UMass Amherst Vs Florida GainsVille

College Search & Selection
1

Hi I need to choose for undergrad in Chemical Engineering Between UMass Amherst Vs Florida. I am from India and not able to decide. Cost is not an issue. Need suggestions

2

Congratulations, great choices!

I can’t speak specifically to chemical engineering, so my comments are about the schools in general. Both have outstanding academics. Both schools have really upgraded their reputations in recent decades (less of a party schools reputation now, for both). They are very different places.

  1. U Mass Amherst–In a very nice area of western Massachusetts. The town of Amherst is a nice New England town. I like that it’s a member of the Five College Consortium (with Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College, although that will be less of a benefit for a chemical engineering student. It’s an environment I personally like, but it is also very cold. I like to ask students, Will it be very hard for you to get up for a 9 a.m. class on a morning when it’s 10 degrees (F) with snow and ice on the ground?

  2. Florida–Overall rankings are somewhat higher than U Mass (I don’t know about CE), though both are well regarded, and I wouldn’t say the difference is very large. Very warm weather the entire academic year. Big-time college sports–SEC school–football games and tailgating will be HUGE on home game fall weekends. Is that a positive or negative for you? A higher % of students are Florida students (MA allows more OOS students), so it will have a Florida vibe, not a positive or negative, just something about the student body.

So, Florida is bigger, a little more highly ranked, and has much warmer weather. Mass has more geographic diversity among students, a very nice setting (with beautiful autumns), and a somewhat smaller college community. Quality of CE aside, and I hope someone addresses that, what sounds best for you? Good luck.

3

Attended UMass in the 80s. have lived in FL since the 90s and am very familiar with UF. As other poster stated, both have fine engineering programs. Huge differences in feel.

Although both state flagships, UMASS is smaller in both student population and size. Very conventional, well planned campus. You can walk from one side to the other in about 25 minutes (maybe less). Has the traditional campus center. Short walk to downtown quaint amherst (pubs, restaurants, shops, town green, Amherst College). Beautiful NE homes all over the place (big lawns, pumpkins and scarecrows at Halloween, etc)

UF is VERY large and somewhat of a sprawl. The city of Gainesville pretty much exists for the school and you’ll see UF buildings far removed from main campus. Kind of feels like a sprawl where they keep adding more. Tons of kids with scooters or bikes because there is more distance to travel (and it’s hot)

Weather - Very cold winters vs. very hot at least 7 months of the yr.

Job Placement - where do you want to live / work after college? Both are well recruited by good firms but emphasize their geographic regions. The northeast has far more major corporate HQs between Boston and NYC (and Hartford, Providence). Lots of tech jobs up north than the SE unless you are willing to live in Atlanta or Raleigh (maybe Charlotte). FL itself is gearing up in the science fields but has a long way to go to become a destination for employers. Lots of service businesses in FL.