My son is considering UMass along with other schools (still hasn’t heard from all of them). I was favorably impressed when we toured last fall - hadn’t been there since I was looking at colleges myself back in the dark ages. The food was excellent, the campus well maintained, and very walkable. We are in MA so it is a popular choice for many kids - I’ve heard that most really like it a lot and my impression is that the academics are very well regarded. While it is in a rural location (like many state flagships in the NE), Amherst is a nice small town with some good restaurants etc. I’m not familiar with CU or U of A, but have heard good things about them too. Good luck with your decision!
Is she considering grad school? If so, saving some money now could be very helpful down the road.
Good points above about where she might want to live after school. The regional reputation and any internships are going to be far more valuable the closer you are to the school.
And the further you are from home, the less often you’ll be able to get back. If you have a long set of flights and connections from MA you can’t just dash home to CA on a three day weekend the way you could from Tucson. Your DD has to be ready to be away from home.
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As a library lover myself, I would pick UMass where I would have access to all of the libraries in the 5-College Consortium, including the stunning new library at Smith designed by Maya Lin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLmuKqRBN6M&t=17s
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My daughter had been accepted at UMass Amherst - I think it might have been the only public University she had applied to. Merit aid would have brought the cost down to “in-state” level.
UMass is a large campus in a small college town, but she some somehow felt the University was very navigable and that she could have seen herself her – which was surprising to us as well, because she very clearly tended to urban colleges. It’s even more telling that she essentially picked UMass over Amherst College, where she never even applied.
FWIW, another girl from her HS class did go to Amherst College, and she ended up very much loving this area of Massachusetts, and the many outdoors opportunities it offered.
So I can’t say which is a better fit in your case, but UMass Amherst certainly was viewed positively by my student.
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If no where has a capital then Amherst seems like it would be a contender. I think most people would agree it’s the middle of no where. Maybe someone from a very rural state like Kansas wouldn’t see it that way. Someone from the Northeast certainly would.
To anyone who can’t visit, the college is one of the only things around aside from nature. The town of Amherst is tiny. When my kid was an 8th grader and we went to Amherst for a sports tournament, my kid didn’t want to look at Amherst college. The reason, it looked too much like the town our kids were born in. No real commerce and quaint but not much going on. Others can certainly chime in. But I’d agree that this area is in the middle of no where. The colleges in this area being the major activities in the area aside from nature.
Hi ! all of these seem like great choices! I don’t know whose opinion you’re really looking for but I’m a senior myself this year and I applied to CU Boulder! I got in and for a Stem major and it’s gorgeous so I hope this helps a bit! I love that Colorado has all four seasons so I’m sure that would be a good fit!
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We haven’t planned very far ahead of a college acceptance 
Such great things to consider in your message, thank you!
Thanks, she got very excited when I showed her your message
wow, so much to think about!
Sounds amazing!
Yes, need to plan for April!
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Thanks, all these campuses seem well-loved, which is a good problem to have tbh 
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Yes, we are still evaluating all this at the moment 
omg, she’ll lose it when she realizes this!!
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Congratulations to you! And so many good things to consider for CU Boulder as well. It’s going to be an interesting decision process this month!
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Congratulations - great choices. I am going to put in a word for UofA here! Amazing STEM opportunities, great labs, interesting and accessible faculty and top notch school spirit. Not to mention amazing weather and easy travel to California. The school is also very generous with financial aid to out of state students. you might consider having her talk to admissions and the honors college re: opportunities there. But even if that is not the fit, UofA is a WONDERful place! Lots of my friends are in Tucson
UMass is basically it’s own city with lots going on day and night. Students from Amherst College and other consortium schools take classes there and enjoy the dining and entertainment it offers. If someone gets bored in the Amherst area that would likely be on them. Also the small city of Northampton is a few miles from Amherst and has tons of entertainment and restaurants. would in no way consider Amherst in the middle if nowhere. It’s considered one of the top college towns in The US for good reason. But to each their own as some want the big city vibe and offerings.
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Amherst is part of a metropolitan area with 700,000 residents and is located about a half hour from that metropolitan area’s core city of 160,000. I think you are overstating its remoteness.
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Haha. Best of luck to her. You should try and independently verify by talking to current students or the placement office at the university. But this link also gives some color: https://www.math.umass.edu/undergraduate/career-opportunities#recent-graduate-outcomes#
Ahh, no. But I think what some consider to be middle of nowhere differs. It’s a long drive in and out of Amherst and there are no major cities within a short drive (for me 40 minutes or less). When you read that 700,00 residents live there that appears fairly large.( Please cite where you got that statistic as I think you are including a broad swath maybe Springfield as well. And that isn’t really the area in which Amherst students are going to be living in).
The population of Amherst per wikipedia actually:
Population (2020)
• Total 39,263
• Density 1,422 people per /sq mile.
It’s important that people who attend a college know where they are located. Maybe it’s best to google map the area. You will be able to see it online.
I also don’t consider it a major college town. YMMV. Actually, I’m not overstating how remote it is. It is the middle of no where for many. It was for me. Again, best to visit or at least look it up online. Some folks want to go to theaters, events and other activities. They need to know that with the exception of colleges in the area, there is not a lot.
Maybe some think driving 20 minutes for basic needs is normal but others who grow up in cities/suburbs might have an adjustment.