Thanks @DigitalDad. We watched YouTube videos about Umass Amherst and liked the town vibes. 
Hofstra is relentless. My D20 applied and was accepted there but went elsewhere (Temple), and they still send emails - asking her if sheās interested in transferring. Hofstraās merit was underwhelming so it immediately went off the list for D20 when she was considering options.
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As an RA in the late 80s, I sure heard these sorts of complaints from people on my floor about their experience / roommates. There were definitely some slob-like roommates on my floor!
The town of Amherst is most definitely not urban. It is a large charming college town and area. Our D23 loved it and she thought she wanted a more metro area so I was surprised. There seems to be a really nice relationship between the colleges and the locals.
The only thing we wished were that there were a train to Boston from Amherst. It seems that the train goes north/south instead.
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LOL we said the same thing about Trader Joeās!
We recently toured all the NE flagship schools and UMASS Amherst was our D23ās favorite. Praying for OOS merit . . .
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Thatās the perfect description: Not urban but Lively!
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We have some overlap! I assume youāre another NY family based on the list. We live pretty close to Fisher (now a University instead of a college!).
My DS also applied to both Buffalo and Albany during the SUNY āfree appā week. Heās still waiting on SUNY Buffalo, but Albany acceptance came back quickly ā did you get a merit offer from Albany already?
My son just got his first college acceptance to VCUās College of Engineering for Computer Science! Heās happy and relieved, but still waiting on other schools. The wait is harder for me than for my son!
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My daughter had a merit offer that brought it down to approx in-state cost. Best of luck!
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Yes, fellow New Yorker, from Buffalo : ) My son received $4K per year from Albany (the merit came about a week after the acceptance.) Do you know how they select students for honors at SUNY Albany? Heās hoping to be invited to their honors program but not sure of the steps (he applied to UB honors through the common app but no mention of honors for Albany on the common app.) Any inside info on St. John Fisher? We know their food is ranked #1 in NYS so thatās impressive to my kid. Lol. We did visit and he liked the overall vibe.
Iowa State does a personalized video also!! My husband and I are both alums so itās more points for the Cyclones as far as weāre concerned. DS23 was not as impressed!
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Anyone look at a merit award and get excited only to realize its total, not per year.
Sadly 2k merit a year likely isnt going to bring it in range.
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Was the merit in the mail or somewhere in the portal? My son is in the range typical for similar merit, but itās been a couple of weeks and he hasnāt received anything.
I donāt know anyone personally that has gone to Fisher, but based on the construction they have done on campus in the last 10 years, Iād say it appears they are doing well! They hopped right on when NY changed the rules for āUniversityā designation and changed all their signage within a few weeks of the name change.
Ok just doubled checked and the Albany acceptance came on 11/18 with the merit award on 12/1. The 12/1 email was labeled Scholarship Award Notification. Iām sure your son will get merit, guessing they are just backed up with applications from the free app week. Thanks for the info on St. John Fisher University. Iām sure they are proud of the new university designation and seem to be expanding and on the rise. My son received nice merit from them and applied for an extra community service scholarship to see if we can lower the COA, as well as the honors program. Not at the top of his list but definitely a good option in the mix.
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Thanks, this was really helpful. My son also got the scholarship e-mail on 12/1, but just missed it somehow! 
Haha, happens all the time! My daughter missed an email from one of her top 3 colleges offering an EXTRA $4K per year (unsolicited) and only stumbled on it right before decision time. Didnāt end up choosing that one but kind of a big factor in that final choice! Lol.
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Depending on your sonās stats, Union is not a safety for everyone. It is a very good school.
It is not, just 51% men to 49% women. W&L was an all male school until the mid 80s, my DS would be 4th generation if he wanted to go. None of my kids were interested.
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Thanks that must be what I was remembering. They were trying hard to get me to apply when I was in HS when they met me at a college fair at the school. They came back and had a meeting with a few of us they were targeting but the all male thing was a hard pass.
Mine would be 5th on my husbandās and 3rd on my side if you count law school 
our husbandās families have probably met somewhere along the way. D23 wasnāt interested at all. S25 maybeā¦
When I was at W&L in the 90s it was still majority men by choice. 60% I believe. They changed that around the time I graduated.