Umass Amherst Commonwealth Honors College

How easy/hard is it to transfer into CHC after your first semester at the college?

My SAT is 1340 (pretty low for CHC) and my high school GPA is 4.287.

Do they look at high school stats when considering the second-semester CHC students? If so, I know my senior year grades should raise my GPA to around 4.385 with a mix of As/A-s in AP/honors classes.

Also, if I do get in the second semester, will it be a super weird/hard transition as opposed to starting out in the CHC.

I was hoping to get into CHC from the start but sadly I did not get in. I got into BU, but will most likely go to Umass because I’m in-state and it is cheap. Any advice on if this is worth saving the money?

I kinda feel like I tried so hard in school during high school for no reason because I didn’t even get into honors at Umass or get any merit aid. I know Umass is a great school nonetheless.

I know I’m asking so many questions in this thread haha. But any advice would be great and really helpful!
Another thing- I am also considering taking a gap year and I know Umass would make me reapply. Is it likely I will still get in if I reapply next year and do something worthwhile during the gap year? Will I have a shot at CHC because of my higher GPA if I do end up applying in a year?

Also- any insight onto what CHC or Umass, in general, is like would be really helpful!
I have no idea what I want to major in.

Hi!!
So I just finished up my freshman year at Umass and I was totally in the same situation as you. My SAT was 1330 and I did not get into the CHC and got no merit. I also had other expensive “better” schools as options but ultimately went with UMass because of the in state tuition. I really felt like I worked so hard in high school and was not being rewarded. So fast forward when I arrived at UMass and I was absolutely shocked by how many students I met who were very similar to us. The girl who lived next to me got a 1380 on the SAT and was not offered honors.
Maybe I’m biased but I absolutely love UMass and would not trade it for the world. I recommend it to everyone.
I was planning on transferring into honors this spring, but with the semester ending early and all I did not. And I still might not. I’ve heard it’s kind of a scam and really not that big of a deal - it’s just to convince students to pay extra for their program as opposed to going to another school. There is no proof of that by the way!!! Just the word on the Umass streets.
I just saw that you aren’t sure of your major and that was me too!!! I heard they don’t offer honors to undecided students (unless u have like a 1600) so … it sucks but I think that one is true. If you major in bio you’re practically guaranteed honors its so annoying.
Okay sorry this was really long I just remember being so upset last year when I didn’t get into honors (i cried a lot) but it all worked out and I love umass so much. But be proud of your accomplishments and good luck with rest of the process, feel free to ask me any questions!!!

THANK YOU :slight_smile: this actually made me feel a lot better!!!