<p>Students’ (and parents’) perceptions of UMASS suffer a lot because of the state it is located in. With schools like Harvard, MIT, Boston College, Wellesley, Amherst, Williams, etc. it is easy to fall into the mindset that the state flagship is a lesser school. That’s unfortunate because UMASS is a great affordable option for many Massachusetts kids. As others have mentioned , the Pioneer Valley and the town of Amherst are great places to go to college from a social aspect, and with the Five College Consortium (and free regular shuttle buses connecting the colleges) the acedemic opportunities are endless. I’m sorry your daughter didn’t see it that way but good luck to her OOS school.</p>