Hi guys!
I just committed to UMass and I was wondering if anyone that goes/went there could tell me what it’s like (social life, dorms, people, professors, classes and stuff like that).
I will be going to the Isenberg School of Management, but I’m considering changing my major to something like environmental science or engineering. I know it’s pretty random lol.
Thanks for your help!
@katross98 Did you go to Isenburg day today? How was it (if yes)?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t! The weather was really bad (snowstorm) so we had to cancel. But I think I’ll be going to the Open House next Sunday.
it is a big party school. Zoomass.
it is also a really great school, and i hope you like snow because they can get a lot out there.
are you out of state? if so where are you from
Okay, @soakes99 you really need to stop emphasizing the fact that people call it ZooMass. Honestly, the only people who I know who call it that still are either ignorant about on-campus parties or hypebeasts (or people who have known its 70s reputation). The party atmosphere is pretty prevalent (in SW that is), but it’s not really much worse than any other large school (or any school that has a party scene even). I’ve been to a couple of BC parties (I have friends who go there) and to be honest, the dorm room parties are about the same. It’s when you go OFF CAMPUS to the houses or daydrinks is when it can get a bit crazy, but at that point, you’re pretty much going out of your way to find that type of atmosphere. It’s not the same Zoo that you’re thinking of.
Alright, now back to the OP’s questions. There are all type of students here to be honest, it really depends on where you live the type of people that you hang out with. Professors are about as expected of any university, they’ll help out whenever if you ever need it and there are quite a few “diamonds in the rock” as well. Classes are fine too, most of your first year discussions will be 100-300 people lecture halls (except for ENGWRIT-112, which is your college writing that every student has to take, that class only has around 15 students per section), but once you get into the 200-300 level classes, that number will drop down to around 50-150. Anything above that level will be about the size of a regular HS class.
ok well @BladeHunter it is a big party school, everyone knows that. nothing wrong with that at all, it is still a great school where you can get a very good education. all i know is that everyone in my high school refers to it that way, and when i went to visit the tour guide called it that.
Honestly, I still hear it called ZooMass, in a loving way though.
We visited 5 years ago, and during the visit some guys drove by yelling “Send us your daughters!”. We thought it was funny, but we didn’t see that kind of behavior at any other school. I think some students are motivated by the name to be a little more outrageous.
Here is an interesting article.
https://amherstwire.com/15455/campus/is-umass-still-zoomass/
Thank you for all your responses!
@Soakes99 I’m instate
Yeah the partying part makes me a little nervous but I don’t think it will interfere with school.
@BladeHunter Do you mind answering another question? I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how hard it is to get into the Honors College after freshman year. I know I would have to write a couple essays and have a good GPA, but is the admission process very competitive? I was thinking of applying sophomore year since I didn’t get in as a freshman. Thanks so much!
@soakes99 Sorry if I came off a little aggressive, it’s just that it really gets under my skin when I hear people call it ZooMass but they have no idea where the name comes from. As for high schoolers, I know a decent amount calls it that just because of the reputation alone, but have never seen or been able to compare the parties here to other schools’. Also, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a tour guide calling it ZooMass. I’ve been through the training process and I can tell you that they’re really strict about not calling it that (but I do know some people will slip it in as a joke or something, but never really use it seriously).
@ClassicRockerDad Lol yeah, they still put that “Send us your daughters!” sign up every year in the front of one of the frat houses for freshmen week. Honestly, the first couple of weeks here are always the craziest cause it’s the first chance at freedom freshmen usually get, so they try to get in every party they can. The upperclassmen tend to take advantage of this quite a bit. Some of the sororities put up signs too but those usually go down within a couple of days for some reason.
@katross98 The honors college isn’t really that hard to get into. It’s a 3.4 average to join after freshman year. It’s not really that competitive to be honest, almost anyone who wants to join after freshman year gets in (as long as your essays are decent and you got a good GPA). Most people don’t bother with it just because you have to write a huge thesis paper at the end of senior year if you want to graduate as part of the CHC. You’d actually have a much harder time doing an internal transfer to Isenberg or a comp sci. major than you would joining the honors college. Quick bit of advice, if you want to join an honor society freshman year, Alpha Lambda Delta extends invitations to those who have above a 3.5 after their first semester (or at the end of their freshman year if they don’t get it during the first semester). It’s a freshman only honor society (you’re a member for life, but can only join during freshman year). If you’re planning on joining the CHC, you might as well join this and kinda kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
Also, don’t let the partying scare you, as long as you don’t live in the towers in Southwest, you should be able to avoid it easily.
If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask!
@BladeHunter Thank you so much! I really appreciate your advice!
You can apply to the CHC after your first semester. UMass is a big school; you can probably find just about anything you’re looking for. If you want parties, they’re there. If you don’t, ignore them. Plenty of people who live in SW are not insane partiers. I’m really surprised to hear a tour guide refer to the school as ZooMass; the tour guides I’ve spoken to really don’t like that term AT ALL. Congrats on committing to UMass, you’ll love it.
@katross98 Yep, no problem!
@BladeHunter no its fine. honestly i think its just a fun nickname. i think its just funny, and i have absolutely no problem with the party thing. its a big school, people are going to party. either way its a great school, its just not for me.
and ya the guide was definitely joking, im pretty sure someone asked him about it.
@twobugs Thank you!!
My D is a sophomore in CHC and Isenberg double majoring in Finance and Econ. She loves it at Umass! Originally she thought it would be too big but she has found ways to make it smaller (CHC, living in the Isenberg RAP, joining a few Isenberg clubs, etc) and she has a good core group of friends.
She is not a partier and doesn’t seem to have any problems with finding things to do that aren’t parties. She loves walking into Amherst to go out to eat, there are always things going on on the town common during the good weather. They take the bus over to Northhampton and to the local mall. They have gone apple picking, they play vollyball and work out in the rec center, go to sporting events, concerts, guest speakers, etc.
In January she went on an Isenberg 13 day trip to Italy with 29 other Isenberg students and had a great time! This past Saturday she was on a panel with other students answering questions for perspective students interested in the International programs offered by Isenberg.
Good luck! You will have a great time at UMass.
That sounds awesome!
Thank you!