The University of Massachusetts - Amherst

The school has far more negatives than positives. The area called "the Pioneer Valley" is beautiful nature wise, the view out of my dorm window last year was amazing. There are alot of student clubs but considering the size of the school there is little student interest in them. Also, UMass offers a huge amount of majors. Even though the school is in a very rural area there is an ok amount of stuff to do off campus that is accessable by the free bus system. Although bringing a car makes life easier it isn't basically neccessary like some rural colleges.

Now all the bad stuff. The school is continuously facing budget problems due to lack of state funding, resulting in a number of problems. Classes are huge in the 200-500 student range. I have had a total of 5 classes that were not large lectures in the 3 semesters I have been here. Large lectures with semi-ok instructors plus discussions taught by undergrads makes for far less than stimulating classes. There seems to be a big turnover with instructors as well making it difficault to contact them ater if need be. Classes fill up quickly and can be scheduled at any time so getting a god schedule of classes that you need to take can be problematic. This results in many of the students not graduating for five years.

Administration is awful, expect to stand in line for hours and be greeted by rude people if you need to deal with financial payment issues. It is difficault to get straight answers from departments about pre requisites for classes, how to apply to be in a specific major, etc. You may get a different response from each person you talk to about anything. Housing assignments may not be the same as you were told, etc. The campus is full of political tension; the student government doesn't get along with the dean of students, students are frequently protesting and getting ignored etc. etc.

I am always searching for the diverse student body university brags about. The majority of people here seem to be the frat/serority type. General student conversation tends to revolve around being drunk the night or weekend before. Students personalities are very seperated by the living areas they are in. Also students here seem to stay away from the real world with anyone who has any goals in life is planning on going to grad school and only coming here because it is inexpensive and others who just have no clue or don't care about their futures.

Student life is a problem because even though a large amount of students stay on the weekends they have little desire to do anything but stay in their dorm and get drunk. (I live in the supposed dorms for geeks too) Bathroom floors frequently are covered in vomit not because they are not cleaned but because students are simply getting drunk so often. Parties at the frats or in dorms are dull as they are full of the same type of students wanting nothing but getting drunk. Drug use on campus is popular. The school has some on campus events such as comedian performances and movie nights but they are attended by few. The campus is described as a city in a rural setting, but only expect for it to be busting with people and excitement durring the middle of weekdays when casses are in sesion. If you actually like to study (most don't seem to) that is difficault since the dorms are loud and the library is far less than comfortorble and modern.I came to UMass not because of the low in state tuition or because I couldn't get in anywhere else but because I wanted to. I came in with an open mind excited about my college choice but now nobody can convince me UMass is a great place. I feel like my instate tuition price which is continually going up, is still far too much for the quality of education. I am transfering after 3 semesters. It was stupid for me not to leave after the first as i'll have alot of catching up to do to make up for my time at UMass. I will miss my friends but not UMass. Stay away from Umass Amherst!

1st Year Male -- Class 2007

Extracurricular Activities: B+, Education Quality: F

UMass Amherst is a huge place that has lots of different people, programs, pretty much everything. I have not been at the Univeristy as long as some, i am a Freshman but I feel I have enough experience under my belt to give prospective students a good overview of my experiences and just how this place stacks up with other schools out there. I will try and go over as much as possible to help all of you out there trying to make your decisions.

Price- I am an instate student therefore the price is very reasonable. If you are an out of state resident the price still really isnt all that bad compared to many private universites and colleges.

Academics- Everyone tells me that UMass is such a great place, having many top programs. I myself am in the percieved top program in the school. Business. The Isenberg School of Management is a brand new building that when you step into it its almost like not being at UMass. Its a top notch facility and i believe the education from it is good. Other programs such as engineering and communication are also pretty good. Other then that it's pretty hard to find a program worth coming here over. Most other schools programs in those departments are better. Most classes are 200 plus student lectures which can be overwhelming to some. There are also smaller discussion classes which are usually in the 20-40 range.

Staff- Professors as you might expect vary. Many are helpful and open to talk to you about anything you may need. Some on the other hand could care less about your needs, and can be downright rude toward students. Many professors have their own agendas that they seem to push on to you which gets a little old. Overall though i think the group of professors here is fine. TA's teach select discussion classes and usually grade for bigger lectures, these students are usually the best of their departments and i havent run across any TA problems myself or heard of any yet with others.

Food-Pretty terrible. Sometimes you dont even know what your getting. Seems to make a lot of people sick and is a cause of discontent among students. There are other places around campus to get food such as in Amherst or NorthHampton where you can find many top notch resturants.

Campus Beauty- A bunch of concrete buildings haphasrdly placed along campus, buildings dont have a matching flow to them at all. There are open spacious areas near dorms and there is also a gorgeous pond in the center of campus.

Dorms- Not the worst, not the best. You can tell they've seen their share of age, with some things that are broken (shower heads, sinks, furniture). The housing staff does do a spectacular job in keeping the places as clean as possible. Showers are pretty scary and some of the rooms are pretty small. A major plus is having high speed internet and cable.

Parking-Yes everyone can have a car on campus if wanted, even freshman. Parking is tight and they seem to overbook the parking lots. I've found difficulty in finding a spot in my assigned lot due to this problem. Cars are randomly towed and the fines are hard. There is a free busing system however that can take you where you need to get to.

Sports-There seems to be plenty of enthusiasm for our Football team but not as much for any other sport. There are club teams and some select intramural teams.

Clubs-A lot of the clubs are very similar and thus redundant. There are a number of clubs however and they range from Computer Gaming to Knitting to Ultimate Frisbee.

Social Life- Here is where I find to be the biggest problem with my time here. As someone who is not a pothead, boozehound there seems to be almost nothing to do. Parties can be found almost any night, whether it be at the various fraternaties and sororities or in the dorms or even off campus. Alcohol and drugs are readily available here and if you are not in to this sort of thing you may feel uneasy since their use is so prevalant everywhere you seem to be. The school plans events such as guest speakers and concerts, movie nights which are sparsley attended.

Student Body- A huge melting pot. You have your inner city kids, you have your New York, New Jersey kids, stoners, athletes, nerds. Unfourtanatley on the long walks to class many people will not even bother to make eye contact or say hi, most people seem in their own little world. There are friendly people its just hard to pick them out in a crowded place. You can see someone one day and never see them again.

I came to UMass with pretty high expectations from what I had heard from other people. I applied to many other high quality institutions such as Northeastern and Boston University and even turned some down that i got into because of the percieved value aspect that UMass offered. I would not reccomend people to come here unless they love to drink/smoke, enjoy awful food, crowded classes, long walks to class, and zero individual attention.

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Perceived Campus Safety: A, Individual Value: F