ASU or UMass Amherst?

College Search & Selection
,
1

Hi guys! I am an international student due to start my first year in fall 2023. So far I’ve applied to several universities and have gotten admits from some, but my most preferred ones are ASU and UMass Amherst. Please help me choose the best suitable for me.

As of now, I have applied and gotten admission in the colleges as a biological sciences major, but I’m not sure if I would continue with that later. I would like to get a feel around, talk with people, professors and academic counselors before declaring a major at the end of 2 years of college.
I actually have a lot of passion for 3 fields-social sciences, applied biology and the humanities. With regards to these 3, which is the better college out of the two? Please let me know.

Till now, I have received $13500 per year as scholarship from ASU, while the scholarship amount has yet to come from UMass ; I know I will be getting some scholarship from UMass as well, but haven’t received it yet-its gonna take some more time.

Also, I come from a place where I am used to a lot of people around me. So with regards to that, will UMass seem smaller and dull as compared to ASU, which is said to be full of people and bursting with life?

Also, I have applied to Barrett, the honors college at ASU. The decision for that is gonna be announced on March 10. But supposing I do get into it, then how does Barrett at ASU compare to UMass Amherst?

I am quite an active person- I play a lot of sports and love to dance as well. So are the clubs at both these universities good for that?

I saw on several websites that UMass has had the best dining options for colleges in the whole of USA for some years now, while the food at ASU is pretty much okayish and basically fast food. Is this right? Please confirm.

1 Like
2

These two schools, while both large public universities, are very different. UMass Amherst is far more selective than ASU. It’s in a rural area, right next to a sweet little New England village. The climate is going to be delightful in fall, and COLD in the winter, with snow. It’s a large flagship state U in the largest most populated state in New England, but it’s far from Boston - about 2 hours drive. It will have a lot of research opportunities. The dorms are good, and the food is truly excellent, with many healthy options.

ASU is far less selective, in a hot desert climate. It’ll be too hot in the early fall and late spring, and delightfully warm in the winter. The honors college may make a difference for you - it’s supposed to meaningfully improve the experience for qualified students. It’s in a city (Tempe) which is essentially a suburb of Phoenix, so you’d have easier access to the off-campus amenities that a city offers - but realize that most people spend most of their time on campus, wherever they wind up going for college.

In my opinion, of the two, UMass Amherst is your better choice, but you’re going to have to see how much money they offer you, and whether you get offered honors college at ASU. Also, if you come from a very hot climate, you may find the cold winters to be a bit of a shock.

6 Likes
3

@parentologist Thank you for your response :))
Can you elaborate as to why UMass Amherst would be a better option for me than ASU?

Also, yeah, I do come from a very hot climate, hehe. The lowest it ever goes in winter here in about 13-15 degree Celsius and the hottest in summer is basically 38 degree Celsius lol.

4

UMass Amherst all day. More selective. Better quality students. Opportunity to take classes at other nearby colleges. Unlike the above poster, I wouldn’t call the area rural. It’s a lively, medium-size New England town with a lot to do.

3 Likes
5

In case I get into Barrett, the honors college, then wouldn’t that be more selective and have better quality students than Umass?

6

Also, for social sciences, applied biology and the humanities, which of the two is better? and how so? please explain

7

Can someone please give some more opinions?

8

To be blunt, I don’t think it really matters in terms of which school is ‘better’ for social sciences, applied biology, and the humanities.

You should pick the college that seems like the best overall fit for you. Prestige/ranking is just 1 of those. For some people, prestige/ranking is really really important. For others, it’s no the #1 deciding factor.

ASU, for example, has touted its “#1 in innovation” title for a couple of years now. The university overall is huge in terms of students (63,000), but the honors college is ~7000 now, I think. And the honors college requires you to live in honors housing for 2 yr before you live elsewhere.

Is it hot in August when the school year starts? Heck, yes. But by mid-September in Phoenix, the temps start to drop and once it hits a high of 95 F, it’ll actually feel quite lovely (low humidity helps, it’ll feel 10 degrees F cooler than that).

ASU’s honors dorm complex is really nice. There’s a ceiling fan above each bed in the 2-student rooms…there are Youtube videos online of all that. And you can and should look at some of the same for UMass Amherst. The ASU honors dorm has a dedicated honors student dining hall…it’s pretty nice. And the honors college admin offices are right there in the same honors complex building as the dorm rooms, which is pretty convenient.

I’m not familiar at all with UMass Amherst, but I know that a LOT of employers recruit heavily from ASU and a lot of students can have a pretty easy go of it to find internships in the Phoenix area. I will let others weigh in on UMass Amherst.

