<p>This weekend we visited Umass Amherst and my D really liked the school. The Commonwealth honors college seems to be a very nice option within the college. However, what drew us in was the 5 college consortium. My D will probably apply undecided as she has a lot of interests from Geo science to film. She was interested in taking the science at Umass and then film at Hampshire or Amherst. While this sounds great, we would like to hear from anyone who currently attends this school and has done this How easy is this to do and is it realistic? I know there is an 8 credit per semester max (or two classes) allowed at the other colleges. . Does everyone get the same priority at the other colleges? Is it easy to get into the courses or do Umass students only get in after the students at those colleges have signed up and there are leftover spaces?</p>
<p>She would be applying OOS if that means anything other than higher tuition. </p>
<p>D graduated from Mt. Holyoke. She took a course at UMass, and a course at Hampshire. As long as you can make the transportation work, not a big deal. Buses run fairly often, but you have to allow time to and from.</p>
<p>Sorry to post this so late after you posted your question, but I wanted to answer it in case others, in the future, are looking for this info. </p>
<p>I went to UMass and joined clubs at Hampshire, took classes at Smith, went to dances at Amherst. My classes would do things like go to the galleries at Amherst and Smith, etc. To be honest, it was really easy. Likewise, I had students from Hampshire in my classes at UMass, and people from Smith would come to our dances, and people from all of the colleges would come to major events at UMass, such as big concerts and theater and etc. </p>
<p>Amherst is the easiest one to get to - you can walk over from the UMass campus, or take a free bus. Hampshire is also easy - it’s on the free bus route, and we did walk it a couple of times, although it’s a longer walk than to Amherst. Smith is on a direct free bus route as well. I also rode my bike there a couple of times, although that’s a bit longish. It was Mt. Holyoke that was a bit harder to get to, so I never did get over there. </p>
<p>I really don’t remember how registration for classes worked. I know that I was able to register for classes at Smith at the same time as I registered for classes at UMass, but I’m not sure how things work now. I do know that I didn’t have a problem getting into the classes I wanted. </p>
<p>Mt. Holyoke is a straight shot on the bus from Hampshire. In fact, MHC, Hampshire, Amherst, and UMass are all lined up along Route 116, about 20 minutes from MHC to UMass. I believe Smith is a different bus that one picks up at UMass,</p>