Is New Commonwealth College a "Game-Changer" for UMass Amherst?

College Search & Lists
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<p>Will a snazzy new honors complex at the University of Massachusetts help to push the school into the ranks of the public Ivies, joining more sought-after competitors such as Michigan, Virginia, Texas, Berkeley, UCLA and UNC?</p>

<p>It’s been nearly 15 years since UMass/Amherst launched Commonwealth College, an honors college within the larger flagship university. But now Commonwealth finally has an actual home. This week, students are moving into the brand-new Commonwealth College complex, a seven-building, $185.5 million facility that includes dorms, classrooms, offices, conference rooms, and a cafe. </p>

<p>University of Massachusetts officials believe that the new campus-within-a-campus will provide top students with a greater sense of community and with stronger ties to one another and to faculty members. Daniel Gordon, Commonwealth’s acting dean, calls it a “game-changer” for UMass (See [New</a> UMass Commonwealth Honors College offers community with integrated living, classroom space | masslive.com](<a href=“http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/new_umass_commonwealth_college.html]New”>New UMass Commonwealth Honors College offers community with integrated living, classroom space - masslive.com)) </p>

<p>As a Massachusetts resident myself, I will be curious to see how the new Commonwealth complex affects college choices for current high school students from both in state and out.</p>

<p>Do other CC members think that a centralized Commonwealth College with a more visible identity could indeed be a game-changer for UMass?</p>

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<p>Offhand, I think that Commonwealth College could help attract some high level students which is always a plus for a university. However, it likely will not change the overall profile of the school. The honors college is for a small percentage of incoming freshman but it will probably not have a major impact the other 90% (or so) of the students there. IMO, UMass would need to raise the profile of the typical non-honors student to get to the same level as the schools you mentioned. Still, UMass-Amherst is a very solid state university.</p>

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<p>As a high-GPA, high ACT kid from Mass, the new CHC is a large reason why I’m applying to UMass.</p>

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<p>Barrett, the honors college at Arizona State certainly raised ASU’s stature among high-achieving students. Same thing may very well work for UMass</p>

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<p>apkid3–Good to hear. Will UMass be a front-runner for you? Have you noticed any of your friends saying the same about CHC or is it too early to tell?</p>

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<p>My DD is OOS from CA and will be applying to UMass this fall. The new CHC is definitely appealing to her, as is the reputation of Amherst, MA as a college town, though she still considers it her “safety.” Nevertheless, it could end up being a serious contender depending on where else she is accepted and financial considerations. BTW, I grew up in Mass. during the 60’s and 70’s. Although I applied to UMass and was accepted, I went OOS on the west coast and never went back. Ironically, my DD is now looking to go east.</p>

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<p>Honestly, this thread got me interested.</p>

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<p>When my oldest went through this process UMass was not very compelling … the honors program sounded OK and the new facilities sound GREAT. However the problem was a cost one … she qualified for a full tuition scholarship … which sounds great but actually isn’t. The total cost per year in-state was about $25k/yr … however tuition itself was only $2-$3k/yr … UMass has a huge academic fee that the merit scholarships did not touch (and I believe still do not touch).</p>

<p>I want UMass to be world class … but at this time you really need to read the fine print to know the deal you are getting … and it is not as good as it first sounds.</p>

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<p>They need to do a better job of advertising and selling the benefits of the honors college. Students I have known didn’t seem to grasp why they would should go for it. They thought it was just a label like making the honor roll at school :wink: The new facilities will probably help sell their case.
Also I’ve seen top Mass. students offered a *full *merit scholarship (tuition, fees, room, board) plus guaranteed internships at UMass Lowell while UMass Amherst offered the same student nothing or $2K. So UMass Amherst was not an attractive option against a free ride at UML or a private school that offered enough merit aid to make the cost similar to UMass Amherst.</p>

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<p>I have seen students who might be persuaded to attend the honors college decide against it because of the cost. The students find that they are able to get more merit money at other schools, and that this merit money makes those schools cost less than the UMass Amherst. When you combine the fact that students who have done well in MA schools can get good merit money out of state with the fact that the UMass Amherst has weaker financial aid than many private colleges, it is not a compelling choice for strong students of moderate economic means.(Meaning most of the strong students in the state.) I do know students who have really blossomed there and who have taken advantage of being able to take classes at neighboring schools, but these students were not in the honors college.</p>

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<p>Don’t some state flagship schools offer similar facilities - A college within a large university, with their own dorms, living learning communities etc.?</p>

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<p>It could be, but I predict that the State won’t allow it to flourish, if the experience in California is any indication. (Too many folks don’t believe in honors/merit.)</p>

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<p>I agree with other posters: the biggest problem is that the top, top students can get the same (or better) deal at schools that are more highly regarded. </p>

<p>As it stands, even if you get the full tuition merit scholarship, you’ll still spend about $60,000 (very roughly) on a UMass education. Why not go for a full-tuition scholarship at another school that charges less in fees?</p>

