Pathway to the Baccalaureate is a consortium of ten educational institutions in Northern Virginia — K-12 public school systems, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and George Mason University – who have joined forces to provide a seamless web of support to selected students as they pursue a four-year college degree, beginning with the transition from high school, through NOVA, to Mason or other universities.
If accepted into the program during his or her senior year of high school, a Pathway student will be supported by counselors based in the high schools initially and at then at the NOVA campuses upon graduation from high school. These counselors provide information pertaining to academic advising and course registration, financial aid, and transferring to four-year institutions. There is one advisor based at Mason to assist students who intend to transfer to Mason with the application process and getting acclimated to the university.
There are roughly 800 students at Mason who are involved in the Pathway program.
For additional information about the Pathway to the Baccalaureate program, visit the main website and student blog.
Differences Between Pathway at NOVA and Pathway at Mason
There are a number of differences between how the Pathway program functions at Mason compared to the experience at NOVA. With at least two years of college completed by the time students transfer to Mason, we expect students to be more independent and take greater ownership of their education. Examples of some of the differences are listed below.
