I am from Minnesota, however I want to go out of state for college because I don’t want to live here for the rest of my life. I was accepted into Purdue and U Mass Amherst for computer science, as well as a local private school that gave me a large scholarship (Gustavus). Of course, my parents want me to go to the local school. But I want to move away, and Purdue isn’t really in my consideration as they did not offer me a scholarship (due to change of major, the new major required a specific scholarship application which I did not realize). I was accepted to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, but I am not interested in going there because I want to move away and many people from my school are going there, and also it is a larger school. I am currently waitlisted on UC Irvine, and it is my dream school, but I don’t expect much, so Amherst is my main consideration. I plan to visit over my spring break, but my main concern is how large of a school it is, and if I will have trouble making friends, as I am somewhat shy at times.
I also have some general questions, including that I play video games on a desktop computer, would the internet be fast enough to continue playing games? I know that’s a silly question haha.
Also about RAPs? I don’t know much about them.
I also saw something about Honors College dorms being better, is that true? I do not even know if I was accepted to Honors College, but I am curious.
Also just curious about general information, also regarding the computer science major!
Thank you in advance for any replies 
- Gaming is horrible here. Eduroam (the wifi) is really inconsistent and you'll get lag spikes/disconnected all the time. It's like 100mbps up/down, but the problem is really the inconsistency, not the speed. All the ethernet ports on campus (expect for the North Apartments) are disabled as well, so you can't really plugin for internet either.
- Here's pretty much everything you would ever want to know about RAPs: http://www.umass.edu/rap/about-rap
- Honors dorms are best on campus, only problem is they cost more. Also they're the only ones on campus to have AC.
- You'd have known if you got into the CHC if you got a letter asking if you wanted to join along with your regular UMass acceptance package. If you didn't get the letter, then you probably didn't get in.
- I don't know much about the CS major, maybe someone else can help you with that.
I know most of these answers are pretty short, but if you want more detailed answers, your tour guide should be able to help you when you come and visit.
Edit: Whoops, didn’t see your first question. Making friends here isn’t that hard, just keeping in touch with all of them after a while might be difficult (unless you make an effort to take time to meet up). I know when I started here, I made a group of friends that pretty much broke up within the first couple of weeks cause we were all so busy doing our own things. Most of my friends now aren’t the same ones that I had originally in the beginning of the year. That’s one of the drawbacks of going to any large school. However, the upside is if you do end up having a bad year or something, you can really reinvent yourself whenever you want, cause more or less, you’re gonna be making all new friends every year (unless you end up living with your old friends or are in greek life). If you’re shy and don’t really like being around “big personalities” or partiers, I would recommend you go to O’Hill/Northeast. Usually those people are the most welcoming, albeit a bit socially awkward.
Join a RAP, it’s a great way to meet people and start make a large school feel smaller. That’s the recommendation of my D, an introvert who loves UMass. There are tons of clubs and activities. If you were not accepted into the Honors College and are so inclined, you can always apply once you get to UMass. And remember, every other freshman is new, nervous, and looking to make friends, too.
rip about the internet
Well, it’s great for watching movies and stuff that most people would use it for. I think there’s been petitions going around campus to get the internet better, but none of them have really gone anywhere. The biggest problem with the disconnects is cause people bring their wireless printers and other stuff with them and leave the wireless settings on, which is on the same frequency as our internet most of the time (2.4Ghz), so you get interference/disconnects all the time. Honestly, I don’t think it would be much better at any other school (unless that school has working ethernet ports). Also, just a bit of advice, if you’re planning on bringing a full on desktop to school, keep in mind you might not be able to fit everything on the desk that they give you. It’s the reason why I decided to buy a gaming laptop instead. I know a decent amount of people who go to O’Hill just because the desks for the rooms there are bigger than the regular ones and they wanted to bring a desktop.
the school is very big and is located in a pretty small town. around here we call it zoomass and for good reason. however, i think you should be able to find people you connect with and you should be able to make friends. good luck!!
Soakes99 has posted on 3 threads “Zoomass” comments. It’s not the 70’s anymore. There are 24K students there. There are going to be parties at any school that size. UMass is a fine competitive flagship university. It’s not 24/7 Animal House!
it is a great school, two of my friends really like it there. one of my friends isn’t too happy there and it is not for everyone. that goes with any college, some people love it while others just don’t fit in or don’t feel happy there. it is a big decision, so good luck hopefully you are happy wherever you end up.