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<p>That doesn’t seem outrageous to me. That’s right in between what a CSU and a UC costs in CA for an IS student. When I did the math, an OOS student at UMass would pay around $38k/year. But if you can land a merit scholarship ($8-12k/year), it brings the COA down closer to what an IS student would pay, and for a California kid it is pretty comparable to the COA at a CSU or UC. But why, you ask, would a CA kid go to UMass rather than a CSU or UC? To get away from CA!! My DD wants the experience of going far away to college on the east coast. If she gets a merit scholarship, UMass would be an affordable option (compared to privates and other OOS publics) in what some would say is the best college town in the U.S., with an honors college that has brand new dorms and facilities.</p>

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<p>Ok. Please name one.</p>

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<p>Commonwealth College admits far too many students, and offers very little in the way of incentives or exclusives, for a fancy building to make much of a difference IMO. It doesn’t really compare well with many other Honors colleges. Something like 15% of all students are in it, this is far too many.</p>

<p>Many other honors colleges I’ve researched offer benefits such as preferential enrollment (huge at a state school), laptops, research grants, travel grants… at my D’s school, 100% of honors students get some sort of scholarship, for OOS students this includes getting IS tuition plus a substantial bite off the top of what is left all the way up to a near full-ride.</p>

<p>My S (class of 2013, 3.9/4.0 in engineering) dropped out of Commonwealth College because it wasn’t really providing him any tangible benefits, and was costing me an extra $500/year. Charging your best and brightest students <em>more</em> doesn’t seem like a winning strategy, but according to the Dean (it at least has its own dean, which is positive) the school won’t fund the programs they do have, so they have no choice but to charge more to be able to do anything.</p>

<p>So while a nice dorm can only help, I am not at all sure it will make a substantial difference.</p>

<p>YMMV.</p>

<p>And as many have discovered, the tuition/fee thing is an absolute joke. A “full tuition” scholarship is worth $1714/year if you are in-state.</p>

<p>Sadly, I don’t think UMass will ever reach “public Ivy” status. We have the real Ivys in MA/New England, along with a plethora of top 50 schools (MIT, Williams, Wellesley, Tufts, BC, Amherst, Brandeis, etc), so UMass gets no mindshare or political support, which means limited financial support. But it is a very good school and does very well on some of the international ranks. </p>

<p>My S loved it there, as has virtually everyone I know who went there (and I know tons of people). But don’t expect the moon from the honors college.</p>

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<p>There are so many top private schools with very long traditions of academic strength and alumni networks. Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Williams, Holy Cross, Amherst, Wellesley, Smith offer more intangibles than any honors or Commonwealth section of UMass can(imo). The alumni giving rate at schools like Williams, Holy Cross, Amherst are all above 50% while UMass Amherst is very low. Also the top state universities across the country have also top sports programs (Cal, Michigan, UVA, UNC, UFLORIDA).</p>

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<p>That may very well be true, but the COA at those schools is twice that of UMass CHC and they offer little or no merit aid. For a middle to upper-middle class student who won’t qualify for much if any FA but can’t afford full sticker price at one of the schools you mention, it seems like UMass CHC offers pretty good bang for the buck.</p>

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<p>I don’t know what the current criteria are for entry in to Commonwealth College (tried to check on the website, but none of the links worked properly–so far not so good, UMAss), but 5 years ago when we visited, they were surprisingly low, low enough that my D was not at all impressed with the program. She wanted to be in classes that had students at least as accomplished and bright as those in her high school AP classes, and it was pretty clear that wasn’t going to be the case. I wonder it that’s changed with the new facilities.</p>

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<p>I know of many top HS students who were not accepted to the Honors College right from HS but had to prove themselves first semester to get an invitation. Several students have rejected this invitation because they didn’t want to do the extra work involved including a thesis, thus it has its own weeding out quality. A great number of the honors college students are actually valedictorians with many AP credits who could not afford to go to the Ivys they were accepted to. The Commonwealth Honors program is just like any other college program, it is what you make out of it. There are numerous special programs they can take advantage of or they can do the bare minimum. The students in the Honors College are a competitive group. I do believe the new Honors Quad is a game changer. A lot of the discontent from HC students in the past had to do with the dispersed nature of the program with some living and learning floors in dorms around the university. Now they get to feel part of something bigger. The dorms are truly gorgeous and in a very convenient area of campus. What happens with this depends on what the kids and the administration make of it. The Honors Quad as it exists right now is completely filled with honors students with a long waiting list. My D is beyond thrilled to be feeling she has a home in this quad and having this in construction was a motivation for her decision to attend this school. Many of the HC students are getting virtually a free ride since their tuition is usually waved by various scholarships and if they are Resident Assistants,I believe they are not paying Room and Board. Its a win win situation for them.</p>