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Well, which of the two would you choose? Why?

Johannes de Silentio wrote:Well, which of the two would you choose? Why?

depends on your goals..

In choosing, I would also keep in mind my preference about small town/big city.

For me, living in Lexington would be no problem. Lexington seems incredibly similar to the town where my undergrad is(in the foothills, not much to do but nature-y stuff, very small, middle of nowhere).
George Mason is in Arlington, which means that the commute will most likely be much more of a pain, and COL will be higher. However, this means more options in your free time.

crm wrote:

Johannes de Silentio wrote:Well, which of the two would you choose? Why?

depends on your goals..

Career Goal: D.C. bureaucrat with an inflated sense of self-importance (DoJ perhaps).

eandy wrote:In choosing, I would also keep in mind my preference about small town/big city.

For me, living in Lexington would be no problem. Lexington seems incredibly similar to the town where my undergrad is(in the foothills, not much to do but nature-y stuff, very small, middle of nowhere).
George Mason is in Arlington, which means that the commute will most likely be much more of a pain, and COL will be higher. However, this means more options in your free time.

Good points all. I myself am an upstate New Yorker from a very small town. In fact, Lexington is more populous. On the other hand, I think I would love Arlington.

if I was in-state I'd pick GMU unless you got a fat scholarship from W&L.

Ahem...bump!

I've lived relatively close to George Mason, and have worked in Lexington, so take what you will from this:

George Mason is a stones throw from DC. Getting to the metro to hop into downtown DC whenever you want shouldn't be a problem. The main campus is a bit farther, but you're going to get some great basketball games and concerts (I've seen Tool, Mastadon and Dethklok just this year) out of the Patriot Center, its gymnasium/Auditorium.

Washington and Lee is in Lexington, VA, which is pretty backwater. Last time I was there there were a few chain restaurants, a couple alright BBQ joints and a couple local bars. There isn't much to do outside canoe trips on the Shenandoah and hiking in the Appalachians. The fishing is alright there too. You'll be an hour out of both Charlottesville and Roanoke, which are both fun little cities. However, that's as close to a bar/restaurant and concert scene you'll get to, and neither are outstanding, especially compared to the DC area. Whether you'll have the motivation, desire, or time to do any of that is up to you.

Beyond location you need to keep in mind prices:

George Mason is public, and you can get instate tuition for around $20,566 or out of state for $34,220. HOWEVER, I will say that with this new governor coming there has been talk about across the board education budget cuts and every year I went to a public university in Virginia tuition went up a significant amount. It is likely to do so again. Also Arlington can get pricey to live.

http://officialguide.lsac.org/SearchRes ... BA5827.pdf

Washington and Lee is private, and costs around 36k in tuition. Lexington is going to be cheap to live in, and I was paying around 350 a month for a decent bedroom in a 3 bedroom apartment back in 2006.

http://officialguide.lsac.org/SearchRes ... BA5887.pdf

I haven't seen anything as far as OCI lists, real and recent employment figures so I can't compare the two, but ITE I'm not sure there's going to be a real difference between a rank 30 school and a 41. Personally, if I could stand living in VA for any longer I'd apply to W&M and GMU for the tuition and career prospects. Free tuition would get me to live in Lexington.