<p>what is there to do around UMASS? do the students at UMASS and amherst generally cross paths and have the same hangouts? general feelings about umass....?</p>
<p>I hated UMass... period.</p>
<p>Don't go, it's not with your time. You are better.</p>
<p>I go to Amherst, and I think there's A LOT to do in the town of Amherst and the surrounding area. If you want me to elaborate I can.</p>
<p>I don't cross paths with UMass students much. There are one or two in my classes each semester. UMass students crowd out Amherst's library around finals week. And their student population is all over the place. But if you wanted to take classes at Amherst, or any of the other colleges in the 5-College consortium, you could, and UMass students do take advantage of it. </p>
<p>Oh, just remembered. My roommate does tend to frequent UMass parties... but that's not the norm.</p>
<p>General feelings... it's called ZooMass for a reason, but I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to take a class there if it seems really compelling.</p>
<p>thanks so much!!!! i think i will most likley end up at umass</p>
<p>if u wanna really study,UMass is not the best place.i hated this place.and more so,its in a rural town.unless u wanna get to ne york,which is two hours away,or hartford.</p>
<p>New York is 3 hrs away. Boston is 1.5 to 2 hrs away. (What's in Hartford?) There are a lot of parties there, but if you want an education at UMass and you can focus, you can get a lot out of it. I would say UMass Amherst is a place you'd go to party, but it has the Five College Consortium, which makes it better than the other UMasses. </p>
<p>I don't know why people who've gone to UMass on this board are giving negative feedback--perhaps they're directing it towards the school, but the town of Amherst itself is a fabulous college town and I love it.</p>
<p>woot yay more umass posts thanks soo much. i just like to hear that some people like umass since i will prob go. YAY</p>
<p>heyy questioner i just got in yesterday! have you heard back yet?? i think i am going to go there to.... do you no what you want to major in yet???</p>
<p>UMass makes a lot of bad first impressions, but if you're resourceful, with an open mind, and self-directed, you can make the place work for you. The freshman attrition rate is horrible, but this can work to your advantage.</p>
<p>First, if you want to study, you might need to live off-campus. Choose pre-meds and engineers for roommates. Friday and Saturday nights are great for holing up in the library--plenty of empty seats.</p>
<p>For fun, there are club, intramural, and off-campus sports, like rugby, ski patrol, aviation and gliding, outing club, equestrian, cycling, running, martial arts, livestock classic, you get the idea. There are school publications, religious and cultural groups, political groups, theater groups, musical groups, arts groups, and, of course, the Greeks. Many of the traveling cultural events that pass through Boston, Hartford, and New York stop at Amherst. The bar scene is not up to Boston, but hell, you're here to study. Go to a Smith mixer--if you're charming and fairly sober you can have a blast.</p>
<p>The thing about UMass is that it's easy to get lost. Find out what you like to do and find some other people doing it. Don't forget to declare a major, and visit your professors and advisors often. Don't hole up in a suite with a bunch of freshmen, and don't try to outdrink the kids from Boston.</p>
<p>i got into umass. i'm gonna go visit sometime soon. i might go.</p>
<p>Congratulations, SkiingIsFun.</p>
<p>I might add that UMass maintains a free bus system that hits all parts of the campus and most off-campus housing areas that aren't served by the 5-college system. 5-college, of course, connects Amherst, South Hadley, South Amherst, and Noho. It's free, too.</p>
<p>going to umass!!!!!!!</p>
<p>To correct an inaccurate statement above, UMass Amherst does not have a "horrible" freshman attrition rate at all. It never ceases to amaze me how people so often post completely inaccurate statements about schools on these boards without even bothering to check them. I don't know if they just "heard it somewhere" and never bothered to check or outright made it up but I think there should be a bit more effort made towards accuracy, personally.</p>
<p>Anyway, the average freshman retention rate for schools in the US is in the 75% range. Over the past 8 years or so, UMass' freshman retention rate has been in the 82% - 84% range, which is much better than the national average. So not only is the attrition rate not horrible, it is actually quite good.</p>
<p>I also got into the Commonwealth College and im going on the 26th to visit.</p>