hi, i am planning to attend umass amherst in the fall. I am not the type to party and i’ve heard that umass has the party school reputation. On a website it said number 70 in to US part school’s. Now I know it was a much bigger party school long ago, but is the party, alcohol scene still large. Also, can you fit in if you aren’t a partier
thanks
it is a good school, but it is definitely know for its party reputation. i mean they refer to it as zoomass. you can definitely be happy there and get a really good education. you definitely do not have to party but there is not much to do in the surrounding area, its pretty much just the campus. just keep that in mind, its a pretty big reason im not even considering going there.
Only those who remember the 70’s still call it Zoomass. If you avoid Southwest you can avoid an Animal House atmosphere. Any university with 24K students living there will have its share of parties. S is quiet type but he thrived at UMass and made some great friends.
Honestly, you don’t even really have to avoid SW (unless it’s a Friday or Saturday night) if you’re not into partying. However, if you’re planning on staying clean (no alcohol, weed, ect.) I’d recommend you live in Northeast. For the most part, that’s where most of the engineering/science majors live and it’s probably the most academically focused living area on campus (even more than CHC to some degree). I have a couple of friends who live there and they tell me it’s pretty much quiet all the time. You have people hanging out in eachother’s rooms and stuff, but that’s about the extent of it. Not really any screaming or blasting music there.
thanks yeah i was thinking northeast or orchard hill
O’Hill has an overall more friendly atmosphere, but a decent amount of people there smoke weed. (If you do end up living there, you’ll know about “the tree”). Northeast might not be as socially active, but much less people smoke or drink there. (Only problem would be that the dorms are really old and small in Northeast).
Holy cow. I can only conclude you never visited the campus, or if you did never bothered to step foot off of it.
Amherst is one of the best college towns in America, and Northampton is only a short bus ride away. Google “amherst best college town”, there are numerous articles ranking Amherst in the top 10 in the country.
There is tons of stuff to do in the surrounding area, and on campus, that do not revolve around alcohol and drugs.
And if you do go to a party, no one will care if you drink or don’t drink. There are tons of kids who don’t party.
Just remember that you get out of it what you put into it. If you sit around waiting for stuff to happen to you, then yeah you might be bored. Join some clubs (there are hundreds), investigate the music scene, go hiking/camping, go to the fine restaurants all over the place.
Not much to do, I can’t even.
It’s a big school. Lots of kids who like to party, lots of kids who don’t. You’ll find what you’re looking for. D lives happily in SW without being a partier; she and her friends do their thing and ignore what they’re not interested in. There’s plenty to do on campus that doesn’t revolve around partying, Amherst and the surrounding area are fabulous and full of things to do, and the bus system is free for undergraduates.
My daughter is a student at UMass Amherst - she lives in one of the Southwest towers, is super active in Greek life, and really enjoys a good party. That said - she’s highly motivated with her academics and isn’t a big drinker. She finds UMass to be a very “live and let live” kind of place. If you want to party every night, that’s okay. If you want to be at the party and not drink that’s okay. If you want to go to the movies or late night at Berk or downtown Amherst or any one of the dozens of non-party related things going on on the campus every night, that’s great too. Her experience has been that everyone makes their own choices and nobody judges.
Even in Southwest she hasn’t found the atmosphere to be overly crazy on the weekends. With so many students, UMass is a little bit of everything and if you put yourself out there you’ll find your “people”,
My daughter didn’t attend UMass, but when she was offered a drink at a college party and turned it down, guess what happened–SHE WAS OFFERED A SODA!!! These kids actually evolve into responsible adults, by and large!
Agree 100% with @BostonMama–there are so many kids at UMass, you can find your niche.