<p>UMass Amherst is not the only UMass college in the system. Depending on her interests, perhaps one of the other state schools would be a better choice. </p>
<p>I’m from MA, and I know the stereotypes that I hear from the kids:
-“Zoo Mass” - big, and a party school
Just dumb kids go there
Middle of nowhere, nothing to do</p>
<p>Try to find out what her concerns are - if she’s interested in being a more urban setting, there’s UMass Lowell and UMass Boston. </p>
<p>If she’s not willing to share her concerns, then going the path of explaining what your contribution can be is the way to go. “We can afford X. Let’s look at what it would cost to go to UMass, XXX, YYY, and ZZZ”. Ah the sweet logic of reality.</p>