Sorry for the late replies everyone! I wasn’t bookmarked to this thread for some reason.
@powerdad - “Is housing in the CHC guaranteed for freshman, or have there been cases where it was over-subscribed by admissions? Also, I understand that birch, elm, linden and maple are reserved for sophomores, juniors and seniors, but how difficult is it to retain residency in CHC as an upperclassman (due to demand)?
Finally - how do you like CHC now that you’ve been there for over a semester?”
Nope, definitely not guaranteed. Every year, more and more Honors kids want to live in the nice dorms. So there’s more demand, less “supply”.
So, I’m currently in Sycamore. I’m going to be living in Linden next year. Everyone was given a randomly assigned “priority number”. Mine was really bad, and I definitely would not have gotten Honors housing. But, I found a group of friends to room with, and one of their numbers is 64! The group takes on the best “priority” number. So we got in 
tl;dr - make friends.
@theHoodedHood - “I am from India and I’ve been accepted to UMass for Computer Science. I’ve got into CHC as well. I just wanted to know if freshmen at CHC get a lot of research oppurtunities. Also, is it hard for international students to get internships.
Thank you very much for starting this thread and taking your time off to anwer our question. I really needed someone to help me out. Thanks again.”
Hey there! I’m not from India, but I lived in Mumbai for a few years I’m not too sure about research because I’m not too interested personally, but UMass CS is great. There’s lots of support, students are great, and professors are amazing so far. I’m CS too by the way. About international students? Again, I’m not too sure, so sorry about that. But to be honest, you don’t need to over think these things. Everything is there for you. You just need to take the initiative and grab it!
@fallenwinter - Nope, definitely not quiet and boring! You’ll find all kinds of kids. Some party hard, but all study harder 
By the way, John Adams Tower in southwest (Right next to Berk DC! <3) Is also becoming part of the Honors residential community. Just a thought.