George Mason University

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
First, the bad. You give them your money so that they can rob you of your aspirations, but then they won't even reimburse you with enough academic authority to win an argument against the most clueless of Internet trolls - and this is coming from a good student. Nobody ever says it, but you'll sometimes notice an unspoken

if you were at a good school instead of GMU

hidden in the professors' words. GMU was my first experience with professors who'd brush off your theories seemingly based on pure whim and without giving you their reasoning. On the plus side, it's a fast-growing campus with a chill atmosphere, and you'll find countless gorgeous people of all colors and ethnicities. However, the place reeks of narcissistic attitude control, and as a result you will perpetually feel like there's nobody you can relate to. The one-off stories of sexism and sexual favoritism (it goes both ways) about professors are so over-the-top, you'd think they're going out of their way to make you laugh. The administration sometimes seems like a hack job and sometimes seems like it's only interested in your money, and that's all to resist their alternate identity as an administration full of yes-men who unthinkingly obey the institution. You'll often find yourself in a position where you think you've been treated unfairly but have no idea who to complain to (and this might be the crux of the problem - it's not that people don't care, it's that when they do, they have no idea what to do about it). The school makes an honest challenge to my belief that any school is a good one if you're willing to put in the effort.

Now to be fair, the graduation rates are respectable; the classes will teach you what they need to; the professors are respectably competent; the area is rich with business opportunities if you're ambitious enough; the school is up-and-coming in terms of national visibility; proximity to DC is great; there's no shortage of enthusiastic students and teachers; the atmosphere is welcoming assuming you accept that a specific political party best represents a multinational and diverse student body. The place is full of resources and opportunities of various types if you know where to look (but you'll be spammed with ones you aren't interested in, so it isn't always easy to find them). If you just take it for granted that everybody has their moments of boneheadedness, you're good to go.

As I mentioned earlier, the school is growing quickly. If you're in one of the expanding departments, you'll probably be fine, for the obvious reason that that's where the attention is being diverted. If you're the right kind of person (think tolerant and satisfied with a basic education; or hyper-ambitious TV star), you'll mesh well with the university. If on the other hand you're the kind who's inquisitive and holds high expectations for yourself, you'll quickly find yourself frustrated by a cloying wall of interpersonal politics.