My D and I went on Saturday. She is still waiting to hear from 4schools but UMass is climbing up the list.
We did the resource fair to pick up some info and went to the talks on CHC and then the one on first year experience, had lunch in Hampshire dining and then the presentation at Isenberg.
Umass is bigger than her other schools but being in CHC and Isenberg would make it smaller. We were very impressed by CHC and Isenberg seems to be working real hard to up their rankings and reputation. Food was really good in the dining hall.
She is really starting to appreciate the opportunities afforded at a large school and the financial advantages of going to an instate school.
We went. Walked away with mixed feelings. The College of Natural Sciences presentation was very lame. She showed some youtube videos that were not particularly well done and talked about the school very generically and we learned nothing new at all.
They certainly did talk up the advantages of being a large school but I didn’t think it was necessary to do it in a way that characterized small schools as having no options or saying small schools will soon be outgrown. This isn’t true at all! My D came out confused.
We don’t really believe them when they told us how first years get research opportunities. We both think a small handful of first years will get these and the rest will be rank and file in large classes.
The food in Hampshire was very good and they had plenty of options for those with special diets! But we were stressed that the guides said “Make sure you get your table FIRST” two or three times on the bus. When we got there there was a very loud jazz band which gave us sensory overload, and I wonder if a band is there every Sunday or if it was just for admissions?
This was our second trip and the campus became more navigable from our POV.
The renovations on the student center are fantastic.
They have a lot of new buildings and all of them are fantastic.
The wide array of majors is fantastic.
They did a great job greeting people and signage was good. We still did feel a little like cattle, however, as no one even took our name at sign in. At U Vermont, another big school with 1000 in attendance, they tried a lot harder. D was able to sit and have a discussion with 2 other kids and a professor in her major and learned a LOT about how the department works. So UMass was a bit of let down after that. Still on the list though.
I agree about research opportunities for freshman. Probably the exception rather than the rule. Too bad about saying bad things about small schools, we did not hear that at all, just talking up the advantages of a large school.
Yes, Hampshire was very loud and busy without a band on Saturday. That would’ve been too much!!
Signage was great and lots of people around to ask directions from when we got lost. True, no names taken, just your printed up barcode from when you registered for the OH.
We went on sunday. Weather was beautifull 36F and sunny. My son was impressed with brand new and modern science buildings/labs. He is into chem.engineering. Labs were new and impresive. Food was great.Yes it was a lot of people but considering few thousand accepted students with parents, was not too bad. We found a table and food was great. Music was not too loud,maybe cause we were sitting on the other side where band was playing. Staff was very helpfull and great. Overall Umass is close to #1, but still waiting from Uconn and Syracuse. But Umass went up HUGE.
We are waiting on UCONN, BC , Villanova and Lehigh. Isenberg is building a new 70 million bldg they said but sounds like it won’t be ready for a few years.
I’m sure the new Isenberg will be gorgeous when done. Last summer we got a private tour of the science labs and greenhouses and they really are phenomenal. The nicest I’ve seen, anywhere. (We visited a Ph.D. candidate there and he showed us everything with his little key.)
One thing my D said was that she was surprised there were not MORE people. The campus does not seem crowded in any way, actually. We went to the library and there were some students there but you could easily find a seat.
Like I said, the Hampshire was sensory overload for us sitting behind the band…
My niece goes there and is very happy. People should definitely check it out. I was just trying to explain our mixed feelings.
One thing I appreciated was the theater major in the student panel–admitting she did NOT choose UMass. Her financial aid package chose it for her. She talked about her adjustment phase and how she cried when the first class she walked into, her first class ever, was 200 people. However, she learned to love it and thrive. The attitude you bring with you means everything to your experience. I am very glad my D heard that.
Another thing that I liked was the a cappella singers. Awesome that they did that for those who weren’t feeling it at the resource fair. So if you go, and aren’t enthralled with the resource fair or enjoying its lines and crowds, go ahead to the Welcome Session and you will be entertained in a fun way while you wait for it to start. I think this is more indicative of what the school is about anyway.
We saw about half of the singing group’s performance. They were great! So glad that singing is cool again!
At the Isenberg talk, during the student panel portion, of the 5 students that spoke, I’d say 3-4 of them said that Umass was not their first choice at all. They were looking at Bentley, Bryant, Babson, BU, BC (and others ) for business but just couldn’t justify the huge difference in cost for the same, or better, education.( Isenberg is now rated 36th business school in the country. The dean who spoke said they want to get up to 25 or so in the next few years.)
D does Acapella and that is a pull for her at UMass. We didn’t go to the session this weekend but she did spend a weekend up there with her cousin who is a senior and got a very different view of the school than she would have doing another information type session. I’m not sure if her visit changed her opinions much one way or the other because, like alot of other posts here, the instate flagship is not her first choice, its her financial safety.
As Redpoodles elaborated on, it is doubtful freshman get many research opportunities. They are more likely in the CHC for sure but even then I think it will be slim pickins. Its a tough choice: large research facility where you compete with uppers or a small college with more research opportunities in less extensive facilities.
One point that seemed to really be hammered home was to make connections with your professors (even those not to in your major). Those connections will be what helps you get research and other opportunities.
We were there on Sunday and also came away with mixed feelings. My D applied undeclared and what we liked about the school was that it is large and is part of the five college consortium, therefore, offering a lot of opportunities to the students who are not sure what to major in.
We learned that undeclared students will need to apply to the school of the major they eventually decide on. Depending on the school, this might not be a problem. However, schools like Isenberg will remain difficult to get into and you might need to find other options. My D was considering minoring in marketing, regardless of what she ends up majoring in. That is not possible since you can only take marketing if you are in the Isenberg school. They offer a certificate in marketing but is not quite the same thing. This makes it less appealing when there are other schools that offer better flexibility to major/minor across disciplines.
It was really a disappointing moment since we enjoyed everything else about the school.
@lia_b Well, at least its good you found out ahead of time. where else has she applied? I was dissapointed to find out that you can’t minor in Isenberg too. If she goes there, my D is thinking she will major in Finance and minor in Economics (which is not in Isenberg).
Two years ago my son was admitted undeclared rather than directly into engineering. Since he was admitted into engineering at his top choice school, he ended up going there (even though it is more expensive). he did not want to deal with trying to get into Engineering at a later point.
@Lia_b Maybe you were there and were the one who asked the question but a student in the panel said that there are also marketing classes in the School of Communications–they focus on the PR angle.
@redpoodles, my D asked the question but in the undeclared students session and the reply was that she could not minor in marketing unless she was in the Isenberg school. Interesting, about the communications school. We will have to check that out. Thank you!
Research for freshman depends largely on the major and the abilities of the students. There’s a program that invites highly qualified students to participate in research before they even move onto campus. However, once you are at UMass, I don’t think it’s too difficult (in some majors anyways) to get a research position by your second semester.
You are right @violet1996, if you want to do research just reach to professor and you can get it. UMASS invested huge amount of $ into research facilities, new labs,so our freshmen could use it. GO UMASS. Too bad we have to apply to other 8 schools and spent $ on applications, CSS profiles when we have so great school UMASS. I guess our next kid goes to UMASS and I’m not spending any more $ on any applications, just UMASS.
