Your Guide to On-Campus Housing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia

So, you've received that long awaited acceptance letter to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Congratulations and welcome! There are so many decisions you will have to make: classes to sign up for, meal plans to choose, roommates and most importantly, where to live! Here are my descriptions and feelings about the best places to live if you choose to live on campus at GMU.

If you're a freshman, you don't have much of an option and you have to live in President's Park. There are twelve different dorms and the rooms vary between doubles, triples and quints. Each hall is comprised of either all females or all males and you have one community bathroom. All of your major furniture needs will be provided including a bed, desk, chair and dresser/closet. This is actually a great place to live as a new freshman because you are surrounded by other freshman that need to make friends too.

Some freshman get lucky and can now reside in an area known as DUCC. They've recently turned certain areas of these dorms into freshman dorms due to the high volume of incoming freshman. In DUCC there are the buildings of Dominion, Commonwealth and the Commons. The Commons are similar to President's Park. It has double and triple rooms and each floor shares a community bathroom. Here, in the upper class dorms, floors are often mixed between males and females. Dominion and Commonwealth are the two 5 story buildings that contain the suites. Each room is made for double occupancy and there is one bathroom between two rooms. So, essentially, four people are sharing one bathroom. Each room has their own sink and the toilet and shower are shared.

The third area is called TAP. This includes the townhouses, apartments and Patriot Village. The townhouses are your best bet if you want to live independently. They are located just off of campus and are an easy walk if you don't happen to have a car to get onto campus. The townhouses would be my second choice as a living situation. They house four students (two in each bedroom) and have a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms and washer and dryer. I preferred to be on campus but these are great for people that don't mind being a short distance away. The apartments are just like you would assume an apartment would be. There are two rooms, two people in each room, and a kitchen, living room and bathroom. Patriot Village are essentially trailers. They are not the best choice for campus living and I would really only choose these if it were a last option. They are pretty far from the main buildings on campus and are not in the best shape. Each trailer houses seven people (two double rooms and three singles), and contains a living room and two bathrooms.

The last housing area that is currently open is the YRC. These are, by far, the best places to live. They are the newest buildings on campus and it shows. The first building here is Liberty Square, a fully furnished apartment that houses either two or four people per apartment. Each person has their own room, and two people share one bathroom. There is also a common kitchen and living room. Potomac Heights is the second building in this area and this one houses two, four or six people in single and double bedrooms. For the two and four person apartment there is one bathroom per two people. For the six person apartment, there are two full bathrooms and a half bathroom. These too have a kitchen and living room.

In summary, I recommend the townhouses if you're seeking some independence and don't mind living off campus. Liberty Square and Potomac Heights are the best buildings to live in. Stay away from Patriot Village, it's by far the worst of the on campus housing. Everything else pretty much falls neatly in between.