I’m in MA and got the John and Abigail Adams scholarship. I know that it doesn’t cover much, but money is money. Even if I am admitted to my dream schools (UMich, ND, UVA), I’m not sure if I would be able to afford them without getting a large loan. This leaves me with UMass. I toured the campus and was left disappointed. It wasn’t bad, just meh. I visited and loved UCONN, which is only making it harder for me to have any desire to go to UMass, even if it meant almost no debt. I’ll most likely major in computer science. My test scores should be good enough for CHC, but not my gpa, which is another negative. The CHC is the biggest draw as of right now.
Can anybody give me good reasons to attend UMass? What are the best aspects of it? Is it still a major party school or has the administration done a good job at stopping the craziness?
I’ve been to both UMASS and UCONN. Honestly, can’t see much of a difference. Can you tell us what is it about UCONN you find so much better? UMASS certainly is far superior for CS. Is it just that you don’t want to go to your flagship with others from your school? What’s so much nicer about UCONN?
@suzyQ7 I just liked the campus better. I liked the layout and general feel. Plus, they just built a $150 million dorm. I do think my problem with umass is the sheer number of students from my school that go there. According to naviance, it’s the second most attended college by my high school, behind a local community college. That makes it seem not so special or good, to be honest. And no offense to current students, but the ones attending aren’t exactly academics. UMass is their goal, and reach.
Have you already applied? If so you’ll know soon enough if you’re in the CHC. it’s getting harder and harder to get in. Our district is full of kids who didn’t want to go there (like, they didn’t get into Dartmouth or enough $$ at BC so ended up going there). But most of them ended up liking it a lot! UMass will be what you make of it. CS is full of high GPA/highSAT compatriots. You probably won’t see your reachy friends there.
@redpoodles thanks. Most of the people I see go from my school major in something useless (no offense, again) and spend their 4 years drinking in the towers.
What are your stats and budget?
If you tell us this information, we can suggest college’s within budget that meet your criteria (academics, good dorms, not in MA so that few classmates go … Anything else?)
Commonwealth honors is a big draw, as is the CS program. Another advantage to UMass is the five college exchange - three of the top LACs in the country are on that exchange.
31 ACT
3.1uw gpa
3.8w gpa (very strong upward trend though)
Family EFC is $16k but not close to the actual budget ($10k/yr max)
If necessary, the biggest loan I would take out is ~$65k total
You’re limited to a 5.5K loan per year. (Your parents can take a loan for you through Parent PLUS for you but that’s not recommended).
Umass is barely affordable (10K parents’ contribution, 5.5K federal loan, 3K from part time job, and you’re still a bit short) - are you thinking of commuting?
What about Umass Lowell Honors?
UMass Amherst CS is better but you may have better learning conditions if you make Honors at Lowell and not at UMass Amherst.
Can you retake the ACT? A 32 would open many scholarships.
Run the NPC on Skidmore, Dickinson, Connecticut College, St Lawrence, Allegheny, St Olaf; they meet need for a lot of students and some may be affordable. Union, Clarkson, RPI, RIT, WPI are worth running the NPC on.
Public universities with good CS and/or low costs with scholarships (and scholarship within reach) include UMN Morris, Truman State, College of Charleston, NCSU, UMaine, UNC-Asheville. Check out scholarship deadlines.
I don’t know if these are a better value than UMass Amherst and if they’d be affordable.
I get what you mean about wanting a change but UCONN is filled with CT students that want to party and where UCONN was a reach for them. Its not a huge difference. If you want a real change, go south. University of South Carolina, etc… @as1799
I think you have UMASS entirely wrong. You visited UMASS, but it appears you need to take a more in depth look at the school. You don’t mention what you are considering for a major. Isenberg is excellent and so are computer science, nursing, and other majors. As for areas where you might want to go to school, UMASS and Amherst have it all over boring Storrs, Connecticut. What is it about your “dream schools” that sets them apart from UMASS?
Amherst is a great town and it’s very easy to get off campus. Obviously you can walk right into town but there’s also free bus service to shopping and the other 4 schools in the consortium.
@MYOS1634@OHmom2012 I guess my tour guide didn’t do a good job at all. We just saw a new classroom and walked around and saw a dorm room and the student union
@ljberkow I don’t know how to put it other than I think they’re better than UMass, and they might be cheaper, which is crazy. Plus Ann Arbor is a million times better than Amherst in my opinion
What you’re talking about is the campus… there’s the town, too. With 5 universities and about 40,000 students, the town is both wealthy and lively.
Ann Arbor is great, regularly ranked in the top 3 in the US for college towns (with Madison WI and a roster of others) but UMich is in a different category compared to UMass and UConn.
if UConn is cheaper, go to UConn, there’s not much difference (I think the Commonwealth College is better than Uconn’s, but the non-honors universities are similar, except that UMass is way better for CS, it’s nationally ranked for that.)
