UMass Amherst or nah?

Hey, so just generally, I wanted to get a general idea of the campus setting. What is it like? How safe is it? How are the students, and is there a lot of partying? Is there transportation within campus? Are there jobs on campus? What is the difference between the Honors college and regular? Is honors more expensive? And generally, how is the food? How are the dorms? Thank youu!

My D was accepted to UMASS. We are planning on going to the Accepted Students Day on Sunday 2/28/16. We took a general tour last winter, but the weather left the campus with snow, ice & cold winds. We’re hoping for slightly milder weather this time around to get a better feel of campus.

They’re ranked super high for food. I toured umass Amherst once and the tour guide just bragged about how good the food was.

Lots of parties and vibrant social life. The place rocks around the clock so there are a lot of parties every night in the dorms and off campus. The residential areas are huge and always have parties.

The food is outstanding. The rest of the school is pretty darn good, too. (Well, except for the football team.) Each residential area has it’s own personality but, as with anything else, you can’t go by stereotype alone. Parties are there for those who want them but there’s a good life to be had for the non-partiers, too. Honors dorms are the newest and do cost more than non-honors. Bus service, free for undergraduates, runs throughout the campus and surrounding area. That makes taking classes at other schools in the Five College Consortium much easier.

D is a sophomore, in the Honors College but has chosen not to live in the honors dorms, had no difficulty finding a job on campus, finds her academics interesting and challenging, has made good friends, and loves UMass.