<p>My sister will be attending Amherst this fall and I’m going to be taking her at the end of this month (from the west coast). I just have a few questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is a good, cheap motel in the 5 college area? I went on Orbitz, Priceline, etc, but they only came up with motels in the $100+ per night range in the Amherst area. We’re having to dig deep for this trip as it is, so we’re really looking for a non-sleazy motel in the $50-$60/night range that is closer than Springfield. Any suggestions?</p></li>
<li><p>She doesn’t know which dorm she’ll be in yet, but in general, what is the land line situation? She has a cell, but we’d also like for her to have a land line. Is it provided and accessible? Also, when you moved to Amherst (or sent your kids there), how did you handle the cell number situation? Did you keep it the same or did you have to have it changed to fit the area (at least the area code)?</p></li>
<li><p>We’ll be looking to get her a used mini fridge, TV, etc. Is craigslist the best way, or is there some exchange type of thing on campus where outgoing students sell their things to incoming students? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>It seems like I have more questions, but this will do for now.</p>
<p>Payton34, go on Hotwire. They have a hotel in the Amherst-Hadley area for $59.</p>
<p>Not really sure about using the land line. The dorms are wired for it, but I don’t know anybody that used it. Verizon is a popular carrier, they have a tower right there, so the reception is great, plus cell to cell calls are free. D just kept her original #.</p>
<p>Graduating students sell their things at the end of the year, but D says there is a furniture sale in a tent in the town square at the beginning of the year, but she doesn’t remember seeing a frig or a tv there.</p>
<p>Land line is available but I think almost no one uses it. I think I read some statistics that less than 20 students had it. Most students use and keep their home cell phone numbers. I agree with the person above who said wait to see about the roommate situation. My daughter is going into her third year at Amherst. Both of her roommates in her first year and last year had refrigerators so she didn’t need one. Same situation with televisions. She wasn’t going to get a television anyway but both her roommates had them. I doubt if you can get anything cheap at this late date for hotels close to campus since people make reservations far in advance (this also the case for parent’s weekend so if you ever plan to attend, make reservations a year in advance and just cancel them if you decide not to come). But, do followup on the hotwire, priceline suggestions.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about changing your area code. 95+% of your calls will be to other students, most of whom are not from the area. More important is having a cell plan with free in-network calling. That lets you call all your friends who have the same carrier at no extra charge. I know Verizon has this, others might as well.</p>
<p>That’s a great site. Do the professors use the same books every year? Is there a way to find out what the textbooks are now, before the new semester begins?</p>
<p>When my son entered as a freshman last year, we ended up staying in a motel in Springfield. It was cheap and just fine. It’s not such a big drive. I’d do it again.</p>
<p>Shesonherway, I found it rather frustrating last year that the books were not posted online in advance for the classes… at least not for my son’s classes. He’d taken lots of classes at our local public univ, and you could look up the classes and shop around online for better prices. As far as I know, there is no centralized way to do that at Amherst. They don’t really even have their own bookstore. A bookstore in town serves that purpose, but it’s not a part of the college itself, and there is no posting of required books in any central place that I have learned of. My son ended up just having to find out what books he needed when he went to the class the first day and got a syllabus. Nothing to do at that point except go down to the bookstore and buy the ones immediately needed there at whatever price was posted.</p>
<p>As a person who’s had to learn to make every dollar s-t-r-e-t-c-h all her life, it’s quite frustrating. At least he’s a humanities student, and the book costs tend to run lower than for the math/science kids.</p>
<p>There is a student-run used book program called The Option. Definitely worth checking out, and probably of more use to the math/science kids anyway, as the humanities profs are forever choosing a new translation, edition, collection, re-conceiving the class, etc.</p>
<p>My daughter is going to a large public univ. Classes don’t start until late Sept. and she has half the books she’ll need already, with time to continue looking for good deals on the rest of them.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in a course and are concerned about the book-buying crunch, feel comfortable e-mailing professors who teach the courses you’re interested in to send you last year’s syllabus so that you’ll know which books you need far in advance.</p>
<p>I took the hotwire suggestion and booked a one night stay at $59/night just to test it out (we’ll be in town for several more days, but hotwire didn’t tell you what hotel you were being booked at until after you purchased the room). It booked us at the University Lodge. Can anybody give me any opinions on it? Is it a place that would be nice and comfortable enough to stay at for 4-5 more nights, or would you recommend that I start looking at other options? </p>
<p>How is the drive from the Springfield/Chicopee area to Amherst? Yahoo maps shows it being about 25 miles away and a 33 minute drive. Is that a conservative estimate? It seems like you should be able to make it in less than 20 minutes unless it’s a small, two lane winding road.</p>
<p>The drive from Springfield is a solid 25+ minutes up 91 to route 9. 91 moves along unless there is an accident or road work underway in which case it can be a nightmare. 9 through Hadley is just fine as well though it has lights leading into town.</p>
<p>I’m a college professor at a private university and we don’t post books in advance (because the books often change from year to year - no cookie cutter classes that have the same books from year to year). Books used often change each year (I’m in Arts and Humanities - it may be different in the science and math classes). I have had many students to email me over the summer for the titles of books. This seems to now be a big issue. I’ve not had these inquires in the past.</p>
<p>lmpw, I think that many students want to find their books cheaper online and they have to order them earlier in order to get them on time. For those of you who are worried, however, the library has copies of all the texts and you can get them there until your books arrive.</p>