UMass, Drexel Experiences?

ddibiase · 04-23-2008, 04:04 PM

Posted this in the 'kids' section but didn't get any action ;-) My son is interested in Chemical Engineering and is trying to decide between these two schools. I'd appreciate any experiences that your kids may have had.....

Thx, Dan D

ddibiase · 04-26-2008, 04:03 PM

Kind of surprised that there was no feedback on either of these schools.... But my son decided this am to become a 'Minuteman'! So, off to UMass goes the check!

On to the next one, starting this fall.... :-O

Dan D

paying3tuitions · 04-26-2008, 07:21 PM

Sorry to have missed your thread earlier. I'm a big fan of the Town of Amherst, along with the Five College Consortium. Encourage your S to explore all 5 colleges using the free bus shuttle. The sum is greater than the parts. He can also join in many EC's on other campuses, if he can't find everything he likes at UMass. The art is in the scheduling. Busses run often and late into the evenings. It's a great location. There's also a bus from UMass into Boston, I think daily (2 hours one-way) for special weekends. Also some kids bus or train down to NYC, not every weekend, but maybe once or twice a semester. There's so much to do right there in the Pioneer Valley, no need to run away on weekends.

From UMass, he can really walk into the center of Town of Amherst. The City of Northampton (home to Smith) has an entirely different feeling, very interesting place. Look up the Five College Events Calendar each day, not just the UMass calendar. Make the most of this great cultural offering.

Enjoy!

aj725 · 04-26-2008, 08:24 PM

I wouldn't necessarily encourage him to attend Drexel. While it has a respectable engineering program, it is a very local school. Not only are the majority of students from PA/NJ/DE, but that's also where they all end up working; it's not a school that has much name recognition outside the region. At least UMass is recognized nationwide as the state university of Mass. Also the tuition is pretty high, but the campus and facilities are not that nice -- it's a fairly unattractive urban campus.

Momneedsadvice · 04-27-2008, 09:05 AM

aj725, are you confused? UMass Amherst is big, but NOT urban - it's in Amherst, which is a small college town out in the cow fields and hills of western Mass. UMass Boston and UMass Lowell are urban.

taxguy · 04-27-2008, 10:24 AM

Check out my review of Drexel in the "College Visit" forum.

paying3tuitions · 04-27-2008, 10:54 AM

Actually, these days the college manuals label UMass at Amherst, or anything to do with Amherst, as "suburban." While it's not a boring box suburb by any means, there has been so much development East-West along Route 9. and up and down Route 91 from farms to commercial or suburban/residential that "suburban", while a stretch, is more accurate than calling the area "rural." There were some great farms around Hadley, with Class A soil, that used to grow tobacco, apples, and cows. But many sold the farms during the l980's because real estate became more valuable as developable property than as farmland. There are still farms around there, but I wouldn't call it a cow town anymore.

Yes, Umass Boston, UMass Lowell are urban. But don't expect to hear only "moo" out around Amherst/Northampton any more.

CBBBlinker · 04-27-2008, 11:24 AM

paying3 -- LOL; guess it depends on your perspective! I'm a Pioneer Valley native, and not that long ago the NY Times called that area "cow town," "sleepy," and more! When I was in HS, lots of my friends worked summers in the tobacco farms -- they hired at 14 or 15, I think.

Perhaps aj was talking about Drexel being urban?

Can't comment on Chemical Engineering at either school, but UMass has long had the reputation of being a party school and/or "zoo." (Although I guess that can be said about almost any school!)

Jolynne Smyth · 04-27-2008, 01:20 PM

Drexel has a great co-op program.

I'll bet you could check the listings of companies that participate in the co-op program & also companies that hire grads to see how national/international the reach of the school is.

tli83 · 04-27-2008, 01:33 PM

Congratulations to your son on his decision.

My brother had some contact with some of the engineering professors at UMass Amherst while he was in high school, and they were so kind to him, they really went above and beyond to give him any help and advice he wanted. I am not the greatest fan of UMass Amherst, overall, but I really can't speak highly enough of the engineering professors my brother encountered. The engineers seem to do quite well with internships, further study, and job placements too.

Jolynne Smyth · 04-27-2008, 02:55 PM

Sorry, didn't see that you'd made your decision...best of luck!

ddibiase · 04-27-2008, 05:04 PM

Momneedsadvice, I think aj725's last sentence was referring to Drexel, not UMass....

Dan D

ddibiase · 04-27-2008, 05:10 PM

Thanks, all.... Living in NJ, Amherst is certainly more 'rural' in character than Central NJ! My son really liked Amherst, and I think he will like Northampton as well - he was doing some checking on the local music scene and he said it seemed like there were some music clubs there.

I like the area as well. I spent many years in Eastern Mass and I am familiar with the Amherst area as well. I'm always happy to visit Massachusetts, and we still vacation on Cape Cod every year. All in all, I'm happy with his choice and pordered him a t-shirt and sticker for his car today!

Dan D (Go Sox!)

angelwinnielsy · 04-28-2008, 10:22 PM

I live in Mass. and it's a respected school, people speak very highly of it. I also agree with the other person about having a better job placement if he went to UMass. Plus side, the engineering program at UMass is very good! I think your son made the right choice! Good luck!!

ddibiase · 04-29-2008, 02:42 PM

Thanks, Angel!

Dan D