@ConfusedMominMA @powerdad - I would strongly recommend choosing one of the dorms in the “Northeast” area of campus as an alternative option. They have a mix or honors and normal students and most of the students are a mix pre-med or engineering majors so all of them are usually quite strong academically. Also these are the oldest dorms on campus and they are renovated so I guess you could say they feel very “Ivy League”. Anyway, I just wanted to put some extra options out there. 
PS- here’s a pic (http://■■■■■■■.com/mltxdgh) also, here’s some extra details: (http://www.housing.umass.edu/reshall/northeast.html)