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?
Hi @slgraham. Wow, no question…UMass Commonwealth Honors College is a slam dunk! Not only is the CHC new campus, and their dorms, gorgeous (not sure why you would ever rate UVM dorms better as the freshman dorms are so comfortable and did you see the upper classman suites?), but the program is excellent and very competitive to be invited to join (average 4.2 gpa and very high test scores required). It’s fairly prestigious.
Also, the political science department at UMass is outstanding, great profs! CHC and your major combined creates a much smaller community and feel on a larger campus. Basically, size is a non-issue and actually provides great opportunity and many options for clubs and activities too.
And, if you’re taking rankings into consideration, UMass has a higher ranking and the investment going on there is tremendous. Also, the towns of Amherst (walkable from campus) and North Hampton are really cute and fun. You must consider UMass, it has many many advantages. If you want further information you can PM me. Good luck.