is umass the place for me?

Bluelaser
Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:40:44 +0000

UMass-Amherst, -Boston, -Dartmouth, or -Lowell? I attended UMass-Amherst from 1974 to 1977, and so you will obviously want to factor this into what I am saying. I am orig. from just north of Amherst (western Massachusetts), now in the Boston area. The Amherst area always was a GREAT college town, what with Amherst College, Smith College, Hampshire College, and Mount Holyoke all nearby. Downtown Amherst always has been a very, very nice town, with some great stores, a few nice restaurants, a nice bookstore or two, etc. - to say nothing of Northampton. In the mid to late 70’s UMass had an unfortunate reputation as a little bit of a party school. This never interfered with my education there, and I believe that this is less of a factor with each passing year as the powers that be try to address this. I have seen several recent mentions in the press of outstanding scholarly pursuits by UMass scholars. I agree with Zimmer - “Like any big school, you will find your niche”. The Amherst campus is a very nice walkable campus - large enough to keep throwing surprises at you, but not so large that you cannot walk from one to the other easily, and I never tired of walking the campus, and walking to and from downtown Amherst. When I attended UMass, having graduated from a high school 30miles north of Amherst, there were maybe 6-7 of my high school friends who went there also. Who became my closest friend: a guy from Milton (eastern Mass) whom I had never met before. I would not let that aspect deter you. You will fit in, “find your niche” and make some great friends if you decide that UMass is right for you. We are all a very friendly bunch out here anyway!