<p>Does anyone know anything about UMass? If you know anything(good or bad post about it here). Im thinking of applying to it and would like to know how good/bad of a university it is. Also realize that i am out of state(live in Ny).</p>
<p>I have heard that the campus is UGLY and very concrete looking and large, and that the students are not intellectual at all.</p>
<p>UMass= Zoomass</p>
<p>i know a lot about umass amherst, and can answer specific questions.</p>
<p>disclosure: i'm founding president of the alliance of disgruntled students and alumni, a umass organization.</p>
<p>here's a report:</p>
<p>AESTHETICS: pretty dreadful overall. there are some nice individual buildings, but no architectural unity. the pretty buildings are from 200 years ago, and there are some modern buildings that are decent. but much of the campus, including many of the most prominent and visible buildings, was built up in the '50's and '60's, when aesthetics seem to have been abandoned. there are some green spots on campus, but they're not very well maintained, and there isn't enough overall greenery to make it a pleasant-looking campus.</p>
<p>on the plus side, the campus and the surrounding areas can be very beautiful in the fall.</p>
<p>ALLERGIES: don't even think about coming here if you suffer from allergies. i know people who never even knew they had allergies until they moved here. it's probably some combination of the humidity, the fact that we're in a valley, and the absence of strong winds to clear the air up that the allergy situation is so bad.</p>
<p>WEATHER: i don't find the winters that bad, but i'm from canada. summers, on the other hand, are horrible. humidity is much worse here than anywhere else i've lived. spring and fall are pleasant.</p>
<p>DIVERSITY & POLITICS: umass used to have a reputation as a diverse and welcoming place. those days are over, as support programs for students (including cultural programs and family programs) are being dismantled as part of the administration's efforts to corporatize the university. admissions have been reoriented towards wealthier students from out of state. top administrators make remarks offensive to black and poor students, and quite openly declare that umass is off-limits to poor people. as quality decreases, fees are increasing, to the point where the school is becoming less and less accessible to middle-income people, never mind low-income. my black friends are urging their younger siblings not to come to umass. for more, google "umass diversity" and take a look at the transcripts of testimony to the diversity commission. and read the summary of the commission's report, keeping in mind that the university is not acting on most of its recommendations.</p>
<p>this place <em>is</em>, however, welcoming to LGBT students. nearby northampton is the lesbian capital of the united states - we don't call it the happy valley for nothing.</p>
<p>umass is <em>not</em> a very accessible place for people with mobility-related disability. too many of the buildings on campus are old and not up to code. in the student union building, people in wheelchairs can get to the lower level only by taking the freight elevator, which is inconvenient and often unavailable. some academic buildings have no access at all.</p>
<p>conservatives will not find much of a community at umass. there are few republicans, and virtually all the politically active conservative students are not very bright.</p>
<p>many details about umass politics here: <a href="http://www.takebackumass.com/home.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.takebackumass.com/home.html</a></p>
<p>COSTS: high and rising quickly. umass amherst is the 7th most expensive campus of a public university in the US. the new housing units are supposed to be in the $700/month range - way more than comparable housing off-campus - but i'd be surprised if it's not higher by the time the dorms open in the fall. vaguely-named fees like the "curriculum fee" and the "service fee" keep rising, too. nobody knows what they pay for.</p>
<p>CRIME & SECURITY: the sentiment around here is that the recent ABC report which named umass amherst the most violent campus in the US was unfair. i tend to agree - i think crimes here are more likely to be reported and tabulated than in some other places. don't get me wrong - there is crime and violence, especially in the southwest residential area.</p>
<p>the degree to which students are monitored here is ridiculous. the FBI has an agent on campus, who monitors students, faculty and staff. there are security cameras everywhere. measures thyat we expect to take place soon include random bag searches of people entering dorm buildings, and random room searches. </p>
<p>the administration published a completely unreasonable picketing code about a year ago, which is so unconstrained that it could be used to expel a student for speaking too loudly.</p>
<p>VICE CHANCELLOR OF STUDENT AFFAIRS MICHAEL GARGANO: this guy is a piece of work. he is a mascot of sorts - the most hated person on campus, and very deservedly so. among other things: he is widely alleged to have physically assaulted students during the baseball playoff riots of 2003. he is illiterate (check out a sample of his dissertation: <a href="http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/preview/3006923);%5B/url%5D">http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/preview/3006923);</a> some quotes atributed to him: "if umass wanted black students, we would buy black students like we buy basketball players"; "umass needs less old navy and more abercrombie and fitch"; "umass is not a state university. it's a federal university".</p>
<p>ACADEMICS: there are some outstanding faculty and departments. many of the humanities and social sciences are strong, such as economics (one of the very few american econ departments that challenge capitalist orthodoxies), women's studies, afro-am, and comparative literature. engineering and business are strong too. the linguistics and polymer science grad programs are among the best in the country.</p>
<p>another nice thing about umass is that it's right near four very good liberal arts colleges, where umass students can take many classes for credit: amherst, hampshire, smith and mt. holyoke. </p>
