<p>Hey! I am a transfers student for the fall, and I wanted to get a feel for what the UMass Environment is like, I have visited the campus, but could someone who is currently at UMass Amherst, answer the following questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I have heard that it is hard to make friends. Is that true? </p></li>
<li><p>In order to have a good social life, do you need to be in a frat/sorority?</p></li>
<li><p>How is the academic rigor?</p></li>
<li><p>In the end, getting a job is most important, so how is the post graduation job outlook look like? Do a lot of students find jobs?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it worth transferring to UMass Amherst?</p></li>
<li><p>Any other tips and tricks?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The consortium is in no way similar to others that are in close proximity, like Claremont. UMass Amherst itself is hard to get around. In fact if you search this forum you’ll find a number of people indicating that going from UMass to Amherst College is difficult for cross-reg, and Smith, Mt Holyoke, and Hampshire are not exactly next door. So I would not count on the consortium to round out your social life, unless you feel you would fit in better at a Hampshire, Smith, or Mt. Holyoke.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that the residential halls based on Major are liked by some, and avoided by others that want to branch out with their social circles: <a href=“Student Success at UMass Amherst”>Student Success at UMass Amherst. But for some majors it’s a good way to hang out with similar students.</p>
<p>Academics are much improved from the 80’s and 90’s. You can get a great education, but there is still a lot of partying and it’s easy to be distracted. I would not call it rigorous. The degree does carry more weight these days.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s high school, UMass has long been considered a worst-case scenario for A- students. But more and more of them are going for financial reasons, and somewhat surprisingly they all seem to love it.</p>
<p>ormdad, I think you’re a bit misinformed re: transportation between the 5 colleges. D graduated from Mt Holyoke 2 yrs ago, son is presently at UMass. D took a class at Hampshire and a class at UMass, and got there OK. UMass, Amherst, Hampshire, and MHC all lie in a straight line along Rt. 116, 10 miles from MHC at one end to UMass at the other. Free buses run all day, every 20-30 minutes. Kids use them for classes, shopping, movies, restaurants, visiting other campuses, etc. Smith, on the other hand, is across the Connecticut River and requires changing buses at UMass–little tougher to get to. Kids do use the consortium to round out their social lives—going to games at UMass, concerts at other schools, dining in Amherst and Northampton, etc.</p>
<p>Regarding partying, there is partying at every school, except for the strict religious schools. If 10% of the kids on a campus party (just to pick a number), then 10% of UMass’s population is lots bigger than 10% of smaller schools. In two years at UMass S has found lots to do that don’t involve partying. I’m sure there are lots of parties at highly regarded public flagships such as Penn State, Michigan, UVA, etc.</p>
<p>The “ZooMass” nickname is mostly used by folks who don’t know how much things have changed. UMass has gotten a lot tougher to get into. I think the further away from Massachusetts you get, the more highly regarded UMass becomes. In state, how do you compete with Harvard, BC, Northeastern, Brandeis, etc?</p>
<p>I thought I had read on CC in the Amherst College forum that commuting to UMass for more than one class was pretty disruptive to your schedule but I can’t find the reference. The conversation was about matriculating at Amherst but taking most of your CS classes at UMass, which has better course selection.</p>
<p>My point was just that I don’t think you can count on making friends at Amherst for example if you find it difficult at UMass because of the size. I think there’s more than enough entertainment in the area.</p>
<p>I agree, we tend to give UMass a hard time, probably because there are so many great private schools in New England.</p>
<p>The impression I get from my D is that most kids take one course at a time at another campus. I mean, why bother getting in to one of the most elite colleges in the country (Amherst), only to take most of your courses at a much cheaper state flagship?? </p>
<p>A friend of my D graduated from Amherst 2 yr ago with a CS degree and had a job in the field immediately. I guess the courses at Amherst were good enough :)</p>
<p>The scuttlebutt, again from my kid, is that many Amherst kids are not that friendly to kids from the other 4 schools–elitist kind of thing, I’m told.</p>
<p>I would be transferring from a university in NY, and as a student leaving to go another college, just wanted to ask anyone who goes there, has children who go there, if in their opinion, based on the experience they/ their children have had if the transfer would be worth it. The rankings are better, but the experience at my current college exceeds rankings. For financial reasons I am transferring and I have heard great things about UMass but getting more input always is a great thing! Thank you again! This thread honestly has helped me better understand life at UMass! </p>
<p>@MADad actually, I’d like to think that UMass is fifth in the state; after MIT, Harvard, BC, and Northeastern. Although maybe I have a different perspective being a New Jerseyan :)</p>
<p>I don’t think you can really put UMass in the same ranking as other private schools that just happen to be in the same state, especially some Ivy League ones.</p>
<p>I’m originally from farther out than New Jersey, and the only person I knew back there that even knew of the Zoomass stereotype was… surprise surprise, someone who actually attended UMass while it was at the peak of its zoo times. Even without knowing much about UMass, I’m sure they wouldn’t place it ahead of MIT, Harvard, etc., but they also wouldn’t place their own public state university ahead of those schools either.</p>
<p>Within Massachusetts, UMass seems to get a bad reputation from some people, but outside of Massachusetts don’t seem to think anything too specific about it one way or the other.</p>
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