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University of Massachusetts - Amherst
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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • The Bowl: Area in Orchard Hill between all of the buildings that is a round lawn shaped like a bowl in the center
  • The Cage: Curry Hicks Athletic Field
  • The Cluster Office: Every three dorms or so have a “headquarters,” where students can obtain different objects or services. This is also where students have to report when they get in trouble.
  • The DC: Dining Common (cafeteria)
  • FAC: Fine Arts Center
  • Frat Row: The street between campus and Amherst where most of the frats are located
  • Haigis Mall: Not really a mall, this is the area in front of the Fine Arts Center.
  • The Horseshoe: A wrap-around road in Southwest near the basketball courts
  • Puffer’s: Puffer’s Pond, a popular swimming hole near campus
  • The Quad: Campus Pond or the Northeast Quad
  • Rape Trails: Various trails around campus through secluded spots that students sometimes take as a short cut at their own risk
  • Round Robin: A drinking event that occurs in the dorms
  • Shotgun: A method of chugging a beer straight from the can. The tab gets cracked slightly and a large hole to drink from is cut into the side of the can.
  • SOM: School of Management
  • Wicked: Very
  • The Zoo: UMass
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • Be prepared to walk—a lot. Also, bring rain boots.
  • Buying anything but the most basic meal plan is a waste, unless you take advantage of Grab n' Go and stock up your fridge.
  • Don’t skip orientation.
  • Fake IDs do not work well here.
  • Going on exchange for a semester is comparable in cost to attending UMass for that same amount of time.
  • If you are unable to register for a course online or via telephone, approach the professor and ask to be admitted.
  • Just because you need a course doesn’t mean you’ll get into it.
  • One bad grade can really bring down your GPA.
  • Time management skills are helpful.
Tips to Succeed
  • Do an internship.
  • Find a balance between working hard and playing hard.
  • Get involved. It's a great way to meet people, build your résumé, and gain references.
  • Go to class—it sounds like common sense but is very important.
  • Go to sporting events. They are fun, free, and great for school pride.
  • Keep an assignment book, and write down and mark off all of your assignments.
  • Stay open-minded.
  • Take advantage of the Five College Program.
  • Take every extra credit opportunity you can—don’t be lazy.
  • Try to develop a schedule for studying.
See how you stack up against students who were accepted to this school . . .And calculate your chances!Register to get started

UMass Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at University of Massachusetts - Amherst

samtaugher

Environmental Engineering '16

5.0
A+

Night Life

Night Life is freakin amazing. Party every night if you want

Apr 10, 2012

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Inside Scoop at University of Massachusetts - Amherst

lisak522

Civil Engineering '13

4.6
A

The Uniqueness of Umass

My school can be set apart from other schools because it is like its own town. You can stay within a 5 mile radius of the school and have everything you need from restaurants, mall and stores, to coffee shops and places to study.

Dec 28, 2011

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Inside Scoop at University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Minutefan12

Early Childhood Education '14

5.0
A+

Never Boring

There is ALWAYS something going on at UMass whether it be a class at the rec-center, a concert, a performance, an athletic game, etc, you can never be bored! Also, I think our late-night dining halls are a plus!

Nov 14, 2011

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Page 1 of 10
User rating for University of Massachusetts - Amherst - Inside Scoop is 4.6 out of 5 based on 29 user reviews.

Facts

Traditions
  • First Week: During the first week of school, the University sponsors a series of events to welcome students.
  • Lobster and Steak on Halloween: Every Halloween, the DCs serve lobster and steak for all students with a meal plan.
  • Spring Concert: In the spring, well-known musicians perform at the Mullins Center. Past performers have included Ludacris, New Found Glory, Sara Bareilles, and OK Go!
  • Streaking: As a way to blow off steam each semester before finals, hundreds of UMass students will run butt-naked through the Northeast Quad at night as a break from studying.
Urban Legends
  • Don't cross the circle next to Curry Hicks or you will fail your classes that semester (or so the legend says).
  • Every year, the rumor that Bill Cosby is going to speak at graduation gets circulated around the entire campus.
  • Kissing the Sam the Minuteman statue by the Campus Pond before finals is said to bring good luck.
  • Scooby Doo was created by a UMass alumnus, and it's said that each of the characters represents one of the five colleges (Scooby is UMass, Fred is Amherst, Velma is Smith, Daphne is Mount Holyoke, and Shaggy is Hampshire).

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Name
Danielle Muise
Hometown
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Major
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How do we get our information? Find out here or report an error here. The statistics on our site are from the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS database.
We update this information twice annually, most recently in May 2012, but it may not be the most recent information available for a particular school.
For additional information we encourage you to visit school websites or contact the schools directly.