I have been accepted at UMass Amherst but am still a little angsty about going. I do like that its a big school that seems to have a lot of school spirit, but I am still a little worried. The campus at Umass seemed to put me off a little bit… after visiting schools like UNH where the academics aren’t as good but the campus is beautiful, I’m a little torn. Also I’m really looking to put high school in the past and UMass is only around two hours away from my hometown. Does anyone have details on Umass or what I should do? thanks
Also I’d like to live in southwest because it seems like the most fun/ social area but im a little afraid that its only going to parties 24/7 and i really need to get sleep.
So you are considering ZooMass? Well it did not get that name for nothing and yes it does have lots and lots of school spirit (read parties). Sleep is not something that is in large supply at any college as all it takes is a few night owls on the floor to keep everyone up. UMASS is also on the list of colleges with the most sleep deprived students.
Some people want all that action and constant buzzing. Like visiting NYC as opposed to visiting Lake George. It is all what your after.
You can always try it out and then transfer out to some other place if you find it too crazy. You would not be alone.
Good luck.
thanks for the input @MassDaD68 so do you think my better option is Umass? do you have any family going there or have you been?
Any other opinions out there?
What is the cost of attendance for you at UMASS and UNH? Is this important? What is your intended major? Why Southwest and not Orchard Hill or Central (or some other choice)? Not every dorm area is party central. I don’t know what town you live in, but if UMASS is two hours away, UNH is probably pretty close too.
@ljberkow The cost of attendance for UMass is the instate full price and after our financial aid for UNH the cost to go there will be a little bit cheaper than UMass. Only thing is, my parents don’t like the uncertainty of not knowing what we will have to pay every year for UNH. In another sense, they fear paying full price my sophomore year. They are actually pretty much the same time away from home so that won’t make a difference. My intended major is Biology. Hopefully when I do my roommate selection I will get someone who needs a lot of sleep too?
So have you decided on UMASS? Sounds like it if you are filling out the roommate forms. Academically UMASS is a fine school. Good luck.
@MassDaD68 well im not there yet, just thinking hypothetically
D is a sophomore at UMass and has lived in Southwest for two years. Yes, there are partiers in SW but she isn’t one of them and manages to live her life without it being ruined by crazy people. Two great dining commons in SW, it’s close to the fantastic rec center, she’s in Isenberg so it’s convenient for her classes. She loves the energy and school spirit at UMass. True, it’s not a classically beautiful campus but it has its charms. We are also in state, less than two hours from Amherst, but she doesn’t feel like it cramps her style to be close to home. She’s far enough away to be away, we don’t expect her home all the time nor do we drop in unexpectedly. There are many kids from our high school at Umass but she’s made lots of friends and doesn’t have to spend time with HS people she doesn’t want to see. Other schools she considered had more beautiful campuses but she’s never had a moment’s regret about choosing UMass.
Thanks @twobugs for the awesome review. Sounds like your daughter and I were in the same position. Seeing kids from my high school does kind of turn me off to the idea of Umass but it is a huge school so maybe that won’t be as much of an issues. Around twenty kids every year from my high school go to UMass.
My daughter is currently a sophomore at UMass in Isenberg. It was not her top choice but she now loves it and is so glad she went here rather than a couple of the schools she was looking at 6 hours away. She originally thought it was too close to home, she would see too many people from her high school (but she doesn’t). The academics have improved so much there over the years.(For Isenberg the average GPA is about a 3.9) Seems like the people that still refer to it as ZooMass are the parents of today’s college students (yes her Dad went there and graduated in the early 80s)
She lives in CHC dorm so can’t offer much insight on Southwest. We are about 1 1/2 hrs from Amherst but that is not a problem. She can get home if she wants (or needs to) but we would never stop by unexpectedly. She loves the opportunities offered by a large school (she is currently on a 13 day trip in Italy with 29 other isenberg students and a couple of profs to study Business in Italy. Think wine tasting, Parmesan cheese factory, balsamic vinegar tasting, leather factory, etc). Easy to walk into the town of Amherst, division 1 sports to attend. She already has an internship lined up for next summer at a Tech company in Cambridge.
Good luck in your college search!!
@ConfusedMominMA sounds great! definitely making me lean towards Umass a little more. How often would you say she sees the people from her high school? Are there reasons why she enjoys it so much that she has expressed to you?
@eop2017 good explanation on costs of attendance. You should speak to someone at UNH and find out if aid is good for all four years.
