<p>You didn’t say why you picked UMass out of all the schools in the area. A lot of students who are residents of Mass. far prefer the other prominent state universities in New England (Universitites of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut). All of them are smaller and prettier than UMass, and you hear lots of good things about them–especially U of Vermont and U of New Hampshire. If you’re out of state, why not check them out?</p>