<p>re: Five College consortium, one instance where the program is valuable is with languages. Many students use the consortium to study a particular language their school doesn’t offer. Also, the five schools share the astronomy program between them.</p>
<p>As someone who transferred from UMass to Cal, I can say that UMass will never reach a school like Cal. Some of the kids at UMass I worked with had 6th grade writing skills. Many professors used material from the 2000s to talk about present day sociological trends. A kid in a intro chem class asked simple biology questions a 9th grader wouldve laughed at.</p>
<p>The admitting of middle school level college age kids KILLS the academic experience. UMass needs a whole lot of help.</p>
<p>Well its an interesting question and I think the honors residential area will raise the bar a bit. But as others have said, UMass has so much competition from so many top notch schools in the area that its hard for it to distinguish itself amongst its peers except on cost.</p>
<p>I attended UMass for a few years and will make this observation that I think is true at most publics. There was a huge drop off in the caliber of student between different majors. Engineering and CS had very strong students while some of the LA majors seemed to have a much lower academic bunch. This was a long time ago but I think its still true there from what I hear.</p>
<p>This discrepancy is probably far less pronounced at the more elite publics such as Berkeley and UVA.</p>
<p>There are a bunch of strong liberal arts schools in New England that high school students can choose from. Less of a choice for engineering/CS so that is why UMass can still get strong students for those majors (and at least for engineering, UMass has a solid program).</p>
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<p>Speaking as a UMass/ComCol grad from the class of 2009 - I agree. I transferred from W&M to UMass (to be closer to home and pay less) and was very, very, very frustrated. But I am actually pleasantly surprised by this new complex which I hadn’t heard of. </p>
<p>ComCol was sold as a separate small liberal arts college within UMass, and it wasn’t. If it actually is / could become that, it would be a nice, welcome, challenging change.</p>
<p>It will take a long time, but certain trends could accelerate that change (the high cost of other schools and renewed focus on student debt, for example).</p>
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<p>“A long time ago”, the most selective publics like Berkeley were not all that selective, at least for most majors or divisions. For example, in the 1980s, more than half of entering frosh at Berkeley were placed in remedial English writing courses (to place into non-remedial English writing courses, one had to score a 600 on the English achievement test (now 680 on SAT Reasoning writing) or a 3 on an English AP test, or get a passing grade on the university’s English placement test). More recently, fewer than 10% of entering frosh are placed in remedial English writing courses (based on checking how much class capacity is shown in the on-line schedule), presumably reflecting the higher selectivity due to much bigger high school graduating classes now.</p>
<p>A look at the class schedule of a much less selective school like Arizona State reveals a large percentage of students in remedial English writing courses.</p>
<p>Four year graduation rates have gone from under 40% then to about 70% now, again likely reflecting increased selectivity (and perhaps the higher cost now also provides incentive for students not to dawdle on the way to graduation).</p>
<p>I just don’t see how UMass can attract many elite Mass students unless their parents are wealthy and paying for it yet don’t wanna pay sticker price for private.</p>
<p>Hi, MITChris and siegbette. I understand your frustration with the realities of the UMass Commonwealth Honors College. However, I think the new Commonwealth dorms justify this conversation. They’re the main selling point that UMass is trying to capitalize on now that they’re running.</p>
<p>I think there are (at least) three reasons that a prospective ComCol student should consider attending UMass:</p>
<p>1) ComCol just feels different than the rest of campus. The students act and talk differently than the rest, and they dress a bit preppier. The ComCol dorm layout is more pleasing to the eye than the rest of the campus, and it sits at the center. Condensing these better academically prepared students (with respect to HS stats) into one area does create a different culture. You’ll notice when you step into the ComCol neighborhood.</p>
<p>2) The cost.</p>
<p>3) The Five Colleges: If a student is ambitious, then they can take advantage of the surrounding Consortium. Despite these opportunities, different schools are in the end just that: different schools. It’s quite the experience to take two courses per semester at one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country, but, in the end, you’re not sleeping in its dorms most nights.</p>
<p>The ComCol dorms and academic program are worth investigating, but UMass isn’t for everyone. It’s still trying to shake off the ZooMass Slamherst party school reputation, and that task, if possible to complete, won’t happen for a while. It doesn’t take much poking around on campus to understand the school’s limits, especially if you visit one or two of its neighbors on the same day.</p>
<p>when I visited U mass, it looked like a school that needed tons of money to fix it up, not to make it fancy…just modernize stuff like bathrooms, dorms, class buildings etc…(a lot of neglected repair/replacement work)
and many students had a granola type feel to them.
