<p>You won’t be lonely. You’ll meet people on your floor, during orientation and in class. Try to join a club or activity that interests you. A lot of the people that you meet won’t have any concept about what living overseas is like. Some may be interested, some may not. You may have to find other topics to talk about at first. But you never know who you’ll meet. A guy down the end of my hall freshman year turned out to have also lived in London, but at a different time than I did. We had even gone to the same school at different times and knew some of the same people. Sometimes, it truly is a small world!</p>
<p>Smaller than you think. I lived in London for a while too.</p>
<p>I’m just scared of approaching people, I’ve never been good at that.</p>
<p>I imagine that you may not have to do all that much approaching. You’ll meet your roommate, of course, and people on your hall. There will be various activities going on at orientation, too. If you want to make an approach, pick someone who looks lost or shy and ask them where they are from, what they are studying and so on. Remember, the vast majority of the people that you meet won’t know anyone else either, or at most, may know a dozen or so people from their high school scattered all over the campus. You may feel that since 80% of the people will be from Massachusetts they will all know each other and you won’t, but that really won’t be the case. And there’s always someone more scared than you are, believe me.</p>
<p>One more question:</p>
<p>What happens in a discussion? I seem to have a Math discussion on every Monday.</p>
<p>Discussion sections are led by teaching assistants (TA’s), and you typically do things like go over homework problems, ask questions about the material, and prep for exams. Usually questions are given priority, but if no one has any then the TA will usually give a mini lesson to recap things from that week. </p>
<p>In other subjects there’s usually more discussion, hence the name, but in math it’s mostly what I’ve just described.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks.</p>
<p>I have 16 “units” so far with only 4 classes. Are these what people commonly refer to as credit hours? If I take another class, that could be 20 at most. Is that a bit too much? I can basically ignore Chemistry because I’ve already done it, but…</p>
<p>15 credits a semester is the minimum for graduating in 4 years ( 8 semesters), and thus constitutes the normal load. The maximum for non-engineering and science majors is typically 18 credits I believe, and any more requires a special override with the dean of your college. Yeah, 1 credit = 1 credit “hour”, the amount of credits is supposed to roughly correspond to the hours of instruction each week (I think, it’s more like 3 credits = 2.5 hrs, but I think that is the idea). </p>
<p>I caution against overloading in your first semester. You’ll have time for that if you need it later, and having more time for socializing, relaxing, and adjusting to college life is best. </p>
<p>I also caution against dismissing a class just because you’ve “already done it.” While this means that you already know the material, it doesn’t mean you’ll be exempt from labs and homework, which still take time to complete even if you know the material already. Granted the work might not be that much or take that long, but it’s too easy to “forget” about it if you dismiss the class. </p>
<p>Of course, you’ll likely be bored out of your mind if you go to (or have to go to) lectures, so that’s something that might want to weigh against the lessened difficulty. Generally, takings something you haven’t before is more rewarding. </p>
<p>Anyways, while 20 credits may only be one more class than 16, that last class can really be a pain sometimes, since sometimes work has a tendency to pile up and deadlines tend to fall together, particular when your classes are scattered around departments.</p>
<p>I got placed in a triple room even though I asked for a single, haha.</p>
<p>So… what’s John Adams Hall in Southwest like? Apparently I’m supposed to be there.</p>
<p>John Adams Hall is one of the high-rise “towers” in Southwest. From what I hear, but having no personal experience, the towers tend to be the more “socially-oriented” dorms on campus (i.e. more parties). They tend to be noisier, particularly on the weekends, but are a good place to meet people. Here’s the description from the UMass web site:</p>
