<p>UMass Amherst for us is the state university (flagship?). A high percentage of the kids at our high school end up here - somehow the impression we have at the moment is that the school is not a very selective school. D is thinking of this as her "safety" school at this early stage in the planning (the scores would seem to agree). </p>
<p>By reading other threads, I've noticed that folks typically seem to react in a less favorable manner to their local state schools - while OOS public or state schools seem more attractive. This definitely seems to be the case with us, since D likes UNC and perhaps even Penn State better than UMass. Is this just because we are in-state, we see the huge numbers of kids that go there and hence kind of disenchanted? I know friends' kids from NH who treated UNH the same way - "we'll apply there, but there's no way we'll go there"!</p>
<p>Any opinions/experiences with UMass? Any ideas on how it rates with respect to other state schools? At this point, D is kind of undecided about majors - although it looks like engineering is a distinct possibility.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Our flagship is UT and people look at us like we are nuts when they find out that the flagship that our son will be applying to is UMASS Amherst. In short, we’re a military family and our son has spent his summers in New England. Since we’ll be moving back there someday, we’re fine with it. Plus, UMASS Amherst is a Tier One school. </p>
<p>UMASS, like most flagships, is becoming ever more selective. They also have an honors college (Commonwealth), which is one of the big draws for my son as he likes the idea of a big school but also wants a built in smaller community. I think a sport, hobby or club could serve that same purpose. </p>
<p>As far as other state schools, the last time I checked UMASS was tied with Florida State University, if that helps. Here’s a list of the Best Colleges: Top Public Schools:National Universities
[Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/national-top-public]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/national-top-public)</p>
<p>My sister is a UMASS Amherst alum and her take on it is that UMASS is what you make it plus it’s big enough that you’ll find other like minded students. For instance, she did not drink or party but she loved UMASS and made lifelong friends. Since she’s my sister, I also have to brag that for grad school she recieved a full tuition scholarship at Smith. Not too shabby!</p>
<p>MA native, here – I grew up not too far away from Amherst. W-a-y back in the day when I was applying to schools, almost everyone at least applied to UMass as a safety. I refused – it was bigger than the town I grew up in! From what I’ve heard more recently, UMass has a pretty “zooey” reputation. But, to some extent, that may be true of any large school. The 5 college area is very picturesque, with quite a lot going on.</p>
<p>If your D is considering computer science, UMass Amherst is one of the best in the country. And it has, in general, a very solid engineering school.</p>
<p>Zoo Mass would be a good safety school but there are far better options. If you are looking public I would look at UNC/UMich/UVA/William and Mary. If private you have a lot of options in Massachussetts–take a look at Amherst College and maybe even Williams when you visit Zoo Mass and notice the 180 in the culture of the schools.</p>
<p>My D refuses to consider computer science or engineering [ comes from having two computer grads as parents!].</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments so far about UMass - I like the idea of a honors college or a smaller school within the large university. I suspect D won’t be too serious about UMass - but perhaps a visit there could change her thinking.</p>
<p>Someone else mentioned the 5 college area - do you know if students at UMass are allowed to take courses at the other colleges? Or is that only if you are at Amherst College?</p>
<p>Yes, arisamp, UMass students can take classes at Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Amherst and Hampshire Colleges – see:</p>
<p>[Five</a> Colleges, Incorporated: Home](<a href=“http://www.fivecolleges.edu/]Five”>http://www.fivecolleges.edu/)</p>
<p>We are also in Massachusetts, and my daughter would not consider the school.</p>
<p>Part of it is wanting to go well away to school – the other is that she is interested in a more urban environment. (She will attend University of South Carolina, which is very close in rank to UMass.)</p>
<p>Please be aware that UMass is nowhere near as “safe” as it used to be. The acceptance rate is plummeting and the caliber of student they do accept is rising rapidly. I expect the current economic crisis to increase that trend.</p>
<p>At the same time, UMass has been starved for funding for years, and the current budget will only make that worse. I recently saw that Massachusetts is 48th of 50 states in $$ support for higher ed, and UMass has been budgeted for a large cut in funding next year.</p>
<p>I have many friends with kids at UMass. Most of them are quite happy. A few are not. </p>
<p>My fears about UMass are mostly financial - class size & availablilty, etc.</p>
<p>Re the “safety” of this school – the median GPA (unweighted, core courses only) for students accepted from our suburban Massachusetts high school is 3.174, and the median SAT (CR + Math) is 1230.</p>
<p>I believe this is based on graduating students for the past four years.</p>
<p>Just wanted to make note about “stopping by to look” at Amherst and Williams. Neither school offers merit based financial aid. Even paying out of state tution and including the need based aid we would qualify for, it would cost us a minimum of 20K per year more to send our son to either of those school over the honors college at UMASS. </p>
<p>He will be applying to some private schools in MA that offer good merit aid but he is leaning more and more towards UMASS. He’s pretty sure he wants to go to grad school and does not want to be in debt. We’ve told him that if we can stay out of debt for his undergrad, we will help with grad school. </p>
<p>Plus, he still gets to take classes at the other colleges, including Amherst. For the honors college at UMASS, a student must have a weighted GPA of A- or higher plus a class ranking in the top 10%. I’m not concered about the quality of the education, although surely the setting is less rarified.</p>