Early Identification Program (EIP)

Mason will award more than 9,700 degrees at its Spring Commencement on Friday, May 20. Here are the stories of a few of the students in the Class of 2022.

Arturo Barrera is receiving his bachelor’s in conflict analysis and resolution. He said Mason supported him before he was a freshman.

In recognition of the National First-Generation College Celebration on Nov. 8, George Mason University celebrates the successes of its first-generation students and alumni.

Tharuna Kalaivanan carves out a vital space for first-generation college students in the world of academic research at Mason. After earning her B.A. in Psychology in the spring of 2020, Kalaivanan continues to make an impact on the Honors College.

Incoming Mason freshman and EIP graduate Muhammad Farhan Babar is no stranger to helping others.

After coming to the United States from El Salvador to join her mother late in 2010, she enrolled in Mason's Early Identification Program and was an academic star at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Virginia.

About one in three Mason students are in the first generation of their families to attend college. First-generation college students find a welcoming environment at Mason, with a multi-layered support network to help ensure success and provide help through any challenge.

Of the 108 Northern Virginia graduating seniors who participated in the university's Early Identification Program, 48 have chosen to attend Mason. Twenty-eight of those students have been awarded partial or full scholarships.

Accounting major Isabella Bah began her Mason journey as a student in the Early Identification Program.

The Honors College seeks to instill life-long learning, curiosity, and critical thinking in motivated students across all disciplines. The Early Identification Program (EIP) is designed to close the access gap in higher education by providing resources and readiness support to prospective first-generation college students. By working together, we encourage success by offering holistic support for students' academic and personal achievement.