George Mason University Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Kelly

The cost is still really high per credit. It is hard for part-time students to pay for school.

Anthony

George Mason University claims to have many opportunities for scholarships and financial aid. However, most of their opportunities are only for women in nursing or minorities. They do not offer and equal amount of opportunities for a Caucasian male.

Mary

Sometimes the school seems rather uncohesive. It's like there are so many small organizations and groups that we aren't even at the same school.

Kaylee

I would consider the worst thing about George Mason university would be that the surrounding area of the campus is not very college town. The area around the school is very subaraban which isn't the best for college kids.

Melissa

Parking, since the school is so large, parking is always an issue.

Danielle

The worst thing about my school is that a good portion of our student body commute so the sense of community is not as strong as it could be. With people commuting, the sense of community is lessened becasue the people you see in class leave campus and do not get to make connections and friendships that those who live on campus do. Living on campus allows you to live with your friends and get to know them; they become your extended family and give you a sense of home.

Tyana

The worst thing would have to be how big the campus is. Don't get me wrong I love and nice big campus, but it could be inconvenient when walking from your dorm to your classes. On your first day you're going to have to estimate how long it takes you to walk from your dorm to each class and also make sure that coincides with the time you wake up also keeping in mind that you may possibly have to shower and eat breakfast if that is what you plan to do in the morning.

Bethany

The worst thing I consider about my school is the lack of school spirit. No one is really bothered about being a Patriot.

Catriona

The worst thing about my school is at times I believe it lacks a sense of community. The dynamic created by the large number of students who commute makes it different than other residential colleges in that there is less of a bond and connection with my fellow classmates. Only at large, widely promoted events do we have the turnout one would expect of a campus filled with school spirit.

Jill

When I attended Mason there was very little community outside of the dorms due to the student population being primarily commuters. I found that the people in my dorm freshman year became my closest friends (with the exception of a few upperclassmen that reached out to me) and those friendships were largely what sustained me through those four years. Also, many of the professors at Mason take a fairly liberal tack with their teaching style.

Roland

The worst thing about my school is some of the food options in the JC. They're not the best of food options. The food isn't to great and needs to be run more efficiently. Sometimes the food doesn't even look healthy.

Sarah

It is a school with many commuters. This doesn't make for a very school-spirited community. Also, the police on campus are ridiculous. Most schools turn a blind eye if they find someone who has been drinking alcohol (I'm not talking beligerent--just had a few drinks), but George Mason cracks down on this.

Brianna

Dorm quality needs extreme improvement, especially in the area of older dorms. There are numerous leakages in ceilings and uncontrollable mold in some areas as a result of backwall leaking. These are gradually being improved, but it seems that renovations are occurring in the opposite order that they should.

precious

I have only been here a short while the only thing I consider wrong with this school would be the disorganization of the school with financial aid, but that's all school's other than that no complaints.

Laura

I think the worst part of George Mason is the fact that there is high school tendencies to exclude groups based on their year. More specifically freshman, because freshman don't get included in a lot of activities based on the fact they are freshman, which happened a lot in high school. It's frustrating especially if you want to get to know somebody but they don't want to know you just because you are a freshman. This isn't Mason's fault but mostly the upperclassman that make up Mason.

Zaeema

A disadvantage I would see for George Mason University would be the lack of quiet locations. Due to the high amount of enrolled students, it is difficult to find a silent area on campus, thus making it difficult to study. For example the most popular library, the Johnson Center, is in the center of the campus and attracts a large mass of people because the cafeteria and all the important offices are located there. As a result, I believe way to improve student life at mason will be to increase quiet areas.

Shavonne

I don't have anything bad to say about my school.

Amy

Mason is still largely a commuter school, leaving it rather dead on the weekends.

Ushna

The worst thing I would consider is the financial aid. Originally, I thought I wouldn't have to pay for anything, and acutally have some of my grant money refunded. However, because of the high amount of people applying for aid at GMU, they re-evaluated and cut back on everyone else's aid and I ended up having to pay a lot of it myself. I'm happy that so many more people are looking into attending Mason, but I just didn't like the fact I had to "share" the money.

Kati

George Mason University's greatest flaw is parking. We have a large, beautiful campus, but there is not enough space to accomidate all the students' and staffs' vehicles. It is difficult for commuter students to find parking before their classes.

Casey

Parking. If you live on campus owned housing that is not directly on campus or if you are an off campus commutor, parking can become an issue. Unless you are on campus before 9AM or after 7:00PM parking is typically limited to the back of general lots. On occasion I have been late to class due to parking. Lesson learned though: arrive 35 minutes before your class to make it on time, 40 minutes to arrive comfortably. Also, you have to stay aware of big events on campus. They cause huge traffic issues. Those days be an hour early.

Farah

The only thing that is bad about my school is that parking is always too far.

Cassandra

George Mason University never seems to make its students a priority. They consistently adopt policies or conduct themselves in a way which is not only not helpful to students, but is often detrimental to them. The main campus is constantly under construction, but despite these improvements they refuse to construct more parking for their continually growing commuter population-- most students at the school commute, and Mason tends to ignore or alienate these students rather than pay attention to their needs.

Sade

The cost to live on-campus at George Mason University is outrageous. I am already receiving financial aid and loans, and it still does not cover it. If George Mason University lowered the cost to live on-campus, it would make my financial hardships better and my overall experience as a Patriot.

sarah

I feel like people aren't really connected. There are no activities to bring people together and make friends. It's hard to make friends there especially for people who don't look american. All the students are in there own world. There is no campus life in the weekends, it's desserted, and leaves you feeling depressed. Also, the location of the university is in an Area where there is no After-school student life, unlike living in a city. Transportation is limited and makes it more difficult to go to further places. + tuition is so expensivee!

