Umass Amherst:"party School"???? (Princeton: apartments, house, dorm)

[lorilou]

This requires its own thread, IMO!
Okay, after so many of you recommended UMASS AMHERST, I ran it by my 10th grader. His words, "Everyone says Amherst is a total party school!!!"
Every state has one...the famous party school where academics run a distant second to full time partying. (I grew up in Texas, where Texas State has the reputation).
So, tell me...what do I really need to know about Amherst??? I have heard great things about it from neighbors, but sprinkled into those conversations I now recall tales of destroyed dorm rooms, off-campus apartments, and other typical college dramas. What's the word, friends?

[LeavingMA]

It really isn't any different than most schools in my opinion. I went to a small private school and it partied just as much. UMASS just has more parties going due to the larger population of students.

I don't think UMASS parties as much as its reputation. I have friends who went there and hardly ever partied at all.

[pondhopper]

Zoo Mass? Whywhatever gave you the idea it had a reputation? I agree it is like any big school, it has its hard core partiers, its hard core studiers, and everyhing in between. But it does seem to have a dedicated core of partiers more than others and they are more spread out than at some schools where it is limited to one dorm or frat, IMHO.

[Tinawina]

How's your son with temptation? There will be some, um, distractions there. LOL!

But seriously, it's a good school with a good academic rep. Partying occurs, but real learning does take place if you want it.

[charolastra00]

A lot of it depends on your son. Sure, there's partying at most schools, but there REALLY is a difference at party schools. I spent the night at UGA in the middle of the week and will not step foot on campus ever again... there was literally a keg right in the middle of the dorm hall! I'm a bit of a different case- I had trauma as a child around alcoholic family members and get extreme panic attacks around people who are drinking (and don't drink myself), so my college choice was based almost as much on the drinking reputation of the school as the general reputation. Some of my best friends who went to so called "party schools"- UGA, Ole Miss, UMass- swore up and down that either they wouldn't drink or they wouldn't let partying get to them. First week of school, my best friend called me drunk and not knowing where she was except she was in someone's bedroom at a frat.

Also, keep in mind that many kids don't do well in the large college environment. You can find your niche, but you have to work at it as friends don't just come to you as in earlier grades. Even if YOU don't drink, if your roommate(s) so, it can be a really uncomfortable issue.

[willdufauve]

I lived in Amherst from 1993 to 2004. September/October are the worst, until enough of them get arrested and the colder/rainy weather of November moves them inside.

You learn to navigate around the piles of vomit on Amherst's sidewalks, and you learn new uses of the English language like the phrase "100 combatant melee downtown" and "drunk udergrad bleeds to death after falling through roof of college greenhouse."

Some of them are great kids, but after a neighbor rented their house out for a year to students, my life will never be the same. I sold, moved, and have not stepped foot in Amherst in 3 1/2 years. Other than UMass students it's a fantastic town.

There's a lot of serious (foreign) students. But don't kid yourself. They call it Zoo Mass for good reason. Ask around about the "Hobart Hoe-down"

[LeavingMA]

One aspect of UMASS I found out was that lots of my high school went there or ended up transferring there. So lots of people were familar with each other from high school. That just made it easier to find parties.

Overall, I think the % of students that party vs. study is fairly similar among most state and private schools.

[smarty]

Originally Posted by LeavingMA

Overall, I think the % of students that party vs. study is fairly similar among most state and private schools.

And where did you find that statistics?

They did not make it in 2006-2007 Priceton Review Top 20 best party school list.
Amherst Bulletin | Party's over? Princeton review zaps infamous ‘ZooMass' label

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by smarty

And where did you find that statistics?

They did not make it in 2006-2007 Priceton Review Top 20 best party school list.
Amherst Bulletin | Party's over? Princeton review zaps infamous ‘ZooMass' label

I don't have a statistic for it, just my general opinion from having friends go to UMASS and also visiting other colleges.

[professorsenator]

UMass has the party reputation because it is, by Mass. standards, a very large school and thus host to more student revelry. It is also more rowdy than many of the tiny, staid private colleges in the Bay State. But it is also a much better institution than most of those sleepy, pricey schools.

Like virtually all big state universities, UMass has a sizable number of all sorts of students, including beer-guzzling hellions. But that does not make it a bad school, nor does it diminish the fact that UMass offers the best bang for the buck in Mass.