George Mason University supplemental essays
Yes, but every one is optional. George Mason University prints one supplemental essay in 2026-27 and requires none of them. Common App. Personal statement optional (250-650 words).
That is one supplement plus the Common App personal statement: at most two pieces of writing in all. Early Action closes November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision closes February 1, 2027. The prompts carry this limit: 250 words. Every George Mason University prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it, checked against the college’s own admissions page.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Early Action | November 1, 2026 |
| Regular Decision | February 1, 2027 |
Checked against www.gmu.edu/freshman/requirements. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Optional · 250 words
An optional, but strongly encouraged personal statement. This should be approximately 250 words explaining to the Office of Admissions why YOU want to go to college. Tell us about yourself and your experiences that have led to this decision.
Mason’s own question, separate from the Common App personal statement, and in their words "strongly encouraged".
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Your George Mason University checklist
One supplement, optional. The first deadline, Early Action, is November 1, 2026.
- Common App personal statementOptional250-650 words
- SupplementOptional250 words
It saves these rows to your essay manager, where each one carries a status you set yourself and the prompt stays attached to it. Add your other schools and they land on the same page, in deadline order. Nothing written yet? The topic quiz is free as well.
Free: this page, the checklist, the essay manager and the topic quiz. Paid: a written review of a finished draft, $49 an essay.
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Getting into George Mason University
George Mason University admits 87.5% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1160-1360 on the SAT and 25-30 on the ACT.
About 9 in 10 applicants are admitted, at a college of 27,752 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1160 | 1270 | 1360 |
| SAT reading and writing | 580 | 640 | 680 |
| SAT math | 580 | 630 | 680 |
| ACT composite | 25 | 28 | 30 |
What SAT score do you need for George Mason University?
A 1360 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1270 at their midpoint, and a 1160 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 25, 28 and 30. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for George Mason University?
- George Mason University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1160-1360 on the SAT: a 1160 sits at the 25th percentile, 1270 at the median and 1360 at the 75th. A score at or above 1360 is a clear strength in the application; below 1160 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures George Mason University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for George Mason University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 25-30 on the ACT, with a composite of 28 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 25. Reported by George Mason University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for George Mason University?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for George Mason University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that George Mason University admits 87.5% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into George Mason University?
- George Mason University admits 87.5% of the people who apply, which is about 9 in 10 applicants. Numbers inside the reported range put you in a real position here, and the application itself decides the rest.
What George Mason University costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
George Mason University essay questions, answered
- Does George Mason University have supplemental essays?
- Yes, but every one is optional. George Mason University prints one supplemental essay in 2026-27 and requires none of them. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: 250 words.
- How many essays do you write for George Mason University in 2026-27?
- One supplement, plus the Common App personal statement if you choose to send it.
Schools with similar admit rates
George Mason University admits 87.5% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Washington State University (86.6%), UT San Antonio (UTSA) (86.8%), Niagara University (87.4%), University of Nebraska–Lincoln (87.5%), Roger Williams University (87.7%), Oakland University (87.8%).