Know about these schools?

questbest · 11-05-2009, 08:55 PM

Please let me know all about Towson. My D is thinking of going. Thanks!

questbest · 11-05-2009, 08:57 PM

My D is considering UDEL. Any feedback is appreciated. She's interested in speech Pathology/linguistics. Thanks!

questbest · 11-05-2009, 08:59 PM

My D is considering UMASS. If you know anyone who goes please share. My D is interested in speech pathology. Is UMASS a fun schooll socially and is the work manageable? Thanks!

questbest · 11-05-2009, 09:02 PM

My D is considering Ithaca and is looking for a fun social environment, friendly kids, manageable workload? Please share what you know. Thanks!

questbest · 11-05-2009, 09:04 PM

my D is considering SUNY Binghamton. She's looking for a fun social scene, friendly kids, and manageable workload. Please share what you know. Thanks!

momof3sons · 11-05-2009, 09:56 PM

Hi questbest,
I've noticed that you've made a number of these threads asking about different colleges. You can find info about these different schools by going directly to the threads for the different schools. Often, there are parents and current students on the individual college threads who can answer questions. For example, see SUNY at Binghamton - College Confidential Right under the Parents Forum and Parent Cafe, there are links for an Alphabetical list of colleges and universities as well as specialized forums for Liberal Arts colleges, Ivy League schools, etc. Good luck with your search.

TheDad · 11-05-2009, 10:47 PM

My D went to nearby Smith College, part of the same consortium as UMass.

By all accounts:

is it fun socially? Not for nothing is it known as Zoo Mass.

is the work manageable? Yes, otherwise they couldn't spend as much time having fun. Would win the "least challenging" of the Five Colleges hands down, though it's also the largest by far.

taxguy · 11-05-2009, 11:16 PM

What would you like to know? My son graduated from there in accounting about three years ago.

downtoearth · 11-05-2009, 11:32 PM

The kids i know who go love it. One was waitlisted at harvard and got into other schools, is in the commonwealth college and is challanged.

midmo · 11-05-2009, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Would win the "least challenging" of the Five Colleges hands down,

There is absolutely no question that some majors at UMass are far more challenging than some majors at Hampshire College.

Blanket statements about large institutions that offer many different programs of study are usually not very useful, or accurate.

EPTR · 11-06-2009, 12:01 AM

My D is a junior and loves it. We have endured many "Zoo Mass" comments and state school directed snobbery but it is worth it when we see the great experience that our D is having and, since we are in state, at a bargain price. My D is a fine arts major and also enrolled in the Commonwealth College Honors program. She is minoring in Education and plans to apply to the Education post bac program at UMASS. Her courses have been challenging. Fine Arts is a demanding major and very time consuming (I'm biased as I went to art school, as well). Her advisors have been attentive and her teachers are available. I will say, though, that she is the type of person who seeks out the help that she needs and takes advantage of available resources....a good trait for a student at a large university (whether public or private).

There is always plenty to do there. Last weekend they had Jay-Z in concert on campus and last spring she saw David Sedaris. My D does not appear to be a big partier and still manages to find plenty to do on campus and in the surrounding towns of Amherst and Northampton. Good luck!

kathiep · 11-06-2009, 07:06 AM

Our next door neighbors son graduated from there last year. He was a B student in High School but graduated with honors from Towson. He loved it and went on a study abroad to a semester in Rome. I visited the campus with my oldest son and thought it was really nice. My son was accepted there but the cost was higher for him as an oos student then were some of the private colleges where he was also accepted.

jyber209 · 11-06-2009, 07:48 AM

My D, an '06 Smith College grad, spent some time at U Mass (attending productions, ice skating, etc.) when she was in college in the area, and also did a January term program that was co-run by a prof at Smith and a prof from U Mass. (The January experience was in Peru but as a follow-up there was a weekly seminar held at U Mass.) While my D had found her ideal "fit" at Smith, she still felt that U Mass had good some things to offer.

It turned out that after college, and in another geographic area, she started dating a guy who happened to have done his undergrad at U Mass; his family was Boston-based. He had been a chem major and pre-med (ended up going to med school). While at U Mass he was definitely NOT a partier and participated in several musical groups while also studying very hard.

So I concur with those who say that, especially at a large flagship state university, you can find significant variety in both the student body lifestyle and the academic experience.

BCEagle91 · 11-06-2009, 08:00 AM

A friend's son chose UMASS over WPI. He was a freshman last year. He scored an internship this past summer at one of the world's biggest technology companies doing software engineering.

cadbury · 11-06-2009, 08:03 AM

I did my graduate work at UMass/Amherst. After being at a small college for four years, it really was a major culture shock for me. Last time I looked, there were approximately 24,000 undergrad students plunked down in the middle of the mostly rural and bucolic Pioneer Valley. The sheer size of UMass can be daunting to some students. As others have noted, a student at UMass has access to virtually every resource that a college student could want or even imagine. HOWEVER, as EPTR suggests, he/she must have the curiosity and motivation to seek those things out.

The UMass campus itself is not that attractive. In fact, it regularly appears on Princeton Review's list of 10 ugliest campuses. (I personally think that's a little overstated.) But on the plus side, on any given day it has a plethora of concerts, speakers, films, etc. In addition, it has access to all the events sponsored by the other members of the Five College Consortium (Smith, Amherst, Mt Holyoke, Hampshire). There are several FREE bus lines running between the colleges and to the outlying towns. There is a wonderful student run daily newspaper. There is plenty to do in the surrounding area for people who like outdoor sports like hiking, xc skiing, etc. And finally, Amherst and Northampton are very cool college towns.