George Mason 2011 Applicants Forum

[bomberle]

just withdrew from all other schools except GM- so excited! does anyone know if there's a page for c/o 2014 yet?

[zonto]

I haven't gotten scholarship info yet but was accepted in January... does that mean I'm not getting anything?

I would assume that you're not getting anything. I was admitted in early January and have heard nothing about scholarships either. Maybe some money will surface, but I would proceed as if you're not going to get any type of scholarship.

As far as I know, George Mason isn't known for giving out large chunks of scholarship money, because their tuition is (relatively speaking) a bit lower than other peer schools.

This is where they bug me. They charge a few thousand less in tuition, but then give out even less than that amount to their students in scholarships so the end result is that you still pay more. Plus, who do they think they are coupling their scholarships with a top 25% stipulation? Really?

They're also apparently too cheap to feed us lunch at the ASDs. I wonder if alumni really are not contributing very much and they don't have the funds, or if those in charge of said funds are just incompetent. Either way, I am not impressed.

[zonto]

Info from How to Rank Law Schools by Brian Leiter:

The problem with U.S. News is not that it identifies George Mason as a “tier one” school, it is that it does so despite the fact that the criteria the magazine employs to measure academic merit would relegate the school to the second tier. (footnote 18)

(footnote 18): Only because George Mason has mastered the art of manipulating the other U.S. News criteria does the school rank in the first tier.

Source (page 3)

[dcbound]

You seem excited to go there.

[kjadkins]

Withdrew today. Best of luck to all of you!

[Underground404]

In George Mason's defense, you should first note that this particular article was written 5-6 years ago when George Mason had recently burst into the Top-100 and then quickly rose to 35th. Since the mid-2000s, George Mason has been able to hold its position in the Top-50 according to USNWR.

I'm not arguing that George Mason (or other schools for that matter) don't work the system in order to obtain higher USNWR rankings, I'm sure they certainly do. However, I would assume that many other schools are doing this as well and I highly doubt that George Mason stands alone in this "manipulation," to quote Mr. Leiter. If George Mason is truly guilty of this and are the only ones doing it, then why has no one called them out on it? The answer probably lies with the fact that most law schools do exactly what George Mason does in terms of trying to achieve a higher rank in the eyes of USNWR. I'm not justifying their actions, just pointing out that this appears to have become the reality of the law school rankings game.

Finally, go to to the rankings page on TLS. You'll find that George Mason ranks 26th in the country according to Mr. Leiter's own Educational Quality Rankings. I'm sure the rankings are several years old, but they still offer some insight into the quality of a George Mason legal education.

[zahunter]

Bump bump. Wait listers?

[JCox]

Is anyone still waiting for a decision? I submitted my application at the end of March. My online status lists my last status update as 4/1/2011.

[General Lee]

Applied end of March (PT), went complete 4/4.

[smartblonde87]

Just got the phone call - I'm in from the wait list!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!

PM for numbers if interested

[General Lee]

Just got the phone call - I'm in from the wait list!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!

PM for numbers if interested

congrats! same here!

[smartblonde87]

CONGRATS!

[JCox]

Online status updated yesterday morning to say a decision has (finally) been reached. Now just waiting...waiting...waiting...

[General Lee]

Online status updated yesterday morning to say a decision has (finally) been reached. Now just waiting...waiting...waiting...

Best of luck...

From what I understand:

phone call: in
email: out
snail mail: wait list

Deposits are due May 15, so the next round of wait-listers should hear something shortly thereafter. Then again, what do I know....

[JCox]

WL then accepted a week and a half later! Didn't even have to do a LOCI!

[Henchman21]

WL then accepted a week and a half later! Didn't even have to do a LOCI!

Congratulations on your acceptance! Do you plan on attending?

[JCox]

WL then accepted a week and a half later! Didn't even have to do a LOCI!

Congratulations on your acceptance! Do you plan on attending?

Yup! I had a seat deposit in for American, but will gladly trade up for Mason. That was literally a $100,000+ phone call.

[smartblonde87]

Just withdrew last night - best of luck to those who wait!

[mp2jam]

Can anyone tell me when GMU usually give out decisions for waitlist? and do they give a notice if denied also?

[3|ink]

Do 1Ls have to register for classes?