leadership opportunities on campus. Personally I am currently involved in 3 different organizations, including Greek Life and Student Government.

Brooke

The most popular organizations are NSCS, Weekends at Mason, Program Board, and Student Government. NSCS is the largest honor society on campus. Program Board hosts JC cinema films, Patriot's Day, Mason Day, Homecoming, and other exciting campus events. Weekends at Mason hosts weekend events to make campus life more interesting to on campus students. This keeps on campus students from being stuck in their dorm rooms on the weekends. Student Government holds yearly elections and represents the student body. This allows students to have a voice issues that impacts them. These organizations allow students to enjoy exciting events and parties on campus.

Brooke

The most popular organizations are NSCS, Weekends at Mason, Program Board, and Student Government. NSCS is the largest honor society on campus. Program Board hosts JC cinema films, Patriot's Day, Mason Day, Homecoming, and other exciting campus events. Weekends at Mason hosts weekend events to campus life interesting for on campus students. This keeps on campus students from mainly being stuck in their dorms. Student Government holds yearly elections and represents the student body. This allows students to have a voice in their school. These organizations allow students to enjoy exciting events and parties on campus.

.

All groups, organizations, clubs and teams make their presence known on campus. Weekends at Mason, Program Board, Student Government and Greeks may be the largest known because of the activities they put on for students regularly. You do not have to join a Greek organization to participate in their events though! Mason is not the type of campus where if you do not join a Greek organization you will not have friends. The Greeks are also very nice and don’t separate themselves from the student body. I decided against it and have still met so many people. I am a part of Mason Ambassadors and that is where I’ve met some of my closest friends. Others I’ve met through classes and dorm life. Dorm life is one of the best experiences in college. Everyone leaves their doors open and is always up for something. A lot of my friends say their floors have become their family. One myth about Mason is that there’s nothing to do on the weekends. That’s FALSE! There is always a movie showing on campus, an organization putting on an even or a party to go to if that’s your scene. Fairfax has many shopping areas, restaurants and places to explore. My favorite thing to do is visit DC. Whatever you want to do, you can find it in DC, pinky promise. If you don’t feel like spending money or going off campus, there’s always pool, games and late night dining with music and occasional random dancing. You will have a good time! Before you know it, Sunday will have arrived and you’ll be in your room doing homework like everyone else.

Stephanie

Greek organizations are among the most popular at Mason. I am a member of the Alpha Phi Fraternity on campus, and love it. I have made life-long friends throughout the process and am constantly involved with community service activities and events. I am also involved in PRSSA which is very useful with networking seeing as I am a Communications/Public Relations major. We have a variety of guest speakers from the field come and talk to members and inform us on what the career entails.

Maryam

I was partially involved with the PRSSA.

Sydney

We have a greek life, but I enjoy ultimate frisbee, swing dancing, photography and a lot of other activities on campus. Mason always has an event going on to keep students busy and having fun.

Sophia

Sports teams and greek life are the biggest organizations

Morgan

Not to be a biased source but athletics is deffinately something very popular to be apart of. Because of the different sports teams' gear and the usual "gym clothes" get up you can usually tell who the athletes are and there sure are a lot of us. The athletes also seem to travel in packs. However sororities and fraternities are also popular and you definately see the masses sporting their letters in the Johnson center. I can say last weekend I was at a swim meet, and then in down time was doing homework. Not so much the glamourous life, however being a student athlete and a nursign student, I have to structure my time very carefully.

Laura

Anyone who leaves their doors open on a college campus is playing a game of luck. No group is more popular than another. I'm in the premed club, Alpha Lambda Delta (honors), and chemistry club. Athletic events are popular. People date here. We have Mason students perform in the theater as well as visiting casts. We have a lot of guest speakers for different department and club events. Mason has a lot of festivities (Mason Mayhem and other activities by the Program Board). There are Sororities and Fraternities, meaning formals and parties. There isn't a lot off-campus and on-campus going on over the weekends. You'd have to drive or go to DC or be satisfied watching movies in the JC cinema or University mall movie theater across the street from campus.

