<p>vidhu</p>
<p>Your post points to the weakness of rankings.</p>
<p>So, here are my thoughts – overall, BU has a better reputation than UMass Amherst. BU is the harder of the schools to get into. This is reflected in the overall USNWR rankings.</p>
<p>All of which has absolutely nothing to do with the education you will get at either institution. BTW – even schools that have a reputation of being party schools have many serious dedicated students who put their education ahead of their social life.</p>
<p>Mass seems to have a better ranking computer sciences department BUT – I confess that I have never truly understood the methodology (it looks as if it’s purely or mostly reputation based – and besides, I think that USNWR’s rankings relate to the graduate program not the undergraduate program, so you’re really comparing apples to oranges.)</p>
<p>In general, I recommend choosing the University rather than the program (with exceptions too numerous to mention). But particular strength in a program, cost, and intangibles (which school do you prefer, rankings aside) can make a difference.</p>