You could have visited UMASS on a bad day. My first visit with my daughter was not great. It was a cold and damp spring day and really not conducive to showing well. When we went back for another visit in the fall, the campus was beautiful and students were all over the place. It didn’t help the first time that they showed us an ugly dorm room in Northeast. She lives in Orchard Hill and it’s 100% nicer and she’s happy there. The kids have a good time but it’s not a nonstop party. She likes running into her high school friends, but her friends now are the ones in her classes and in her dorm. She met her roommate on one of the admitted students facebook pages where kids share common interests. Everything is working out well.
My best advice to you is visit the school again on a nice day in the spring. Just drive out there and make plans to eat lunch in the cafeteria and hang around campus and visit the science building and see if you can sit in on a class. It might be that you find that you are more comfortable at UNH, but you should give UMASS another shot and you do have time before the final decision.
@eop2017 Well, there is one friend from HS that goes to UMass that she chooses to see quite often. I would say she only runs into others from her high school (this could be friends of her older brother that go there to people from her own high school class that attend UMass) a few times a year. She has made her own core group of friends and socializes with them, not kids from high school
Some of the reasons she likes it so much are: the town of Amherst itself (it is easy to walk to to go out to eat, there are always activities going on on the town common on the weekend, etc.), attending D1 sports with her friends, the food is great, the fall season is beautiful in western Mass. and she loves her dorm area (newest dorms on campus, great location next to the rec center, easy walk to the business school, close to the basketball court and hockey rink for attending games).
And for us, being instate, the lower cost is a big factor also. Once she got admitted to Umass and started doing research on the business school (rankings, admitted average gpa, etc.) she didn’t even apply to some of the other schools she was considering since the cost was going to be higher. .
I think she was originally worried about applying for internships in Boston and that a kid from Umass would be overshadowed by the kids from all the other great schools within the Boston area. However, that has not been her experience at all. As I stated above, she all ready has her internship lined up for next summer and they originally only wanted rising seniors (she will be a rising junior). When applying for positions, quite often the interviewer has been a Umass graduate. So the alumni network is a nice plus too.
Good luck with your search!
@eop217, I agree with the suggestion to visit the campus in the spring. The first my D visited was on a snowy Saturday morning; needless to say there weren’t many students out and about. The day she and I went out to an accepted students day was a gorgeous spring day, and the campus was full of people. It made a big difference!
Another factor that made a difference for her that day was our tour guide. On her first visit, our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable but since she was majoring in the sciences, that was the area she was most knowledgeable and enthusiastic about. On the accepted students day the guides divided people into groups based on intended areas of study. Those who wanted sciences or engineering went with those guides, those who wanted business or social sciences went with those guides, etc. It was very helpful for D, undeclared at the time but leaning strongly toward business and/or economics, to have a guide who could speak specifically to those areas.
My son is interested in attending Umass in the fall. He has gotten into the business exploratory track and we are hoping to gain some more information prior to him making a commitment - trying to figure what is needed to be successful on entering Isenberg. He is interested in majoring in Finance. Any info would be helpful. TIA
Do you know anything about the Business Exploratory Track at Isenberg? My son was invited to participate in that - didn’t get ‘in’ at Isenberg from the start, but we are giving a hard look at him entering in the fall with the hope that he will be able to transfer into Isenberg from the Exploratory Track program. I know it is very competitive and he will have to maintain a high GPA which I think he is capable of if he keeps his studies a priority… I just don’t have much info on the success rate of transferring from the BET and also if they have a RAP in the business program that he may be able to get into.
Take a look at Isenberg’s page describing procedures and requirements for applying once you’re a UMass student. https://www.isenberg.umass.edu/programs/undergraduate/on-campus/admissions/internal-transfers/bba
My daughter took required predictor courses her freshman year, applied to Isenberg in the spring of that year, and was accepted. She did not have a 4.0 gpa but she did very well. Her roommate applied after this past fall semester and got in. I don’t know what the acceptance rate is but tell your son that if he takes the courses they ask him to take and does well, this is a very attainable goal.
Those who still call UMass, ZooMass are either over 55 years old or just plain ignorant. It’s actually a quiet place considering Southwest living area has one of the highest population densities in the world. But there are 5 other residential areas to choose from. Northeast is actually very quiet. There’s so much else to do at UMass with multitudes of activities there and at the other 4 colleges. It’s also quite a beautiful campus if you get off the street level. Most of the negative aspects occur from friends of students who come to party anonymously and return home on Sunday and has been more enforced in recent years. Most of the dorms strictly enforce normal quiet hours. If they don’t your RA isn’t doing their job and should be reported. I loved going to school there and wish I could return.