George Mason University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for George Mason University

George Mason University operates as a public institution located in Fairfax, Virginia (suburb: large), with a total reported enrollment of 27,752 students of which 33,763 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. George Mason University is categorized as “15” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 87.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,274 and an ACT midpoint of 28. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $17,915, with published in-state tuition of $14,220 and a Pell grant recipient share of 30.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $19,500, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 68.6%, and the first-year retention rate is 86.0%. Graduates earn a median of $76,343 ten years after enrolling, compared with $60,536 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 731900.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 76.5% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.