<p>Get off your high horse and suck it up. I was also accepted into a prestigious school, but was unable to attend due to financial reasons. Is Umass my top choice? Not at all but I’m still going anyways. My advice is that you can either slowly wade in the pool or just go ahead and jump right it. Either way, you are still going to get wet, the quicker it happens, the easier it will be for you. </p>
<p>Umass is a pretty nice place, and everyone I know that goes there loves it. It all depends on what you will make of it. And employers know that going to a state school most of the time is for financial reasons, and will not hold that against you. And once you get your fist job, it really doesn’t matter where you actually went to school.
Good luck with your internal conflicts, and see you at Umass in the fall!</p>
<p>I live in CT (2 hrs from UMass) and come from a small town and a high school where you pretty much know everyone- about 200 in my class. I got accepted to UNH, Fairfield U, Roger Williams, Hampshire, and UMass. A girl from my class just got back from an orientation session for 2 days and said that she didn’t like the school. she said it seemed like every kid was from Mass and that they all seemed to know each other and that it’ll be hard to fit in or make friends. I was going to take Animal Science as a major but am thinking maybe I’d be better at Fairfield U near my home (3 miles away) Im worried the school may be too big for me and I wouldn’t know anyone there. what do you think?</p>
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This is sort of obvious, isn’t it? It’s a state school - by definition, most of the students will be from in-state.</p>
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Of course you won’t know anyone there. No one knows anyone but the handful of kids who went to their high school. How many is that going to be - 10 or 20? Out of 20,000. It will be the same at every other school on your list.</p>
<p>As for being too big - it is easy to make a big school smaller, and this will happen anyway because the kids you hang with the most will be in your dorm and in your major.</p>
<p>It will be easy to meet people if you are a little pro-active - i.e., get out of your dorm room and get involved in some activities. When I hear kids complain that they are not making friends or meeting people, it is almost always because they are standing back waiting for it to happen to them. You have to <em>make</em> it happen. Put yourself out there, and you will have tons of friends. This is true at every school, too.</p>
<p>Orientation is weird, cash1477. Kids often carpool with friends from home and then clump together the whole time. They’ll also clump together with anyone they meet within 30 minutes of getting to orientation and then not talk to anyone else the whole 2 days.</p>
<p>I had trouble meeting people at orientation but had absolutely no trouble once I moved into my dorm in the fall.</p>
<p>Orientation was tough for me. My roomie was a social butterfly who brought 3 girls that she BFF’ed the first day back to our room. I’m over here saying “what the heck???” because I didn’t meet anyone that I immediately “clicked” with. I made a few friends (not really) but none I think I’ll probably see again.</p>
<p>The problem was, I stuck with the people from my HS and I didn’t get out of my comfort zone…of course I’m nervous about going to school with 20,000 people, but I’m there so I can get into medical school (which I’m looking more forward too than college…eek!) </p>
<p>It took me a while to find a group of friends in HS because I had friends from different social circles and I never fit into one. Finally, I did, and it was great. Am I scared that’ll happen at UMass? Absolutely, but I’m paying $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$4 to get my degree and if that happens, so be it. I know it’ll get better.</p>
<p>I mean, the out of state session was more fun than orientation because I knew none of these people knew each other and didn’t all come from the same Mass HS! </p>
<p>So orientation didn’t go well. Big deal. It will definetly get better in the fall!</p>
<p>I couldn’t attend orientation. I’m from a foreign country, and I’m 17 years old (turning 18 next year).</p>
<p>How bad is it going to be for me to make friends?</p>
<p>It shouldn’t be hard to make friends. You’ll meet people in your dorm, especially on your floor, and in classes. Get involved with an activity or sport. Maybe there is a club for people from foreign countries. Be open to different people and experiences. When I went to college in 1976, I was a US citizen living in England. I didn’t know anybody at college. I made friends almost immediately with people on my dorm floor (three of whom I’m still friends with 35 years later). I got involved in theater and made more friends. Yes, UMass has a lot of people from Massachusetts. But the vast majority of them won’t know more than a few people at most when they arrive. There will also be people from other states and other countries. You’ll be fine.</p>
<p>My son hung out with friends from hs at orientation, but once he started in the fall, he really didn’t interact with them other than on facebook or to wave ‘hi’ to. He made many friends in his dorm and his classes, and is rooming with a group of them in a suite this fall.</p>
<p>So there are plenty of opportunities to make new friends.</p>