University of Massachusetts-Amherst Top Questions

You will have a huge variety when it comes to classes. Right now I am in 3 lectures (200 students each) and 2 small classes (15 students each). Professors are very accessible and encourage students to take advantage of their office hours. The academic requirements are very general, those you would see at many large liberal arts universities. The work load is tough, however, part of college is learning to juggle all of it.

Some majors tend to draw the bottom of the barrel while others garner some of the smartest students in the state. Professors are open to meeting students and I made a few awesome connections but they wont often go out of their way to build bonds. Be proactive!

All the gen ed classes, no ones going to know you. Sometimes you'll end up finding someone you know in that class weeks later. The only interaction in class is during discussion and thats only with the T.A. The only time the professor will know your name is when your a suck up sitting in the front row asking a million questions. But if you go to office hours and make the effort they'll end up knowing who you are. The more classes you take for your major, the more smaller and interactive they get. This could be a good or bad thing, depending on your preference.

Classes are easy as long as you rememer to do online homework and study a little bit. Classes are usually pretty big.

I'm closer with some professors than I am others. Lower level, lecture hall classes are what they are. I mean, for basic courses I enjoyed being with 300 other kids. But sometimes when you're in an upper-level course and the class is too big, it can ruin the experience. My least favorite class (and professor) was Major British Authors with Professor Freeman. The class had about 35 students in it which is way too big with how much we had to read. Having that many kids in class didn't let us explore much into the text. Students are competitive with themselves. No one really talks about grades to each other because it's no one else's business. Professors rarely threaten us with grades, but rather try to enhance the learning experience. When you go to a big school, your education is what you make it. If you want to slack off, you can. If you want to become close with your professors, you can. A big school is for the independent, students who don't need people forcing them to do their work or participate in class.

I am very conscientious about managing my classes. Since my major is history, I really enjoy learning about history because it is apart of my heritage and culture. From my experiences this past semester, I enjoyed participating in my classes because there was a connection among all the students and the teacher in my classes. When teenagers go to college, they think that it is all about partying and hanging out with friends. At Umass, they encourage socializing with other students but also learning about various subjects.

General Education classes are rarely fun, or necessary. For the most part, you are a serial number in the grand scheme of things. Its not until you declare your major that you feel a more academic sense of belonging. I am a member of the BDIC program, or Bachelors Degree in Individual Concentration. I have combined communications, management (marketing) and legal studies to produce my Entertainment Law/Management and Marketing Major. This allows me to take most classes that fit my major within each college/school. This is very helpful in gaining internship opportunities and eventually job offers due to its rarity and uniqueness.

In a large class the professor usually does not know your name, but every large class has a discussion and your discussion leader will know your name which is very helpful, but if the discussion is not helpful the professor is usually very available. My favorite classes are my education classes and i study and work hard to get good grades. The requirements are easy to meet if you take 5 classes a semester and take them seriously otherwise you could be a little behind.

Most classes are huge, professors will only know who you are if you make them know who you are. Students are competitive but you have to be very self motivated. I have had a lot of great professors and even though the classes are huge most teachers find ways to get the students involved. I love my major, HTM in the business school because it is hands on and very competitive.

AWESOME CLASSES: gen-ed for Bio: Bio106 with Judy Goodenough. She is hillarious and a great teacher and the class is an easy A. You don't have to buy a book or clicker or anything. Another great class is Psych 350 with Richard Halgin (abnormal psychology). Riveting. His books are on reserve at the library so you don't really have to buy them either.