I have 4 choices for college: UMass Amherst, Miami University-Ohio, University of Rochester, and Wake Forest. In light of not having a top choice, I’ve decided to pit UMass and Miami against each other, do the same with the other two, then have a final showdown to determine where I’ll be sending in my deposit. This is the UMass vs. Miami thread.
Costs are equal. I’m from MA, but neither I nor my parents care about distance, and the weather in the 2 regions is similar.
I’m a white Jewish female from a nice suburb. I’m a bit nerdy and prefer to hang out with guys.
I’m undecided about what I want to do with my future, but the current highly tentative idea is to double major in economics and psych/neuroscience while also exploring engineering to see if that’s a path I might end up switching to. A huge pre-thank you to everyone who reads this and replies 
Without further ado:
UMiami pros (admitted to business school’s academic scholars program):
6000 students smaller than UMass, has received many accolades for their undergraduate teaching
I like the campus a bit better, though both are reasonably nice
I’m under the impression that Farmer Business School is better than Isenberg. I’m also a direct admit to the business school, which is not the case at UMass Amherst.
Engineering program seems to be at least decent (though someone correct me if I’m wrong).
The academic scholars program: basically, it gives me access to honors dorms and honors classes, but without the extra academic requirements of honors. Instead, there are more opportunities to interact with professors and outside of class activities, which could make it easier to make connections, get internships, learn cool things, etc
UMiami cons:
Location: the 3 major areas around Oxford are Cincinnati, Columbus, and Indianapolis. However, the 30 or so minutes surrounding the campus are empty, which I’m worried could make it difficult to find internships without extensive off-campus travel and may lead to feeling a bit isolated.
The campus itself is nice, but the surrounding area is pretty empty and depressed.
I currently have full-tuition scholarship (and a Pell Grant, but not relevant to this) to the school. However, it’s only good for up to 8 semesters, so there’s no wiggle room if I really need an extra semester to double major or whatnot. Maybe if it was just an extra semester I could do it, but OOS is a lot of money so I’m assuming 4 years would basically be my graduation cutoff. I doubt this will happen, but it’s something to keep in the back of my mind.
Greek life - I know it’s not dominant, etc etc. But I’m really not a Greek person, have 0 intention of rushing, and don’t want to be in a place where there’s tons and tons of Greek presence.
UMass Amherst pros (I’m in the honors programs):
Cost is a result of in-state tuition, the Pell Grant, and some financial aid, so if I needed an extra semester or year it’d be feasible (heck, even with no aid, it’d still be feasible).
It’s hard to get a reading on the differences between the engineering schools, though I’m under the impression UMass has the slight edge (Again, correct me if I’m wrong). Isenberg is also a competent business school.
Location: Amherst, IMO, is a better college town than Oxford, with stuff continually nearby.
The 5-college consortium provides a bit of variety
Honors program gives some extra academic opportunities
UMass cons (basically, opposites of the UMiami pros):
Size: 22000 vs. Miami’s 16000
Don’t like the campus as much.
Not a direct admit to the business school. I’m confident I could maintain the grades to transfer, but its never a guarantee. I’m currently in their college of arts and sciences.
Other:
Distance is not a factor, but if something does happen, it’s a 2-hour drive from UMass vs. a 2-hour flight from UMiami.
I like the academic-scholars thing at Miami more than the honors program at UMass.
The location difference is really my biggest hangup. I’m currently leaning towards Miami, but like I said before, the surrounding area’s not great and there’s only a few cities nearby, while UMass Amherst has Boston nearby as well as the surrounding Northeastern cities to look for jobs/internships in (sorry if a regional bias is creeping in, I won’t deny it may be).
tl;dr Leaning towards Miami University-Ohio but UMass’ big advantage is its geographic location.
Thank you to anyone who gives feedback.