<p>I am from the west coast...and about one person in each graduating class from my high school goes to umass. I visited the school in november and didn't hate the school, but I had just come from a college that I loved that was smaller and more prestigious.</p>
<p>Four months later...</p>
<p>I didn't get into my top two choices, and am left with lots of good options but none are really calling my name. I keep going back to Umass and reading about it. All the other schools I applied to are smaller, so the size of umass kind of freaks me out a little.
But at the same time, I love the idea of being around thousands of very different people. Especially because i am from the west coast, I like the idea of something new.</p>
<p>However, my worry is that the size of the school will kind of run me over. I am scared to arrive on campus be all alone, and be surrounded by people who all went to high school together and then there's me...the girl from oregon who knows no one...</p>
<p>Are there many people from out of state, and will it be easy for me to just ease into the social scene?</p>
<p>I think UMass is 3/4’s MA residents and most of the rest are from the northeast, which makes sense. Because the school is large, you won’t be surrounded by kids who know each other already.</p>
<p>I don’t know if the school is right for you or not. What other schools are you thinking about? UMass, like any state school, is a good deal for in-state but much less so for out of state.</p>
<p>BTW, 75% is about the norm for state schools. CA public schools are the highest in-state.</p>
<p>i am also thinking about loyola chicago and seattle university. quinnipiac was high on the list for a while, but its in the middle of no where and i just don’t think its worth 45k a year for a school no one has heard of on the west coast.</p>
<p>Or staying in-state and going to either oregon state university or portland state university. But my parents want me to go out of state my first year…(I know, they are kind of weird)</p>
<p>Like any big school, you will find your niche. If you have been invited to join a housing program such as BIOTAP or one of the others, that’s a nice way to get to know people in a small group first. Most kids going to off to a large university feel the same way you do, wondering if they will be able to meet people… it will happen as long as you do not hole up in your dorm room 24 hours a day! There will be so many different activities going on that you can pick and choose what you want to do. Oftentimes, your major turns the campus into a smaller one because you see alot of the same people in your classes and study groups.</p>
<p>If these are your choices, Loyola is also large and must be the coldest of the lot. I assume you’ve been there: it’s up against Evanston, though I remember they also have something near downtown. I know nothing about these schools except to say I don’t think much of Quinnipiac either and you’re right that it’s location is nowhere. </p>
<p>UMass isn’t exactly someplace; Amherst / Northampton aren’t exactly cities. But the area is full of students and you actually can take classes at the other schools, particularly at Amherst and Hampshire because they’re so close. The area is beautiful but I have no idea what say Oregon State is like. If you like the outdoors, this is a good area. The area and UMass itself are also very liberal, which I can’t imagine Loyola is, so you should consider that pro or con.</p>
<p>UMass-Amherst, -Boston, -Dartmouth, or -Lowell? I attended UMass-Amherst from 1974 to 1977, and so you will obviously want to factor this into what I am saying. I am orig. from just north of Amherst (western Massachusetts), now in the Boston area. The Amherst area always was a GREAT college town, what with Amherst College, Smith College, Hampshire College, and Mount Holyoke all nearby. Downtown Amherst always has been a very, very nice town, with some great stores, a few nice restaurants, a nice bookstore or two, etc. - to say nothing of Northampton. In the mid to late 70’s UMass had an unfortunate reputation as a little bit of a party school. This never interfered with my education there, and I believe that this is less of a factor with each passing year as the powers that be try to address this. I have seen several recent mentions in the press of outstanding scholarly pursuits by UMass scholars. I agree with Zimmer - “Like any big school, you will find your niche”. The Amherst campus is a very nice walkable campus - large enough to keep throwing surprises at you, but not so large that you cannot walk from one to the other easily, and I never tired of walking the campus, and walking to and from downtown Amherst. When I attended UMass, having graduated from a high school 30miles north of Amherst, there were maybe 6-7 of my high school friends who went there also. Who became my closest friend: a guy from Milton (eastern Mass) whom I had never met before. I would not let that aspect deter you. You will fit in, “find your niche” and make some great friends if you decide that UMass is right for you. We are all a very friendly bunch out here anyway!</p>
<p>thanks for all the helpful responses.</p>
<p>I am very involved in community service…are there very good activities like that around amherst? I will be a psychology major and so i really want to get out into the community and be able to easily access various types of work/volunteering.</p>
<p>I agree that Quinnipiac is not worth the money, it is pretty but not well respected.</p>
<p>Bluelaser, when kids now talk about UMass, they mean Amherst. It’s the flagship, like Wisconsin is Wisconsin-Madison. It’s not a party school anymore. Hasn’t been for a while.</p>
<p>tennisfan, this actually is a good place for community service. Here are some reasons: </p>
<ol>
<li>You have 5 school “consortium” that includes Hampshire (about as left wing as possible) and women’s schools that have a history of service. </li>
<li>While the immediate area is rural and postcard-like small town, Amherst-Northampton is just north of Springfield / Holyoke, old urban manufacturing cities that have problems. </li>
<li>A number of activist types live in the area.</li>
</ol>
<p>Note I don’t know specifically how students on campus are involved in service. One kid I know is highly involved in a bunch of things but then he’s the kind of person who would be involved anywhere.</p>