<p>Basically a school that I’ve been seriously considering (even after sending my deposit to another school) - is a lower tier public university that I received a full ride to; a lot of kids in my school consider it a joke (despite it being a 100% legitimate state funded research university)… When I mention it in conversation, people automatically say; “Ugh, my worst nightmare would be to go there” or “all the people I know who go there hate it.” </p>
<p>A big part of it has to do with it being a commuter school; so there isn’t the whole “college experience” aspect to it - another part of it is how open the admissions are - basically anyone with a valid transcript, a 2.0+ GPA, and a pulse can get in… </p>
<p>My issue is that the students who continuously bad mouth it are also students who aren’t even particularly strong students (or at least their college decisions don’t reflect as much) - the same kids who were shut out of virtually every private school in MA with an acceptance rate of 50% or less (BU, Northeastern, Brandeis, Tufts, BC, etc.) are suddenly far too good to go to UMass… </p>
<p>Kind of bums me out - I was talking to one of my teachers and she mentioned the school and a girl piped up “Preamble, are you actually considering going there? But you got into Northeastern for crying out loud!” - The girl who said this has less than a 2.5 GPA and a 1380 on the SAT (CR/M/W)… </p>
<p>I know I shouldn’t let others opinions bother me but when you’re a senior amidst college decision season - prestige and ego seem to take center stage… </p>
<p>Thoughts/Advice? </p>
<p>Well, I think it would be quite…foolish…to say that prestige has no effect on the matter. Perhaps northeastern or a more well-known school would have some benefits over the school you are considering in terms of jobs/internships/etc.</p>
<p>However, it’s very likely that the people who are badmouthing it are only doing so because they essentially HAVE to go there and they feel like having a choice is better, regardless of where you actually go. (like the Rutgers mentality for NJ kids)</p>
<p>@foolish - While I realize that schools like Brandeis and Northeastern are going to offer me opportunities that UMass Boston won’t - I thought it would be more …foolish to take out huge loans to attend a school like Northeastern when prestige of undergrad has no bearing on graduate school (law school specifically.) </p>
<p>The <em>best</em> option that these students have is UMass Amherst - which is the flagship. While higher ranked then UMB, the way that they talk about the two (praising Amherst, condemning Boston) would make it seem as though they’re Harvard bound… </p>
<p>I wouldn’t change, especially since you already deposited. If so many people say the school is bad, there must be some truth to it.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about it. High school kids’ opinions of colleges are usually based on stereotypes rather than facts…people have this weird idea that any private school is better than any state school. </p>
<p>
If someone were a lot smarter than me I’d probably encourage them to go to a better school than what I’d choose for myself. It sort of sounds like a failed attempt at a compliment.</p>
<p>@dextrous - Their perception of UMass Boston being bad stems from how it isn’t as selective as other schools and how there are no dorms - more than half of the Massachusetts State Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives graduated from UMB - along with the current head of the EPA, a Pulitzer Prize photographer for National Geographic, Joe Kennedy II, and former Boston mayor Thomas Menino – they, at least in my opinion, are not making analytical and in depth criticisms of the school itself as an institution - it seems to me that the biggest turn off is that there are no dorms so they can’t get away from their parents if they choose to go there. </p>
<p>Your decision is basically whether or not the difference between Northeastern and UMB is worth the cost of attending Northeastern and paying off loans. Have you made that decision?</p>
<p>I feel your pain; I gave up the prestige of my former university in order to change my major, I moved with my family to a different state, and there is literally one option here that is both affordable and accredited, and it is an unranked state school. It certainly plays tricks on your mind when you have to make that kind of decision. But student debt plays even worse tricks on your mind.</p>
<p>This is when it pays to major in something that opens opportunities for a lot of self-directed work, and after a few years of experience, a degree just becomes a checkbox on a resume that is overshadowed by things you brag about actually doing with your degree.</p>