not sure U mass will become a destination school for high achieving students or the coveted out of state students, like a u of michigan or william and mary is.</p>
<p>Slamherst -
I was a MA resident in '77, was accepted to UMass, but went out of state to U of Az instead, in large part due to the “ZooMass” reputation. I now reside in CA. My daughter applied to UMass as her safety and just yesterday received her acceptance to the Honors College with a nice merit scholarship that would bring down the cost to what she would pay in-state for a UC or CSU. We’ve been watching the construction process of the new complex on the internet, taken the video tour, etc., and it looks very nice. After one full semester of experience, how do you think it’s going? Do students like the new complex?</p>
<p>Slamherst,</p>
<p>What is different about the layout of the dorm that makes it more appealing?</p>
<p>DGDzDad,</p>
<p>Did your daughter apply to the Honors College separately or is it something that the college just chooses to offer to highly qualified students?</p>
<p>collegedadnh - You don’t have to apply separately. You are automatically considered for Honors College and merit scholarships based on stats.</p>
<p>Lipstick on a pig. Until schools like UMass or ASU have top level faculty nobody will take them that seriously. And both are a LONG way from that.</p>
<p>Honor Colleges, usually combined with generous merit aid, have been very successful at building a cadre of high performing students at public universities. It doesn’t turn them into “public Ivys”, but it does allow them to recruit high stat students.</p>
<p>Slamherst, at first I thought your #1 point (“The students act and talk differently than the rest, and they dress a bit preppier”) was an attempt at sly humor. But I guess not. Is the difference that great between the bulk of UMass students and the ComCol students?</p>
<p>That’s frequently the case, at least among a few students I know. I have no stats to back the claim up, but I’d say a fair amount of students have parents who insisted on the cheaper in-state option.</p>
<p>Gator88NE: Yes, I think the difference is noticeable. It’s also apparent in strictly honors classes versus classes open to all students. A good amount of ComCol students turn down a respectable private college for the money, so there are definitely high achieving students on campus. I’ve noticed this difference especially because last year honors students were dispersed across campus. Now they’re mostly in this new living area.</p>
<p>Collegedadnh: The living area was built only a few months ago, so every dorm is brand new. Facilities are clean, walkways aren’t cracked, the grass is green, and the rooms are more spacious than those in other living areas.</p>
<p>DGDzDad: barrons said “lipstick on a pig,” and it’s important to keep that phrase in mind. It’s pretty, ComCol students like it, and it’s separate from the other living areas. That being said, these new facilities do not solve UMass’ issues by any means. The school desperately needs money, and the state isn’t allocating the necessary resources to improve its issues.</p>
<p>Edit: my #75 post was for #67.</p>
<p>I went to UMASS last week and the nursing building and sim lab was probably the best in the state. Northeastern was just as nice, but I think UMASS had the layout set up a little better.</p>
<p>Each year UMASS is getting more difficult to get accepted. When tuition reaches 60k at private schools parents will be forcing kids to go to state schools.</p>
<p>The commonwealth honors area of campus was very nice.</p>
<p>Collegetiger, what’s different about a tuition of 60K? Many of us can’t afford a COA of 60K, or 50K, or 40K. Years ago parents started pushing their bright, superachieving kids into state schools, and that is why you already have honors colleges and very good educations at many of the big state unis. I hope more state legislatures, governors, and voters will look to the future and see the demand that their states have for quality, affordable state universities (regardless of the quality of their football teams). People want to live in Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Florida, etc., because of the quality of their state schools, because good state research institutions breed high-paying jobs and 21st-century industries. Massachusetts has been living far too long on the very expensive universities in its eastern half and allowed to languish its state flagship. Colorado has cut off the funding to my alma mater. Look at what California has done to itself. Ridiculous, short-sighted, I’ll stop there. We need to have national and state conversations about how we fund higher education. Only if the money continues to flow into UMass will the new living learning building make a bit of difference to the university’s fate. Lipstick on a pig, indeed.</p>
<p>jkeil911 …great comments…I agree with you about many cant afford, but the 60k will just affect the next major income bracket or the ones who save and its the line in the sand where many more cant cross. </p>
<p>Something is driving more students to UMASS…I am assuming its the cost of private schools and the quality of state schools. From what i am seeing is not a “push” its now a race…</p>
<p>I was impressed with UMASS and the area but after watching the zoo riots on you tube today it dropped me back down to reality. </p>
<p>I really think that Government should control the fasfa funds instead of each school. From what I have seen colleges are playing games with the funds.</p>
<p>My son just finished up his bachelor’s in Sport Management with a minor in Econ. He was an Isenberg Business School and Commonwealth College member. He didn’t get the great perks that new Comm Coll students receive, since he was off campus for the new complex opening. </p>
<p>We paid a surcharge for the Comm Coll experience. I have to admit that bothered me. If he was a part of the Comm Coll residence and community, I would have been happier. That being said, my son was a member of the class of 2014 and finished up a semester early, had many amazing experiences, was on a first name basis with professors and met plenty of the movers and shakers in the sport industry. He loved his time at UMass Amherst, living for 2 years in the concrete lowrise dorms of Southwest. The dorms weren’t anything fancy, but imho that is fine. It’s college, not a high end resort experience.</p>
<p>I am hoping that my daughter has the opportunity to attend UMass Amherst and I would be tickled pink if she gets invited into Comm Coll.</p>