<p>is anyone concerned about it getting very boring because of location, and depressing because of the weather at amherst?</p>
<p>no, not at all. the kids know how to party and they have fun on the weekends. Lots of kids play sports which provides a fun atmosphere on campus, and many join the student clubcs there. UMass is right down the street, which adds some life to the area. Northampton is about a 20 minute drive away, which is a very cultural (sometimes weird) city with great food, stores, etc. Because of the large concentration of college students in the area, so many concerts come to UMass and Northampton...there are movie theaters, a mall, lots of great restaurants. Boston is 2 hours away and New York is 3...so if you're bored there, it's your own fault!</p>
<p>they have so many activities on campus that you don't have time to do them all! surprisingly enough, i'm originally from nyc and was a lot more bored there than here. the plus to being here is that you don't need to seek out fun in the city; from speakers to bands to comedians, the college brings everything to you completely free!</p>
<p>The weather most get used to if they're not accustomed to it already...my D used to do a "Napoleon retreating from Moscow" imitation any time it dropped under 68 degrees and she's done fine.</p>
<p>Among other things, Green Day is coming to UMass on the 29th.</p>
<p>There's enough to do in the area...D had been concerned that NoHo was too small. After visiting, she felt right at home.</p>
<p>I, too was concerned about this, but an acquaintance used to be in admin at UMass, and he said not to worry - that Boston may be the biggest, but that the Amherst, Northampton area is the second cultural center of Mass, and whatever comes to Boston usually winds up going there next.</p>
<p>i've come to accept that you can't find a school that's completely perfect, so i'm more than willing to endure the weather at this point (although i suspect i won't be anywhere near as determined when i first do experience the weather). i emailed a couple amherst students and they tell me that although it is a problem, people don't worry so much about it because most people are so concentrated on their studies...however, i was reading a couple college books that say some students are dissapointed by academics at amherst, like it's not to the level they expected...apparently people are quite laid back</p>
<p>i've read books that say nothing's too intellectual for amherst, conversely. i think the small class sizes are super.</p>