I have recently been accepted into the honors programs at both The University of Vermont and The University of Massachusetts Amherst. The aid I received from these school means that the costs will be the same. I was just curious as to whether there were any opinions out there about which of these schools is a better choice. I applied as an Undecided major to both schools, but am leaning in a social sciences direction (anthropology? human development? political science? etc- something to do with people) with a studio art double major or minor. I attended the accepted students day at UVM recently and it feels like a really good school for me- I do fit in with the “hippie” vibe of the school and Burlington in general, and I am pretty passionate about skiing and being outside so VT is appealing. Right now UMass is seeming very big at nearly three times the size of UVM and with a bigger percentage of students in the honors college. Better dorms at UVM as well (suites vs. traditional halls at UMass.) Does anyone have any input or anything about UMass that I am missing that I should be considering? What are its advantages?
There must be quite a price difference? I’d go for the one where I was a state resident.
my D is accepted at UVM and quite likes it, but one thing to consider about UMass Amherst is the 5 college consortium,
you can take courses at Amherst, Hampshire, Smith and Mt Holyoke. https://www.fivecolleges.edu/ My understanding is that Amherst is well regarded for the social sciences and Hampshire has a unique teaching method with some good arts offerings. Riding a bus between campuses may not be the greatest, but the distances are not far. You’ve got 2 good choices - good luck!
My son was accepted at both, though not honors. UVM has been his first choice, but we are coming to the conclusion that it’s not worth the extra money it would cost in our case for several reasons, but housing is a big one. The non-honors dorms are the worst of any I’ve seen on any campus and I’ve been to many both on the east and west coasts. I have heard the honors ones are nice at UVM so maybe that would make a difference. The other housing issue is that on campus housing is not guaranteed all four years. Overall, the facilities seem to be in much better condition at UMass compared to UVM. UMass also seems to have a higher rating (ie. US News and World Report) and accepts a lower percent of students so seems a bit more selective. While UVM is much smaller, it seems that first year classes can be as large as they are at UMass. The smaller size would definitely be a benefit for my son, but it seems they aren’t at UVM at least for science. So, in our case it is difficult to justify paying more. Your situation is much different though, considering the honors programs, different major, etc.