http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/fifth-straight-year-umass-amherst-welcomes
GPA & SAT higher + Lower acceptance rate 
I sent this to my daughter when it came out. She is a freshman at Isenberg. They have come a long way from their reputation when I was looking at colleges (1977 yikes!)
@Greenman57 - That is very, very interesting. Great for our kids that were recently accepted and have enrolled - not so great for the next graduating class @-) To be honest, it isn’t really surprising. Most colleges that are considered decent to good - to great are getting more competitive. And we all know that UMass Amherst is still excellent value for instate students. My town has a decent school district and I was really amazed by the ### of kids who embraced UMass Amherst versus those that wouldn’t be seen dead there!! There was apparently a lingering snobbery that UMass wasn’t exclusive enough for some families. It was fascinating to witness and experience. Privately my spouse and I laughed at the kids who prefered UVM over UMass - and their parents were OK about paying a lot more $$$ for the privelege of going to a lower ranked school. That argument would never happen in our house!
We are in nj and definitely applying to UMass. It is very well thought of in our neck of the woods!