The University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Date: Nov 05 2012
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a freshman at UMass but wanted to give my perspective so far. I applied to a ton of schools and got into all but one of my choices. I eventually decided on UMass because of the cost of tuition. Going to other schools would have meant going into debt for a huge sum of money and that just didn't seem to make sense.

Now that I am here, though, I can say that going here was the best decision. This school is a great school. It is huge, but they go out of their way to help you make connections and make it feel smaller. I have never felt like I was at a 25,000 student school or felt it was too crowded. It is so easy to make friends here. Everyone from my dorm hangs out together, but I have made friends in my classes and in the activities that I have joined. There are a ton of activities on the weekends, and the downtown area has some great places to eat/shop.

I plan on taking part of the program that allows you to design your own major. I am a science major but am interested in other areas of study, so knowing that I can combine biology with something like politics or law or psychology is great. The ability to take part in so many different offerings of classes, including classes from the 5 College Consortium is exciting. The fact that I have these options makes me postive this was the right choice for me.

The classes are challenging without any of the busy work you find in high school. I feel like I am learning so much already and cannot wait to get up into the higher level classes. So many of my friends from other schools are already bored with the coursework or say that the stuff the professors assign is useless.

The food is great (UMass made the Princeton review 2012 ranking of the universities with the best campus food in the country.) I also love coming out of a hockey game or a late night party and seeing the Baby Berk food truck! Some of the dining halls stay open until midnight for late night eating.

The rec center is brand new and amazing.

Many of my friends went to out of state schools so they could get the experience of being "away" from home and are now transferring back. I still feel far away from home but do not have to deal with plane tickets and multi-day commutes just to get home for Thanksgiving. I have not been home yet (don't want to leave the campus!) but I have the option if I want too.