It’s easy to get to the Phoenix airport from the main Tempe campus. ASU has 4 campuses, though…the other 3 (ASU West, Polytechnic, and Downtown campuses) are quieter. You will have a better time overall at the Tempe campus. The Polytechnic campus is a ghost town on weekends and there is nothing nearby…you’d need a car there, whereas at the main Tempe campus, you wouldn’t need a car.

I would encourage you to go on both colleges’ websites and explore some of the different social sciences, humanities, and applied biology majors. Look at the sort of classes & electives offered. See if any of the professors are doing research in something that really interests you. Come up with your OWN list of “must have’s” and “nice to have’s” and then come up with your OWN list of pro’s and con’s of each school.

Then put the list aside and come back to it in a few days and think about it some more. And talk to your parents/guardians, see what their thoughts, ideas, concerns are. Then think about it some more.

3 Likes
9

Agree.

Also, consider where these colleges are located. Massachusetts vs. Arizona. It’s a COMPLETELY different vibe.

1 Like
10

Oh okay! Thank you everyone for all your help!
:)))))))))))))

11

What is a better quality student? I think any college will work as long as you put in the work and take advantage of what the school has to offer.

12

Yes, agreed.

13

They’re both large state schools (although UMass is 1/2 the size of ASU) and UMass is, overall higher ranked than ASU but not in a meaningful way - they’re both in the top ~3% of US universities. You need to look at the rankings by major if academics are critical to your decision - ASU has a higher ranked engineering dept for instance. Sports and student life are arguably waaay better at ASU - there’s 50K kids at ASU at the Tempe campus and there’s always something going on. And most importantly, you’re from a warm weather country, do you really want to be living in a rainy, cold (average temps 0-7c for 5 months out of a 9 month school year) 80% white New England village of 40K people or a warm, sunny, diverse metropolis of 5M people??? No brainer if I were you, go ASU!

1 Like
14

Oh yes, alright. Thank you so much!

15

I just posted on another thread about UMASS Amherst and I will say similar things here, I went to Smith College, my husband went to UMASS Amherst, and my son is likely going to choose UMASS Amherst OOS.

We loved our experience going to school in the pioneer valley, and both took advantage of the 5 college cross-enrollment. It’s a great value to be able to take classes at places like Amherst or Smith with state university tuition.

Furthermore, UMASS has become more selective over the years and has great programs. The school is big enough for one to find their people and yet can have a smaller feeling within departments. Not to mention the food is the best.

That said, UMASS issues most scholarships with admission, so if you haven’t heard yet, that might be a factor.
The other issue might be one’s personal politics. UMASS and the pioneer valley are very liberal. ASU probably leans the other way, although I don’t know that for sure. I can say that if one is a strong republican, one may struggle at UMASS.

1 Like
16

There are many extremely smart students not in honors. :slight_smile: (including my D20!) back then, they only considered honors for students with a 5.0/1400+. Now, it’s more holistic and mysterious. A large number apply sophomore year, too; the majority who apply later are accepted. (D opted not to, instead focusing on a minor and TA opportunities. We’ve known others who’ve chosen a double major and drop out of honors.)

Not every class has an honors option. Some classes do have smaller honors sections. There is a better dorm (at UMass). Students can live in it sophomore year, too. Perhaps later as well, though many are off campus by junior year.

Anyway, I wouldn’t let the question of honors be the reason (since you can apply later at UMass)—unless you’ve visited both and like the ASU vibe better. Good luck!

3 Likes
17

Oh! Alright, I shall take all the advice into consideration. Thank you!

18

We live in Massachusetts and many smart kids are deciding to attend Umass. It is a great school with wonderful opportunities. Getting into umass honors as a first year is unpredictable. My daugher 4.2 gpa 34 act, for example, did not get in for math to the honors program. I don’t know anything about ASU but Umass is a great option to have. Good luck!

19

UMass and ASU are both fine for your interests. I think you need to put the “which is better” for the academics aside. They are both fine.

Look at the other things.

Weather: UMass has snow and mighty cold winters. ASU is HOT between May and October. But UMass does have heat in the buildings and ASU has AC. You would need different winter clothing for UMass.

Ease of Transport: I think these are equal. The Phoenix airport is a much larger one. But Bradley in Hartford-Springfield is smaller and easier to navigate. Both are about the same distance from the colleges.

So…I guess what I’m saying is…look at the OTHER characteristics of the colleges…figure out which location you prefer. They are very different locations.

20

Okay, thank you for the help!