Ask a UMass Student

<p>Also, even the most sedate dorms at UMass are social and lively. Fun abounds in many places, on and off campus.</p>

<p>I keep hearing about the stereotypes of particular dorm areas. I know that Southwest is the “party” area but I don’t know how the other areas are rated in terms of type (and yes I know that its just a generalization). But I would be curious about how current Umass students view the other areas. Thanks in advance. </p>

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<p>A great question, here is a general run down on all of the areas you can live</p>

<p>Southwest: Everybody who goes to Umass should experience southwest AT LEAST once during their time here. It doesn’t even have to be living there, but sleeping over a friend’s dorm or going to a party just to see the mornings, amount of shame walkers, etc. Personally, I would not suggest living here freshman year, because I feel as if people in southwest are not very outgoing without alcohol (from what I’ve seen my past 2 years here, people will definitely love to have a conversation with you, but aren’t as willing to start it) I found that ironic since Southwest is the social capital.</p>

<p>Night time is a different story though, and this is probably where you will usually make a bunch of friends. Since everybody is loosened up, they will be more talkative, and more inviting. You are going to have at least one really memorable/ super interesting story if you live in Southwest. There are cliques, but you can also find some genuine people as well. The sterotype of people having there doors close is pretty iffy for me, as some floors had many doors open, while others had none (this goes with almost every college dorm, except O-Hill)</p>

<p>Orchard Hill- A lot of quirky people here, which is why I remember it lol. People are usually almost always inviting. The one thing I notice here though is sometimes people can be a little too intrusive because they take the openness of the floor a little to hard. You will definitely find a good group of friends here easily, especially during the first couple of days at Umass. The one dislike is the obvious hill, which isn’t so bad to be honest. At O-hill, you’tr more likely to find people who are into more “nerdy” things like super smash bros, magic, etc</p>

<p>Central- In my personal opinion, this is the BEST place for a freshman to start out, then move with one of their friends into the southwest area. Van meter is without a doubt the best freshman dorm on campus. Central is similar to o-hill, where everybody is very inviting during the first couple of days at Umass. I hear people complain about some of the rude behaviors some people show (and yeah, there are rude people everywhere).</p>

<p>Northeast- I don’t know much about Northeast other than the fact that there are a lot of engineering students who live there. Oh, and their dorm sizes are very small</p>

<p>Sylvan-No</p>

<p>What if the rap you are interested in is only given in Southwest? Should you look at another rap or no rap just to avoid SW?</p>

<p>RAPs are a different story. RAPs have you live with a group of people who share the same interests as you, or are in a similar situation when entering colllege.</p>

<p>I was in a RAP freshman year (EY partners in education) and enjoyed it a lot. it’s easier to meet people in RAPS since your floor section usually has something in common with you</p>

<p>also, you dont have to avoid southwest like the plague. each student will have a different experience there. it’s justt me and my friends share the idea of what i said in my earlier post based on what we’ve experienced</p>

<p>you may LOVE it and not see any of those things at all.</p>

<p>I’m not a big partier, but I’m going to Isenberg so I want to be close. Plus, the fellows RAP is located at Southwest. Will I regret my decision to room there?</p>

<p>My son is an undeclared for fall 2014 and was originally interested in the focus enterprise RAP (he wants to apply to the sports management program once he is allowed to). However a friend of his at the university who is going to be a sophomore this year told him that they weren’t that great and he would be better off without it. (This student was in a RAP last year but through his major). I think my son should at least explore the opportunity before shutting himself off from it. I’m looking for the pros/cons of joining a RAP through students eyes. Any input would be appreciated. </p>

<p>My son took a RAP this past year to get him his preferred dorm. Other than that he wasn’t too crazy about it. Part of it was he didn’t feel his fellow rapsters were as serious about their work as he was and part was he didn’t think the oasis seminar added anything.</p>

<p>Is the oasis seminar the one that gives you an overview of everything the university has to offer in terms of majors? Also what rap did he take? Maybe my son is on the right track? Its nice to see a different perspective on RAP’s since most parents thought it was worthwhile. I’m not getting the same sense from students.</p>

<p>Yes, that is the seminar. I believe it was focus connection but don’t quote me. But he probably figured out more by taking a couple classes in areas of interest. He also used me more for advising. To be honest, he would have been fine without it. With your son, I think the main advantage might be living in Thoreau rather than in getting placed in one of the high-rise dorms.</p>

<p>Well just to follow up with you geo he did wind up joining the focus enterprise rap. He thought that the two mandatory classes being so small would be a better fit for him. The 1 credit seminar might not be the best but its only pass fail so not a big consideration or a time eater either. Thanks for responding.</p>

<p>@bucky0926, you’re welcome and thanks for the update. Good luck to your son.</p>

UMass is great because it feels small even though it’s large!

where are most of the english classes taught at umass???

How hard is it to do a double major? I was thinking about double majoring in communications and marketing but I was wondering how much different the course load would be if I did so

Any thoughts on Emerson Hall?

Hi! I was just admitted to Amherst, majoring in business management in Isenberg. I decided that my number one housing would be Southwest, but my questions are 1) does is matter what hall I’m put in or is each pretty much the same experience? 2) can I even pick the hall or is it assigned to me??

@darbyadler‌ - You can pick a specific hall when you pick housing, or you can pick a specific area you would like to be in. (E.g Southwest) I would also recommend picking a secondary dorm area as backup. Hope this helps

Is each hall in the Southwest area reasonably the same, experience wise? Or is each hall super different from each other? Also thanks for being super helpful!