<p>I'm a psychology major who likes to party once in a while but also likes to be just laid back. I need good grades but i want to find a balance. I'm into soccer and tennis and i'll probably gym quite a bit. I like my time alone but i still need some social aspects to college time. I know Orchard HIll is out of the way but i think it's okay and I can deal with the walk up.
Is it a sensible idea though? Are classes really interspersed and will there by many times where i'll need to shuttle between classes and my room within the day? And how do people go to classes when it's snowed out? I can walk in the cold, but what arrangements do we have for snow storms? Or are classes just canceled?
Many questions, need answers. Thanks!</p>
<p>Classes don’t generally get cancelled because of snow. You will learn/need to hike up and down the hill in every climate. I think there is a bus that will take you down to the rest of campus from Orchard Hill itself. I’m not sure how often that bus comes… I would imagine it’s pretty regularly during normal class hours.</p>
<p>If for some reason, you need materials for multiple classes that you can’t lug around, I’m sure you can find a place to hold it instead of walking back up (to your dorm) and down the hill. There are lockers available for a quarter(?) in the campus center and you might meet friends/professors who can help you out along the way.</p>
<p>As for location of classes, that depends on your class selection. Your course schedule will have the times and location of every class you will take. You can arrange your schedule intelligently to be as efficient as you want depending on the options. Some people choose to stack their classes/discussions so they’re one on top of another. 9am class, 10, 11, then a lunch break, then a class at 1. Others split them up… 8am, 11, lunch, 2, 4… you get the idea. This isn’t as flexible as I made it sound (especially in major related courses) but it can be if you’re talking about general-ed non-major courses.</p>
<p>FYI, the hill alone will provide some aerobic exercise for you, especially when it’s hot out. Soccer and gym specific needs strike me as less accessible in Orchard Hill simply because it’s so far away from the soccer fields and that new rec. center.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, what you said was pretty helpful.
As for the new rec center, i dunno why, but i thought it wasn’t open to all undergraduates or it was for graduate students or something like that? Clearly, I’m not sure. There IS one wellness center near orchard hill and central, so that wouldn’t be a problem. Hmm, I’ll have to think about it.
Somewhere on this forum I read that people who room in Central have to walk some way up the Hill for Dining and some other things. Is that true?</p>
<p>I really don’t know much about the rec. center or gym situation now. I am not a current student. I don’t see why it would only be for graduate students… Email them! Check out their website: [UMass</a> Amherst Campus Recreation & Sport Clubs](<a href=“http://www.umass.edu/campusrec/index.html]UMass”>http://www.umass.edu/campusrec/index.html)</p>
<p>The dining hall you will likely use (you can use any!) is called Franklin and is located near Central and is convenient to both Central and Orchard Hill. I remember eating lunch there frequently because I had classes at Mahar. Food wasn’t that great back then but I hear it’s ridiculously good nowadays.</p>
<p>^ The new rec center is a pretty amazing facility, and it is open to all students for free.</p>
<p>It’s closest to SW, and farthest from Orchard Hill, but the buses run pretty often from what I have seen (I’m a parent but have visited pretty often).</p>
<p>I think the “wellness center” in Central that you are talking about is not a gym or workout place, it is a the student health center where the health clinic is.</p>
<p>I think classes were canceled once this last year for snow, maybe twice - not because you couldn’t get around campus but because the professors and staff couldn’t get <em>to</em> campus. It is a rare event. They do a good job clearing snow but boots are recommended.</p>
<p>I lived on O Hill freshman year. Prepare for the elements, the previous post is correct. Prepare to curse the Hill. I recommend eating in Worcester, slightly better food, much better atmosphere, it’s the other DC easily accessible from OHill (and where I feel like I run into OHill people at least as frequently as Franklin (I think Franklin smells like a dying old man whereas Worcester <em>has sushi</em>, but that’s my opinion, and I’ve used it (when I lived in Central and it was convenient)…) to grab a bagel or have an omelette (there’s a good station) in the morning). OHill gets kind of weird and clique-y after freshman year, and the people who love it don’t notice because they Are the cliques, so I’ve heard it can be alienating to get put on a floor with a bunch of repeat-OHillers, and not be “in” already.</p>
<p>Oh, and I’d say the only gym worth hitting up is the new rec center, free to all undergrads. 
</p>
<p>Hmm, I never even remember considering running back up the hill to grab something… you’ll go up and down for meals anyways… I never made more than two trips in a day, three maybe if I was stupid and forgot something. Also, I’ve never found it as easy to carve out my schedule as one of the previous posters makes it sound like it is to, but I don’t think you’ll be dragging around a huge load in any case.
I also recommend Northeast, because even though there are the jokes (I’ve heard it called “Asia,” “Pokemon Stadium,” etc.) and the Asian people to justify the jokes, I think that that area can also offer you everything you’re looking for, just closer. …Otherwise, Central is nice too (but was a little too “hey, you know what’s good? weeeeed and duuubsteppp!!” for my tastes, though to be fair it really is still balanced like OH & NE), Southwest is too… loud/imbalanced in favor of partying. and Sylvan is too… depressing, is maybe the word (though it can be alright if you have an established friend group).
Between Central and OHill there is a large area covered in grass and it’s a really nice place to hang out, and I know that that can be a huge pull for upper-Central and OHill for some people who want the area to meet friends, sunbathe, kick/toss around a ball/frisbee/whatever, canoodle, play guitar, hang out, etc. </p>
<p>Any more ?s --let me know… I wish someone had told me about the areas back in the day. I’d say OHill or Northeast. 
Good luck!</p>
<p>I looked at the campus map and northeast is pretty far from where my psychology classes are going to be. So it’s most probably OHill for me. I know that people can play soccerin the new rec center but where are the outdoor soccer fields? I’ll map that too.
Thanks for all the replies and the new rec center sounds really amazing.
Also, does anyone know the distance of the walk up the Hill? I’m just curious.</p>
<p>I think most of the soccer fields are beyond the Rec. center between the Mullins Center and SW. I’ve seen lots of games (intramural?) going on throughout my time there.</p>
<p>Like Fionn21 said, tricking out your schedule is an art and potentially impossible if your major is uncooperative. It’s much easier to do as a freshman because you are still taking gen-eds which tend to have multiple sections.</p>
<p>I’ll keep all of this in mind. Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>I am also a psych major, and was wondering where most of those classes are held? what side of campus?</p>
<p>They’re in the hicks or tobin hall which is somewhat north of southwest.</p>
<p>The hill only takes 5-7 minutes to walk up. And while it does get icy in the winter, they do tend to cancel classes if its bad, contrary to what another poster said. (The first two weeks of this semester were awful, with classes getting cancelled left and right).</p>
<p>Also, I usually just carry my stuff around with me but if you’re concerned about carrying things up and down the hill you can rent lockers for free for 24 hours at a time in the library.</p>
<p>oh all right. sounds good and thanks a lot!</p>