<p>For the past few years umass was my top choice for a prevet degree. All if a sudden I'm starting to have second thoughts. The campus is big and ugly and there's so many people. I also don't like the partying. The problem is there is no other schools that are smaller and as good and reputable as umass. I'm so confused about what to do</p>
<p>It seems like the major problems you have are with the partying and the campus/population. Well, you don’t need me to tell you this, but partying and overcrowding is going to happen at any school…Imagine the people who are going to Penn State or WVU and are in the same exact position as you ! Lol</p>
<p>I would say go to UMass if your accepted, and go there.</p>
<p>Ya but othe nano universities are half the size</p>
<p>Other major *</p>
<p>A large school will naturally seem to shrink down into something smaller, once you are there.</p>
<p>It is impossible to interact personally with 20,000 people. Most of your time will be spent with people in your dorm or in your classes, or in whatever clubs you are in. You will be in only a small number of buildings on a daily basis, and those will probably be clustered on a small portion of the campus.</p>
<p>I’ve been to the campus numerous times, it is hard to believe there are 20,000 kids there based on what you see when walking around.</p>
<p>The campus may be physically large, but there is a decent bus system, or you can just look at the bright side, that you’ll be getting a lot of exercise to help avoid the Freshman 15.</p>
<p>So don’t let the size scare you.</p>
<p>As for parties - every school has them, they are easily avoided. There are plenty of kids who don’t party, and they are not hard to find.</p>
<p>As notrichenough said, I’m pretty sure all schools have their share of parties, even your ideal small and reputable one.</p>
<p>I do not party either, and in my first semester, I’ve never felt pressured to party. My roommate doesn’t party either. Nor do some of my friends. If you don’t want to be around the partying at all, that might be impossible anywhere you go. But if you want to avoid it as much as possible, just don’t live in Southwest. All of the other residential areas DO have people that want to and will party, though.</p>
<p>The campus may seem big, but once you take the chance to walk around for a bit on your own, you realize that it’s really not that big. But if there ever comes a day when you’re just completely tired out and don’t want to walk, fear not! The bus system is great and can get around campus, whether you’re going to your classes, dorm, dining commons, whatever.</p>
<p>One thing about the large campus is that there is a surprising amount of green space. The area around the pond is particularly nice.</p>
<p>I honestly thought the campus would be WAY too big for me when I first got the tour, but I’ve become so used to and acquainted with it now that I hardly notice. Sure, it takes me about 15 minutes to get to each class walking casually, but as long as I have my headphones in I find it great exercise. And like others have mentioned, if the weather’s bad or you’re just tired, you can always take the bus. Unfortunately, there are a lot of parts of the campus that are constructed of walking paths instead of roads, so the buses can only take you so far, but they’re still a nice option to have.</p>
<p>The campus is also surprisingly pretty at parts, especially around places like the old cathedral and the pond. To be honest, it’s really just a mishmash of both modern and classic architecture, so some parts will be to your liking and others not. It’s something that’s hard to avoid on probably every campus as long as the college makes an effort in its upkeep.</p>
<p>As for partying, if you’re REALLY trying to avoid it, live up north. I live in Northeast and I have to say that partying is at a bare minimum. Sure, there were about three or four people on my floor (including my roommate) who would have their own little celebrations welcoming every weekend, but they mostly kept to the end of the hall and I barely noticed them unless they were being particularly loud for one reason or another. Mostly the people who live around the Northeast area are dorks, scholars, or some sort of hybrid mix, and there’s no lack of interesting personalities and majors. Like notrichenough said, there are plenty of kids who don’t party, and we’re super easy to find as long as you’re looking in the right places (like Northeast :P).</p>
<p>I’ve heard this statement at almost every campus tour of a big campus that I’ve been to: “You can always make a large university feel small but you usually can’t make a smaller university feel large.”</p>
<p>Italixshadow–</p>
<p>I disagree—University of Rochester and Lehigh both have about 5000 undergrads but have a “big college”, esp. Lehigh</p>
<p>There are plenty of smaller schools that are just as good as UMass. I have lived in Western Mass my whole life. My H attended UMass, and we did not want our D to apply. Around here, news broadcasts regularly announce police action at parties on campus that get out of hand. We don’t hear news stories on TV about all the other (9, 10 or so) colleges in Western Mass having the same ridiculous problems. We felt that with UMass on a resume, potential employers around here would first think “party school” instead of “great academic institution”. Sure every college has parties, but not to the extent of ZooMass. Hasn’t changed in 30 years. When I was in high school, a student was flung down an elevator shaft, and other scary things. My parents didn’t let me apply there either. Went to a top private LAC in the area for less cost with better financial aid and not ludicrous fees!</p>
<p>As I am applying to graduate and medical schools I have found that the Umass party reputation has decreased. In the 70’s Umass was much crazier but since 2003 they really stepped up the security which is a good and bad thing. People do take that in account especially since our acceptance rate has dropped about 20% in the last 10 years.
Also I’ve said this before but Umass is really what you make of it… if you don’t want to party then just find people who dont and pick your living area accordingly (Ohill was awesome before I moved off campus). With 20000 people there is every type of student here.</p>
<p>Absolutely on point</p>
<p>Even with the occasional out of hand parties I do not think any future employers will think of it as a party school since its a reputable research university. The other colleges in western mass aren’t research universities</p>
<p>First, most state public flagship schools are even larger than UMass, and they also generally have “party school” reputations in some circles. It only takes a few anecdotes in the newspaper to make that reputation. However, the lifestyle choices will be up to you.</p>
<p>Second, you mentioned pre-vet. Have you checked into whether UMass has the agricultural support mission in that state? If so, that should move it to the top of your list because there will be more opportunities to get the appropriate experience.</p>