So I’m a rising senior in high school looking at colleges. I am considering going to UMass Amherst, but don’t know which dorm I should live in. I’m the type of person who wants to get my work done when it should be done and still have some fun by playing pool, hanging out with friends, and partaking in clubs. While I am social, I’m not the type of student who parties, so I don’t want to live in a dorm where I can’t sleep for hours at a time due to someone’s party. However, other social things would be nice. What would be the place you’d recommend for me?
It also depends on what you anticipate your major to be as some are closer/further from your classes… I went there and my S is a Sr econ/sports mgmnt dual degree candidate. He lived in SW low rises even though I advised staying away from SW (especially the towers)
SW is so densely populated that even though many people there won’t be “party animals”, it is more difficult to escape that culture than elsewhere. Most freshman are at SW, in my experience. You may like Sylvan (out of the way on the edge of campus but there’s enough people that live there that you could build a community or, as I advise, just use your dorm for sleeping and showering and otherwise socialize elsewhere) as if you’re looking for quiet, that is where you will get it. If you were to get into the honors college, they have incredibly nice dorms and I think you would like it there. Center seems to be a happy medium of everything, from what I have heard, but I honestly haven’t heard enough to formulate an opinion.
I am also a rising senior so I cannot speak to the options you will have as a freshman but my close friend is just finishing up there and I have visited her for a few weekends.
I picked Orchard Hill, because there are parties there, so you can participate in them if you want to, but it’s not as much of a party area as Southwest is. Central is like that as well. If you want something with fewer parties than Central or Orchard Hill, look at Northeast and Sylvan. Avoid Southwest.
With all due respect, why not wait until you’re accepted to worry about dorm choice?