StudentsReview ™ :: Mark a survey Invalid or inform SR staff

-or-
Search for Colleges by Region
 

or within distance of city





  Who's got the Best (variable)?

Perceptual Rankings:
You Make 'Em.
We Post 'Em.
You Vote 'Em Up.
You Vote 'Em Down.
Aww yeah.


Mark a survey and Inform Staff

Please do not overuse -- this is just intended to notify SR staff of probably invalid surveys. We will not "edit" or censor existing valid surveys.

This Survey/Comment is:
Valid
Invalid
Wrong location/Incorrect School
None of the above
Mark all that apply:
Content Nonsensical
Content Useless
Duplicate Survey
High Vulgarity
High Grammatical Error
Malicious Intent/Faked
Probably Admissions
SPAM
Added notes (max 100 chars):

Please remember that all surveys, even vulgar ones or those with poor grammar, convey something about the student body and the institution.

 
Existing Review Notes:
Administration:

Peer Review:

Statistical Analyzer:

 
Survey (Identifying information hidden.)
ACT: 25
AcademicSuccess: 3.85
Again:
Attitude:
Competitive: 6.92
Creativity: 3.85
ExCuricular: 1.54
FAttitude1: 1
FAttitude2: 1
FAttitude3:
FAttitude4:
FAttitude5:
FAttitude6:
FacultyAcc: 6.15
Friendly: 6.15
FromArea: 1
FundingUse: 2.31
Gender: 1
GradYear: 20
Grounds: 2.31
Intellect: 3
Maint: 4.61
MindExpect: 3
MindUse: 2
Programs: 3.08
SAT: 1200
SAttitude1: 1
SAttitude2:
SAttitude3:
SAttitude4: 1
SAttitude5: 1
SAttitude6:
SAttitude7:
SAttitude8:
Safety: 10.00
Social: 2.31
Standing: 2
SurroundingCity: 7.69
TAclasses: 1
USE_THIS_DATA: 1
Usefulwork: 2.31
Worth: 5.38
No/invalid Email Address left

I spent 3 semesters (1.5 years) at Mason before I dropped out. There were several reasons for my decision to leave: (1) the social life aspect and extracurricular clubs were extremely lacking, (2) coursework was primarily filled with busywork that was stressful not due to being challenging, but because of the amount, (3) many, MANY of the buildings on campus are old, outdated, and falling apart, (4) the library does not offer adequate seating OR operational hours to accomplish anything, (5) overall, coursework was not challenging and often I would feel that my high school courses were way more difficult than the work I was doing in college, (6) the student body as a whole seems uninspired and apathetic about not only Mason (as in lacking school spirit) but high education in general, and lastly, (7) there are SO many students on campus on any given day (minus the weekends thanks to it being what seems to be primarily a commuter school) that it is difficult to find seating ANYWHERE, walk or bike to class, get housing that you want, enroll in courses that you need, etc. Allow me to explain further.

1. I was a psychology major at Mason. Guess what? There wasn't even a psychology club to join. Many of the clubs that did exist were run by disorganized and apathetic students. For example, I was invited to join the National Society of Collegiate Scholars while I was at Mason and I attended two meetings after my initial acceptance. No one came! It was just me, the club officers, and TWO other students. This seemed to be a recurring theme with on-campus organizations.

2. With the exclusion of big lecture classes with nearly 300 people wherein your grades were determined by only 2 or 3 exams for the entire semester, the majority of other, smaller classes (20-50 students) seemed to produce a never-ending supply of busywork for the class. The thing that was frustrating the most is that this busywork would count for approximately 10% or 20% of your total class grade, and yet the amount of time and effort poured into these assignments would far outweigh anything else worked on during the semester.

3. As you now know, I was a psychology major at Mason. The building that the psychology department was housed in was absolutely crumbling sh*t, pardon my language. The building, David King Hall, was built around 1980 and it definitely shows. There have been ZERO renovations or upgrades since it was built. It is dimly lit and has a foul odor inside. The basement, where actual classes are held, is even worse than the upper level where advising is located. Of course, STEM majors are treated like royalty around here with much newer, nicer buildings (this seems to be a theme of social sciences versus literally everything else). Even the art building was nice! Mason literally couldn't give a crap about their social science programs, and the deteriorating conditions that they are forced to put up with show it.

4. For a university with over 30,000 enrolled students, one might think that they might need more than one library in order to provide sufficient space for studying students. Not so at Mason; there is one library (granted, it is very new and updated) but it closes at midnight for most weekdays and even earlier at 6pm on the weekends. Even more troubling than the short hours (when compared to other universities that offer 24/7 libraries) is the HUGE lack of space. I have spent what has felt like hours just wandering around the library searching for ONE seat or desk that I could sit and work at. It got so bad with the lack of seating that I just stopped going to the library at all and relied 100% on my dorm desk to get my work done, which was not ideal with the roommates that I had.

5. I would consider myself an average to only slightly above average student in terms of academic capacity. During high school I made all A's and B's, and I had also taken some dual enrollment classes at my local community college. I graduated high school with a 4.53 weighted GPA, however, my standardized testing scores were NOT good at all (25 for the ACT and 1200 for the SAT). I expected to be somewhat challenged, obviously, by college coursework when compared to the work I did in high school. However, I found myself consistently making all A's with only one A- or B thrown in every now and then. If I can consistently make those types of grades, then rest assured the material is NOT academically stimulating or challenging at all.

6.When you actually start to talk to students of Mason, it seems that a high percentage are here just to get a degree (which isn't a bad thing). However, the general attitude of

I just need a C or D to pass this class
is not inspiring or spirited in the slightest.

7. Similar to the problem with Fenwick Library being overcrowded, the entire campus struggles to keep up wit the demands of thousands upon thousands of students every day. I bought a bike to get around during my second semester and I ended up not even being able to use it due to the immense overcrowding of the sidewalks with everyone walking to their classes. This theme continued into nearly every dining facility and restaurant on campus, making for an extremely frustrating (and claustrophobic) experience.

I know that I have been rather negative on Mason, but for all of its faults and flaws, it is a good school (especially for international and STEM students). If you just want a place to skate by all 4 years and end up with a degree at the end of it, then this place is probably for you. However, if you want to feel like you're part of a community in an intellectually stimulating and passionate environment with personal attention, look elsewhere (as I currently am)!

StudentsReview Advice!

• What is a good school?
• Statistical Significance
• How to choose a Major
• How to choose your Career
• What you make of it?
• How Ivy League Admissions works
• On the Student/Faculty Ratio

• FAFSA: Who is a Parent?
• FAFSA: Parent Contribution
• FAFSA: Dream out of reach

• College Financial Planning
• Survive College and Graduate
• Sniffing Out Commuter Schools
• Preparing for College: A HS Roadmap
• Talking to Your Parents about College.
• Is a top college worth it?
• Why is college hard?
• Why Kids Aren't Happy in Traditional Schools