<p>“John Adams Hall is a part of the Residential First-Year Experience (RFYE). RFYE halls are designed as living-learning communities where first-year students can engage with their peers around common interests and pursuits. John Adams is themed “Our Society, Our World.” This theme comes to life through thoughtful staffing, hall events and student involvement. First-year halls offer additional staffing and support via undergraduate Peer Mentors and a Residential Learning Graduate Assistant. These individuals work out of the Residential Academic Success Center (RASC) in your community. Visit the RASC to say hello or get advice on classes, time management, paper writing, test-taking, etc.”</p>
<p>As far as the triple goes, I realize that it was not your first choice. According to the Umass web site, students in triples have first priority for reassignment to a double room. You should apply as soon as possible after you arrive if you want to be reassigned. The UMass web site says that many reassignment requests are honored during the fall semester, but some reassignments do not occur until the spring semester. On the bright side, it’s one more person that you’ll meet!</p>
<p>Oh god. Not parties. Not really looking forward to being a part of a drunk community!</p>
<p>I think I’d prefer a triple room over a double, to be honest. A double seems like it’d be just weird. But single above both of them.</p>
<p>I’m sure there will be non-partiers in the dorm, too. With a dorm that big, you’re bound to find some similar people.</p>
<p>At most colleges, the odds of a freshman getting a single room are nil.</p>
<p>I just hope my roommates won’t be blockheads.</p>
<p>By the way, what am I supposed to do until 6 September after I move to the school?</p>
<p>When are you moving in?</p>
<p>Ummm I think 30 August. After the international orientation there doesn’t seem to be much to do.</p>
<p>Fall New Student Orientation runs September 1 to 5. The schedule is here: [UMass</a> Amherst: New Students Orientation - Schedule](<a href=“http://www.umass.edu/newstudent/fall/schedule/]UMass”>http://www.umass.edu/newstudent/fall/schedule/). The seems to be lots going on, including Convocation, common read discussions, faculty meet-and-greets, evening activities, tours, and the like. You do look at the UMass Amherst web site, right?</p>
<p>^ Not very often… I didn’t know there was a fall orientation, but it doesn’t really seem like there’s anything important going on.</p>
<ol>
<li>How large is the campus? I have a class at Mahar or something and another at Lederle or something within 15 minutes of each other, and they seem pretty far away.</li>
<li>How many libraries are there? I heard 3. Which one is the best to study in, like, in terms of ambience and so on?</li>
</ol>
<p>As someone who’s helping out with fall orientation, I promise there will be things to do between you moving in and classes starting.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Mahar and Lederle are pretty far apart, but its definitely doable to walk between them in 15 minutes. I’ve had classes further apart back-to-back and made it there with five minutes to spare just by powerwalking by all the slow-moving people on the sidewalks.</p></li>
<li><p>The two main libraries are the WEB Debois (this is the huge tower in the center of campus) and the Science and Engineering library, which is in Lederle. There’s also the Music Reserve library, but I wouldn’t go there to study - it seems to be more of a hangout for the music majors.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Tips: The lower floors of the WEB can be noisy, especially the basement, because that’s where they have partitions and tables for groups to work together. The library gets quieter and quieter the more floors you go up, and most of the higher floors with book stacks have desks scattered around the perimeter of the floors. When I need to get serious work done I usually take the elevator to the 23rd floor or whatever and sit there.</p>
<p>The chairs in the Science Library are WAY more comfortable though, but it doesn’t have desks, just arm-chair type things with tables in between them and a bunch of tables big enough for groups.</p>
<p>Personally, I rarely study in the library. There are so many less crowded study spots around campus that aren’t the library that I go there instead… For example, I love studying in the Integrated Science Building; it was built with so many nooks and crannies that its usually pretty easy to find one tucked away somewhere with a ton of natural sunlight. </p>
<p>If you’re in the College of Natural Sciences, they have a lounge in Morrill somewhere where you can also do work. I’ve only been there once so I don’t really remember about the ambiance. The Studio Arts building is kind of built like the Integrated Science Building in terms of finding places to study. I’m pretty sure business majors study in the areas in the School of Management Building.</p>
<p>I was thinking of studying in the library to make friends.</p>
<p>Where’s the nearest place I can buy games / video game consoles?</p>