<p>Clearly it’s very disappointing that you don’t get to go to your top-choice (I assume) school for financial reasons. But don’t dismiss UMass as a “bad school” and approach it with a negative attitude just because you “have” to go there. Like many big schools, UMass is what you make of it.</p>
<p>My son will be a freshman there in the fall and I have to admit that when we started looking at possible colleges for him a year or so ago, UMass was viewed as the “safety”. I was also concerned because of the “Zoomass” image that I had heard about. While doing some research, I began to be more impressed by UMass. My son is interested in engineering and I found out that it has the top-rated public engineering program in New England. I talked with friends who had sons and daughters there and all reported that their kids were very satisfied with their experience. In fact one friend’s daughter just graduated summa cum laude from UMass.</p>
<p>We visited the campus, and while yes, it’s not as nice as the UConn or U Delaware campuses, it’s attractive enough in its own right and the area is great. Amherst is a great college town and the Pioneer Valley is beautiful. You can take courses at four other colleges–Amherst, Smith, Mt. Holyoke and Hampshire. If you want to avoid parties–don’t live in the Southwest dorms. UMass offers a variety of Freshman living options including academic-focused living (RAP’s) and themed living (the “Freshman Experience”).</p>
<p>We looked at a lot of colleges in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, and my son turned down Syracuse, Delaware and UConn (all with varying levels of merit aid) for UMass, not only because he and we felt it offered a better value for money, but also because he simply liked it better. So give UMass a chance, you may be pleasantly surprised.</p>