Fairfax, Virginia. 27,083 undergraduate students. 259 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 232186 · OPEID 003749 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at George Mason
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at George Mason University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.8% → 0.0%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
George Mason earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Virginia median
Each tile compares this institution to the Virginia median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$76,343+26% · 6→10y
Virginia median $44,813
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$60,536
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
69.3%+40% · '97→'24
Virginia median 50.7%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$15,750+235% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
27,083+109% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
87.4%+6% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
88.8%+28% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$13,815+277% · '00→'24
out-of-state $39,397
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How George Mason earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at George Mason
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.7%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $15,750 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $76,343 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
George Mason enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–202427,752
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997–202467.8%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$19,500
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 1997→2024+40%
George Mason · completion · 150% rose
48.5% → 67.8%
COMPLETION · 100% · 1997→2024+124%
George Mason · completion · 100% rose
20.7% → 46.4%
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 1996→2024+109%
George Mason · undergrad enrollment rose
13,289 → 27,752
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+277%
George Mason · in-state tuition rose
$3,768 → $14,220
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+207%
George Mason · out-of-state tuition rose
$12,612 → $38,688
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997→2020+235%
George Mason · median debt rose
$5,813 → $19,500
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-100%
George Mason · cohort default rate fell
2.6% → 0.0%
PELL SHARE · 2008→2024+60%
George Mason · pell share rose
18.9% → 30.1%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 2007→2020+31%
George Mason · earnings_median_10yr rose
$58,200 → $76,343
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 2003→2020+33%
George Mason · earnings_median_6yr rose
$45,600 → $60,536
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
George Mason programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$1,512,727
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 5
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
Cost per year
$16,296
HS-only baseline · VA
$39,800
Years to complete
4
CIP family
11
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to George Mason in Virginia
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
“George Mason graduates earn $X” — not “George Mason makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending George Mason caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.