Sonia

Greek life and student government are quite popular. Some people get really into the basketball games, but I personally could care less. I personally was involved in Greek life and quite enjoyed it. Now I am involved in many academic and community service clubs. We are lucky enough to have the Patriot Center right on campus so there are a lot of cool concert and speakers. Most notable is probably Obama and Hilary Clinton and I've enjoyed Gorillaz, Pink, and I would have liked to see Russell Brand. I don't know what the dating scene is like because I'm dating my high school sweetheart. Mason is suitable for all sorts of people, there are plenty of activities that don't involve drinking, but there is also Ikes, which is open all night and a great place to go when you are drunk and hungry.

Matt

Frats are small compared to the student body but fast growing and visible. A few have off campus housing arrangements, but not all. If you want to get drunk at GMU you can get drunk. Lots of good guest speakers - especially political. Lots of bands come to the Patriot Center: at 10,000 it's a perfect concert venue. If you got the money there's the DC scene.

Rory

Some cool organizations: ACM Programming team, Robotics, Game Design, etc. Social life usually consists of drinking in somebody's dorm, carefully monitoring your volume as to not get caught. A couple of off-campus parties can be had, but there's usually only a couple good ones every month, if that. Meeting people can be tough if you're not on campus, commuters usually have clicks if they hang around campus. I'd staunchly recommend living on campus for at least a semester to establish some friends. Some very cool speakers drop by occasionally. Greek life is here. But not something I'd want to be involved in.

Andy

George Mason is host to many great political speakers, in large part due to the proximity to Washington DC. Students who are interested in government and current affairs will find some way to communicate this interest via College Democrats, College Republicans, Students for a Democratic Society, and other on campus organizations. Greek life is also popular on campus. I would stress that it is not absolutely necessary to join a fraternity or sorority in order to experience any type of social life. While most of the party atmosphere is centered around fraternities, girls do not have to be a part of a sorority to intermingle at these events, but males who are not in a fraternity may (as at most colleges and universities) find it more difficult to get into these types of functions.

Owen

There's a vast amount of clubs/organizations....fraternities/sororities that students can get involved in at Mason. The performance arts department is definitely a very successful part of Mason. Our Program Board is a big part of Mason because these students are the ones who provide activities for other students on campus like planning homecoming, Mason Day, concerts, movies....etc.

Heather

There is almost always an event, a speaker, or a presentation that is on campus. Most of the time, students can get free tickets, and if not free, then discounted. All are well attended by people on campus as well as those in the area.

Jess

Mason offers an endless amount of activities. From Greek life to underwater hockey. You name it, they've got it. The Greek life is somewhat popular at Mason. I had quite a few friends in fraternities and sororities. Mason also has many different religious groups, ethnic groups, club sports, etc. Mason may only have a club football team, but they have a great turnout every season. Our basketball team is phenomenal. When it comes to resident life, yes there are parties every weekend, yes people are up all hours of the night and yes there are plenty of activities to do on weekends that don't involve drinking. Mason plans activities for each weekend to keep students away from drinking. Such things include the on campus movie theater, two game rooms, a late night diner, trips to DC, concerts, shows, etc.

Tim

Greek life is the only way to go, with the exception that the school is GAY towards them. LET STUDENTS HAVE FUN!

Tiffany

I met my best friends on my hall. I was lucky to be stuck with such amazing girls, and we all got along so well! If you're awake any day at four o'clock in the morning, you will be eating at Ike's. No doubt about it. Best food around, cool music, and popular. What more could you ask for? The main problem with Mason is that many of the students that do live on campus are from areas very close by. A lot of students leave GMU for the weekend and go hang out at home, so some weekends are pretty dead on campus.

Claire

Our university life initiatives have really expanded in the past few years. A new Weekends@GMU committee was formed this year to address a previous issue with weekend events on campus. There is a fall festival now planned for November 2008 that will now become a new tradition on campus. My favorite part of the year is International Week in April. All of our international student groups host events during the week to teach other students on campus about their culture and controversial issues facing them in America.

Bevan

I'm personally involved in an organization called Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and we work to make the campus better in any aspect that we feel necessary. For example, last semester, we organized and held protests with the intent of making George Mason a sweatshop free university. There are many people in Frats but most of those students are very nice. Saturday and Friday nights are usually filled with parties. We also have this thing called Every Freaking Friday where we have an event on campus every Friday night such as a concert or a comedian which seems to be fun. The most amazing part happens during the summer though. When it is nice outside, many students will be outside playing frizbee, football, etc, meeting new people, and just having a good time.

