University of Massachusetts-Amherst Top Questions

I believe our stereotype is "party animals", but you would get that label at ANY large state university. And truthfully, when I got here, I was expecting a much more intense, dangerous party scene. I believe what we have is normal at any college in America.

Absolutely not. UMass is a fount of opportunity, and anything you want from the school is yours as long as you reach out and take it. For the timid or the immature it can get overwhelming, but all you need to do is reach out and the closer community is yours.

No. There are partiers, to be sure. But I have seen riots and orgies at other colleges, such as Dartmouth, Holy Cross and UMaryland that completely put UMass to shame! Even the formerly "dainty" Anna Maria College in Paxton is known for wild times.

Its basically true, for the majority. But theres def those who don't go out at all, and youll know who they are.

UMass student talks about the stereotypes of UMass as a party school.

A UMass student talks about what he does with his spare time at UMass, and about stereotypes.

True.Mostly true.Not anymore.

At any college you can go out and drink if you so choose, but UMass gets a bad reputation -- it's a great school and students do work hard for a great education.

As for the first stereotype this is not the same school your parents, aunts and uncles went to in the 70s and 80s, the school has tried to crack down on in dorm parties you can no longer roll a keg over to Garber Field and drink beers during a sporting event. However, the opportunity to have a great time is still available. Areas such as; Pufton, Townhouses, and Hobart always offer an excellent party scene. The Hobart Ho-Down is now closely monitored by authorities however and open container laws are strictly enforced. As for the second stereotype it is somewhat accurate, this meaning that most likely you will find several people from these categories in the appropriate living area. However, they can also be found throughout the rest of campus; it is not strictly tied into where they live and with such a huge school it would be impossible to keep an order such as this and seperate the living areas into these generalized populations. How much you enjoy your residence is completely dependant upon yourself, basically it is what you make of it. So if you get stuck in an area you did not want to be in rather than moping around complaining about it make the best of the situation, put yourself out there and meet people. If atempting to this and you still feel out of place or that there is no one that you can really get along with talk to your RA and see if there are openings in different buildings and find an area in which you are more comfortable.

Some people are like this but not all students act this way.

nope.

The college in my experiance after attending Western New England College and Holyoke Community College believe that UMASS Amherst is actually more difficult and not an easy college. The area that it is located in is amazing the culture, restaurants, and sites are exactly where a college student would want to be. Lastly, Umass Amherst does have it's fair share of parties, but not anymore then other large universities. It is something that should not make or break your decision about this college.

not completely

sometimes.

Like most stereotypes there is a grain of truth. You can find parties and party harty if you want. However, if you want a quality education with a rich social component, then U. Mass is truthfully the place for you.

In a way. If a student looks hard enough for these stereotypes, they're going to find them, but I think that's true for any college. If someone has it in their head to seek out a party or wants to live a non-stop party lifestyle, they're going to do that wherever they go to school; all they're doing here is finding a buffer for it.

Only one of these stereotypes has true merit. UMass Amherst is a school with amazing social atmosphere. The school is only considered violent because it accurately files its reports and doesn't lie to students with cover ups.

I mean, yeah, of course there are parties to go to, but UMASS's party scene isn't really any different from any other college. If you really want to party, you can find one to go to, but not all students are crazy party animals! lol

No. I mean where ever you put 18-22 year olds there will be partying, but that is not the only thing UMass has. There are many activities that you can participate in. As well, the students are not drunk idiots, with some exceptions.

When it comes to the stereotypes about the dorm areas, sometimes they are true, but there are always exceptions. For example, during my freshman year I was in RAP (a program were you have some small classes in your dorm or dorm area that are focused on certain subjects; I participated in the Undeclared RAP (Focus Connections) where we focused on completing General Education requirements). Because my RAP was Undeclared students, we lived in Central but I knew all different kinds of people (they weren't all just smokers). Because UMass is a large public school, you're able to meet many different kinds of personalities, which is one of the things that drew me to this school.