I am trying to decide which college to go to and would love to hear any input on the three schools I am deciding between. As far as financial packages, Bridgewater is the least expensive although I am wondering if Colgate might have more resources available as far as job placement. UMass Amherst is pretty good and if I went there it would be in the honors college but I am not sure if the honors college at UMass is as academically rigorous as Colgate. Colgate is slightly more expensive than UMass but I know that it is a bit in the middle of nowhere so perhaps being in the city with UMass is better? Would love to hear any thoughts on any of these three schools to help me make my decision!
What can you afford?
Well, first, UMass Amherst is not in the city, its in the boondocks. I think picking the school out of these three depends heavily on your potential major. If its teaching, social work, or other pre-professional and BSU is considerably less $$, that would be my choice. If its computer science or other sciences I’d probably go with UMA. Psychology or other humanities possibly Colgate but there’s a whole different culture there. Honestly, these three schools are very different in size, local, and offerings. What is your major? Do you like small or large schools?
I’ve been to both, umass amherst and currently i’m at bridgewater state. I was a freshman in fall 2017 at umass amherst, and didn’t do well because of my living situation (long story short- I wanted a single room dorm, and was on 15th floor in the southwest area (more party part of campus). I didnt take class seriously and left after that semester with a horrible gpa. Last fall, I started commuting to Bridgewater, its okay, small classes, passible food, a small but nice campus. Honestly, I may go back to UMass in the future, the campus doesn’t even compare to BSU. It’s just so more lively and there’s so much going on. Also, yes umass isn’t in the city, but amherst is a big, diverse college town with lots going on, (tons of shops, international restaurants etc… ), yes it is a more rural setting but I don’t consider it in the middle of anywhere at all. Also, the honors college is very nice at umass, the dorms are far better than the regular dorms, and have A/C. Sorry i don’t really know about colgate. But between Bridgewater and umass, umass is a much better school academically, socially, campus wise, and the food is best in the nation (trust me I loved the food there and lost a bunch of weight too!)
Do you mean UMass Amherst in a small town or UMass Boston in a big city?
Thanks for your thoughts! I am planning on majoring in either communications or international relations. I know that Colgate has a really great international relations program but UMass Amherst does have more variety in the majors that it offers because it has communications, marketing, anthropology, and a bunch of other related majors. (UMass Amherst also has a program in which you can choose your own degree title and work with an advisor so an international relations degree at UMass would be possible). Bridgewater has communications but does not have international relations.
Tom SrOfBoston, I am referring to UMass Amherst… I know that it is not in a city itself but Amherst is a college town so I meant that there might be more activities and things to do in the surrounding area when compared to Colgate which is in a town of only a couple thousand people and is about 45 minutes to an hour away from the nearest city (Syracuse, NY) so in comparison it is in a more lively area although I do know that UMass Amherst is still in a relatively suburban town
I’m actually in communications at Bridgewater. It’s been fine but i haven’t had many of the core comm classes yet. The thing is there are only a handful of comm professors (not sure if it’s like this at other schools) so there are limited times and teachers to pick from as you advance, and many have a lot more online versions than on campus. Also, yes there is so much going on in Amherst, plus there are 5 other schools in the surrounding towns , and Springfield is a moderately sized city only around 40 min from campus. As far as BSU is concerned, bridgewater is a small, quiet town with little going on, but the ocean/Boston is only an hour away at most, and there is alos a train station to boston on campus.
With Colgate, you’ve got into one of the most selective schools in the country. In some ways it’s refreshing that you do not seem to be weighing this as a factor. However, you should at least be fully aware of Colgate’s rarefied company before you make your decision: https://amp.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9.
Have you had a chance to visit these schools? Do you need to take loans to attend, and if so can the amounts be covered with federal loans?