Jordan

Sometime the weekend on mason are boring. They need create fun activites pn campus one s that are not corney and waxk, but overall I would give the social life B+ or A-

Sara

The most popular groups on campus are fraternities and sororities and the social clubs. I am involved with Circle K International, which is a service organization. We take our members to do various community service activities in the area. Athletic events are a little less popular, but basketball is a pretty hot sport. I met my closest friends freshman year in my dorm buildings. Mason Day and International Week are traditional events that happen every year. People party very often, especially those living on campus. Something you can do on Saturday night that doesn't involve drinking would be go out to dinner with friends, watch a movie. Off campus i spend time with my family, shop, etc.

Tate

Probably surorities/fraternities and international organizations.

Emily

There are a lot of sororities and fraternities at Mason. There's also a lot of other groups as well. It really depends on what you're interests are. And if there isn't a group or club devoted to what you're into, you can start your own group or club. I lived in the dorms my first year. Honestly, I hated it! But, I think the transition from being on my "own" made" it harder than I expected. I live off campus now, and enjoy it much better. The party scene at Mason isn't what you would expect from a university. Because it's a big communter school and the geographical area is really spread out, you have to drive to parties or find rides, which spoils the whole going out and drinking idea. You have to really plan stuff ahead of time, expecially if you don't have a car.

Scarlet

I'm sure the perspective of the GMU social life gets better each year..but it's true that it took a little while to find my niche. In the beginning of the year it's really easy to find frat parties (which if that's what you're into....it's a good idea to go to a lot of different ones to network) if you're a girl...you can get in basically anywhere...and there are never lines. as for guys...it gets harder once rush is over unless you know the brothers. as for the dc nightlife, there are plenty of clubs to go to and events to pay for and a bus will drive you to the metro. In terms of athletic events, basketball is pretty popular and although we don't have a football team, there have been talks of it happening in the future. As for the dating scene, I can't really talk because I'm still with the boy I met in high school, but I will say that there is a wide range of people of varying attractiveness levels. Not to mention there is no mold for a typical GMU student so you can meet a lot of different types of people.

Gene

There is no reason one should be bored at GMU. whatever you are into, whether it be religious organizations, parties, fraternities and Sororities, or ethnic organizations GMU has it. Our proximity to DC, as well as various activites around the town or here on campus offer several alternatives to partying.

Jordan

What are the most popular groups/organizations/clubs/teams on campus? · SDS Pride Alliance College Democrats Do students in dorms leave their doors open? · Depends on the floor How popular are athletic events? The basketball games are really popular Guest speakers? Theater? · Tell us about the dating scene. · How did you meet your closest friends? · On my floor If you’re awake at 2am on a Tuesday, what are you doing? · TV or at Ike's (All night diner) How important are fraternities/sororities? · Not very, they cant' have houses What did you do last weekend? · Went out to dinner, went to the Smithsonian What can you do on a Saturday night that doesn’t involve drinking? See a movie hang out with friends What do you do off campus? Clubbing, movies, museums, shopping

Alicia

Mostly, the social life here, revolves around food.

Renee

It is rather difficult to meet people and get involved on campus (although it is slowly getting better). If you want this kind of involvement, you have to make a deliberate effort to find join clubs or activities. There are a lot of clubs and organizations that can be fun (Greek, cultural, volunteer, athletics, etc.), but you have to make an effort to find what you're interested in.

Alex

The same kind of thing I said above.

Harper

Sororities and fraternities are rather big on Mason's campus. We finally have all nine of the Divine Nine historically black fraternities and sororities. Clubs are huge too! There is a club for basically anything that you might be interested in, and if there isn't, it is relatively easy to start a club!

Kelly

I am involved with the Pep Band called the Green Machine and Mason's winterguard: Mason Declaration. I honestly do not know much about the student life since I am a commuter.

Carlos

The fact that GMU is only about 15 to 20 min away from DC is a plus for people who enjoy the nightlife.

Hillary

I'm in a sorority, but a sorority that has no presence on campus. The Greek life is extensive and its one of the few things at Mason that is positive.

Niki

they're usually meant for on campus kids.

Wade

I am not involved in any clubs, though I have gone to some basketball games. My friends and I generally go to bars off campus, don't party on campus. I have no idea about the frats and such, don't care for them.