Richard

The worst thing I would consider about my school is that it is a majority commuter school. I personally love my school, but George Mason is a big university but it is very close to a lot of people so they mainly commute to save money and for many other reasons. During the weekends you see how many less students are on campus, and it sometimes feels boring. I wish that more people would live on campus and be the traditional College campus with a big school spirit and a lot of students involved in activities.

Natalia

The one thing I find the most dissapointing about my school is that most of the students live locally and they tend to all leave campus for the weekends, so out of state students, like me, are stuck alone on campus during the weekends. During my first semester at school, I would stay in my dorm most weekends when my roommate went home. It wasn't until I met more out of state students that I started having more of a social life on the weekends.

German

It's hard to pick something that is wrong with the school. I was only there one semester so far but the worst things that happen to me in that school is not the school fault, it's my own. Like I said before, I need to be more involved in school activities and stick around more. The only thing I could think of is with my experience so far, the teachers I have had do not help you as much when I was having some trouble. Tutoring services need to be around more and offered a lot to people.

Nusheen

In the beginning of the year this very question would have been very difficult for me to answer but as I have finished my first semester at George Mason I have realized that the communication is lacking. There are hundreds of events occuring on campus everyday and even the sites that claim to share all of these events with the student population aren't updated so most of these events don't have a very good turn out or it is a hastle to find out where the event is even located once you have found out about it.

Tayyaba

I think the worst thing about my school would be that it does not host as many cultural activites as I would like.

Suzy

There is so much diversity, activity and excitement at George Mason. I believe all of this is only beneficial to the school. There was nothing awful about it.

Brianna

The worst thing about Mason is the plethora of choices that are offered. This would actually be a wonderful aspect to any school and I appreciate all the choices they have, but it is very difficult for me to choose between so many good options. From multiple interesting classes to unique clubs and sports, even the choices in daily dining, I am almost always torn about my options because they all seem to be so wonderful. Though I consider this one of the worst aspects about my school because it challenges me, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ashley

The worst thing about GMU is that it is not for students with very ambitious post-graduation plans.

Jaaron

The worst thing about my school is the renovations and outside areas. People at my school area always complaining about the fact that they have to learn new routes to get to their classes because it is closed off due to construction. I found out that some of my friends have to move out from their dorm for the spring semester because the area they were living in is being renovated. The other thing that is just as bad is that there are people who smoke right outside of the main building, which causes non-smokers to hold their breath.

Tiffany

The worst thing about Mason is that there is no football team. You miss out on that experience of tailgating and really rallying behind a world known sport. Our basketball team season is what everyone looks forward to at Mason, ad our pep band is awesome at games but to get that coming together experince that a football team can give isn't the same as what basketball brings in.

Kaitlyn

THe worst thing about George Mason is the amount of people that go home on the weekends. A large amount of the student population live close by and it is relatively easy for them to go home on the weekends, resulting in a semi-dead campus on Saturdays and especially Sundays.

Amanda

The worst thing about this school is the lack of an official football team. Most of the other big colleges in VA have a football team, but Mason does not. Having a football team would significantly raise the school spirit, give something fun for for students to do on weekends, and raise more awareness about Mason.

Abdullah

The worst thing about George Mason University is the amount of smokers on campus. Even though no smoking is allowed indoors, the amount of smokers around campus is phenomenal. One can not walk outside without breathing the second hand smoke coming out of 5-10 smokers hanging around enterences of building. It is hard to avoid and drives people like me crazy.

Ryan

Parking services are probably the worst thing about Mason. It is sooo hard to find parking on campus, especially if you're looking for something under $100. The only free parking on campus are the 30 minute loading/unloading parking spots. Other than that, visitors have no free parking and end up having to pay a lot of money just for a day of parking.

brooke

There is usually a lack of school pride on my campus. During basketball season, school spirit is high, but all other times during the year it's sadly low. Students here love the school, they just don't know how to show it.

Scott

The school is primarily a commuter school, so there tends to be very little social life on campus. I dislike this because it's difficult for me to make friends, and having limited opportunities to do so on campus compounds the problem. Also because of this and the school's proximity to Washington DC and Arlington and related areas, traffic becomes nearly unbearable sometimes.

Hyun

Food, because for the price we pay, we get very little or the quality is not worth the price we pay

Maureen

The worst thing I would consider about this school is the cost for out-of-state students, there is little aid for them.

Stephen

The worst thing about Mason is the size of the campus. Classes can be very far apart from others. In addition, the dorms are very spaced out, making it difficult to meet other people sometimes.

Patrick

The alcohol policy and lack of school spirit. Also, the academic reputation of the school is not nearly what other schools like UVA have.

Elizabeth

Campus is growing which is great overall, but the transition period is messy and not conducive to an already very populated and expensive area.

Christine

Has the reputation of being a commuter school, lack of excitement on campus, average meal options

Andrew

I would say that the worst thing about George Mason University would be that it is a commuter school. This is bad because during the week there will be too many people here and everything will be very crowded, but this it is the complete opposite during the weekend. During the weekend there is never anyone outside, so it is like a ghost town.

Natalie

The parking situation; due to the fact that many students commute, parking is terrible.

bilal

The worst thing if I were to say is the cost of tuition.