<p>STUDENTS: there's a culture of mediocrity and entitlement among umass undergrads. i've taught several classes here and i have talked to others who have taught, and our experiences are pretty similar. students are much less engaged with their studies than at other places we've taught. there's not much intellectual curiosity. there's serious grade inflation, and students often feel entitled to good grades, even if they have not made a serious effort in class. i'm a pretty easygoing teacher who doesn't give out grades lower than C to students who show up to class and do the work, and who gives out B's for rudimentary understanding of the material, and i found myself giving out many low grades.</p>
<p>check out the school newspaper, the massachusetts daily collegian, for examples of mediocre writing. the student body seems to largely consist of students who have had plenty of opportunities in life but have not made much of them. i suspect that umass is largely populated by students with a strong sense of entitlement for whom this school is a safety, and who are not too happy to be here. which is a shame, because this place has potential. in years past, umass was a place where many people from working class backgrounds got their shot at getting a good education, and there used to be a lot of school pride. not anymore.</p>
<p>don't get me wrong: some of the finest people i know are umass undergrads, attracted by the school's reputation as a place where students take initiative and academics are strong. but they are the exception, not the rule, and as the university deteriorates, they will become more and more exceptional.</p>
<p>I transferred from there to Tufts best thing I ever did!! Maybe as a junior things are different but I was a number, never knew professors, didn't learn a thing but got all A's. One class you didn't have to go if you were OK with your grade half way through the year, I took my A and didn't return after midterms. I did live in the quad as dorms are smaller and more intimate then the high rises in the southwest. I have friends who did well in life from there who went on to get masters and PhD's but I would not send my kids there. However, my kids are attracted to small, discussion based classes, knowing their professors, having mentors etc. Just my 2 cents worth.</p>
<p>rhomat,
How practical is it to take courses at the other colleges in the Consortium, as it's not walkable distance between the campuses? I presume you would have to block off the hour before and after for travel? Do UMass students take advantage of that in general?</p>
<p>goblue,</p>
<p>public transport is excellent during school hours. i don't think umass students take enough advantage of the consortium. the students from the other colleges seem to make more use of it. it's about 5 minutes by bus to amherst, 15 to hampshire, 35 minutes to smith, probably about the same to mt. holyoke.</p>
<p>this brings up another topic: parking. parking sucks at umass. you can live in a dorm and have to park your car a 10-minute walk away. at night, that 10-minute walk could be through a poorly-lit, not well-travelled area.</p>
<p>the campus is brutal..I would never want to go there, dead serious.</p>
<p>Hey im from the small town of Northbridge Massachusetts. We graduate about 150 kids each year and at least 15 of them attend umass amherst. Umass has a lot of people their but it is just like a big version of those small towns. Basically, their is nothing to do within miles and your in the middle of no where so kids just drink and drink and drink. It was rated #9 on party schools, and #1 on dangerous school (4 high rises didnt help). You can get a great education but many kids get too bored and join the parties. Depends on what you want from college.</p>
<p>What? There was another baseball fracas? The administration must have minimized all official reports of it. I've been weary of UM-Amherst since the ugly 1986 World Series related mob brawl (near riot, some say) on campus. UM-Darthmout is looking better all the time.</p>
<p>To be fair about the general situation at the place, the state legislature of Massachusetts has severely diminished its financial support of the U of M system in recent years.</p>
<p>I know about 20 kids who go to UMass, and at least 5 of them failed out/are in danger of failing out, and they have only completed their fall frosh semester. Lots of kids can't handle the schoolwork and partying.</p>
<p>it's true that much of the decline of umass can be blamed on reduced state support. legislators seem satisfied to let the state coast on the reputation of its private schools. but the campus administration is doing an atrocious job, as well. the contempt for students is palpable, and feeds into things like riotous behavior.</p>
<p>You didn't say why you picked UMass out of all the schools in the area. A lot of students who are residents of Mass. far prefer the other prominent state universities in New England (Universitites of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut). All of them are smaller and prettier than UMass, and you hear lots of good things about them--especially U of Vermont and U of New Hampshire. If you're out of state, why not check them out?</p>
<p>I think you're all being a little hard on UMass. I've lived in Amherst my whole life, and I think it's a lovely place. The neighboring town of Northampton is amazing, as well. UMass is a walkable distance from Amherst College (1 mile) and there is free bus transportation to the other colleges. There is a huge wealth of course offerings, I have taken a bunch of classes there and all of my UMass professors have been lovely. Now, of course UMass has issues, as with any large underfunded state school, but it's not the black pit that many of you are making it out to be.</p>
<p>i agree - the faculty are generally quite good - there just aren't enough of them. i chose umass because of its top notch graduate program in linguistics, and i would recommend to undergrads interested in linguistics that they put up with all the crap and go to umass. i also recommend it to people interested in radical approaches to economics, political theory and sociology. i understand engineering and computer sciences are decent here too. but if you don't know what you're studying, or you're into humanities or fine arts, go elsewhere.</p>
<p>how's the honors program (comm. college)? i just got accepted there.</p>
<p>congratulations. don't know much about comm coll. but i know that it's funded by a separate line item from the state legislature, so it's shielded somewhat from the ups and downs of administrative arbitrariness. the sense i get is that comm coll students get a bit of the VIP treatment, but maybe not as much as you might expect.</p>