Umass Amherst or Wentworth for civil Engineering?

[BCEagle91]

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<p>I’m a Massachusetts resident and I got wait-listed for Umass Amherst
but got into Wentworth Institute of Technology. I’m getting a $7,500
merit scholarship from Wentworth which brings my tuition (including
room and board) to about $22,000 a year. I found out today that I
got into the spring semester of Umass Amherst. I’m not sure how much
Umass Amherst will cost (3.0 gpa, middle class divorced family with
financial issues), maybe a little cheaper?</p>

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<p>Tuition and fees for UMA are listed at $11,732. There may be an
additional fee for engineering students.</p>

<p>I believe that the Mass State budget passed a few days ago. The UMass
Trustees based their tuition and fees at Governor Patricks
contribution rate while the House and Senate had much lower
contribution rates to Higher Education. The final signed budget had
further cuts by Patrick so the amount for UMass is still up in the air
I think. The Trustees should figure out the final amount fairly
soon. At any rate, it looks like UMass should be a few thousand less
than Wentworth with your merit scholarship. UMass is also increasing
their aid levels this year.</p>

<p>As you know, UMass has gotten much harder to get into given the
economy. It sounds like you would save some money going there,
especially if you could get some need-based aid. I’d suggest posting
in the financial aid forum to see where you stand there.</p>

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<p>Both schools seems to have advantages that I like. Umass Amherst is
ranked high for the schools in the nation, has alot of majors with
flexibility apposed to Wentworth which I hear is good for
engineering but not ranked and has very little flexibility with your
major (not allowed to take a minor either, i wanted to minor in
computer technology). Wentworth also has like a 80% male to 20%
female ratio apposed to Umass Amherst which i believe is pretty
even. I like Wentworth’s location (in boston) as well as their co-op
program in which you are placed in a job your junior and senior year
for one semester. The dorm rooms at Wentworth also seem a lot bigger
and better then Umass.</p>

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<p>Large state schools like UMA typically have the engineering schools
which are mostly male but they also have all sorts of other majors
with better balance. The Boston area is great if you want an urban
campus but the Amherst area has about 36,000 students and a lot of
student activity given the other major schools that are close by.</p>

<p>Wentworth is pretty close to Northeastern University and there are
many other universities that aren’t too far away so there are women
in the area.</p>

<p>UMass has a lot of different residential buildings. I think that where
you stay depends on costs.</p>

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<p>I wish to go onto grad school after I get out of college. I also
want to leave the northeast and go out south or west somewhere for
grad school. I believe Wentworth’s co-op program is well-known to
industries in the area but not so much in the rest of the country.</p>

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<p>UMass does an incredible amount of research and there are a lot of
research opportunities during the summer. I would guess that there
are a lot of opportunities during the school year too.</p>

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<p>From what I hear i’m getting into Wentworth for a very cheap
price. Which school should I go to? Take a semester off and go to
Umass Amherst or take Wentworth’s offer?</p>

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<p>Where do you live in MA? Could you do a semester at one of the other
UMass campuses and then transfer the credits into UMA?</p>

<p>My experience with Wentworth is that I did some contract work for them
two decades ago and I knew a few grads. The grads were competent as
far as I could tell. The area that Wentworth is in wasn’t the safest
back then but I’ve heard that things are much better today.</p>