University of Massachusetts-Amherst Top Questions

I feel like UMass was kind of like high school. There is always extra credit oppertunities, not too much work, and all of my finals have been optional. The academic requirements are rediculous. I don't understand how anyone can fulfill the general education requirements, the global education requirements and their major requirements in the four years they are supposed spend here. Another thing that really bothers me is that no one seems to care that much about academics.

Umass offers a multitude of majors and professors with great credentials. The few classes that I have actually been in with hundreds of students had great TA's which knew names of the students in their section, making even the biggest classes still a personal experience.

So you want to take a class and it's not at UMASS dont worry it's at the other four colleges that souround UMASS. And you can take classes at the other colleges for free. But no one is going to learn your name if you dont make them know your name. it's a big school and the classes your freshman year are going to big lectures but eventually they get smaller. but students study a lot well as much as you need to study depending on who you are. my favorite class i have to say is poli sci 121 no hw no book just lecture. i dont like political science like that would never be my major but it was a fun class. who doesnt have intelluctual conversations outside of class you have to you have to learn from people why have a conversation if you are not going to learn anything. the classes and students are very competitive your always fighting for that top spot and theres plenty of help to get you there seriously. The requirements are okay cause I guess UMASS wants you to be well-rounded and know things outside your major so you have to take requred courses but you have complete control over your schedule which is not bad at all. eventually you'll get a good job out of UMASS there's so many oppurtunities that there is no one you cant achieve unless you dont go looking for the oppurtunities.

I have been lucky in that I came to UMass specifically for a program (sport management) and have been close with the faculty in my department since day one. I have had many great classes, and some not so great, but overall, my academic experience was satisfactory. My biggest pet peeve are the the people that are not invested in learning and cause disrruptions to other students (this is common in big lecture classes that most people take for general education requirements).

General Education classes are huge. The professor is not likely to know you're name unless you go up to them and introduce yourself or talk to them during office hours. However, when you get higher into your major, the classes are more of a large highschool class. Around 30 people or so. The professor definitly knows everyone's name then. In the Isenberg School of Management, the advisors try to push everyone to get an internship their Junior year to get some experience as well as get their foot in the door for a career. They are very concerned about seniors getting a job when they graduate.

The GenEds here are usually easy- huge lecture halls, easy material. Most GenEd teachers know that people are only there to fulfill a requirement and tend to be more relaxed about grades etc. The numbering system for classes (100,200,300 etc) dont seem to be very relevant- I've taken hard 100-level classes and easy 300-level classes, so my best advice is to take whatever sounds most interesting to you.

The academics here are what you make them. I like to think of Umass as an instrument or tool. You can throw it out the window and party all day, or you can use it wisely, and either way no one is going to care which you choose. There's nobody behind you telling you to work hard, there isn't a lot of competition as a driving force, and lots of intro classes are quite large. In this respect I think a degree from Umass means more, because it means you had to have been self-motivated to succeed. I think most people here are more concerned with getting a job after graduation/going into grad school than learning for its own sake, however.

Most of my professors know my name, but I chose to take smaller classes. If the professor doesn't know who you are, then your TA definitely does. Afterall, the TAs do most of the grading for large lecture classes. My classes have all been really great. I learned a lot.

A lot of the classes are in large lecture halls with a few hundred students. Some professors really encourage class participation, and some have ways of taking attendance even in large classes. Most of the professors show interest in helping students learn and many have problem sessions to help students study. The Commonwealth Honors College offers smaller class sizes, with more student participation in class. I'm an animal science student, and I think UMass is a very good school to go to if you want to go to veterinary school. The animal science/prevet program here focuses on large animals. There is a farm on campus (the Hadley Farm), where students in animal science courses have labs sometimes. Also, there are student groups such as the Belted Galloway Group, the Dorset sheep group, and the goat group that allow students to get more experience with animals. There are tons of opportunities for students to get more involved in their major and get experience.

Class sizes vary from 10 students to almost 250 students here at Umass. Usually professors do not know your name unless you try to get to know them. Students tend to connect more to their T.A.s. Personally I am always trying to find teachers that I can connect to so that in the future when I want to apply to grad school I have someone to write recommendation letters for me. I also tend to spend time in the Library studying, we have one of the tallest or the tallest library in the country, im not sure though. Its a great place to study and meet up for group projects. I have just recently declared my major, after exploring six different majors I finally felt good with English. I like the major, there are no pre-recs. They highly encourage having internships because they do not teach you how to do certain jobs here at umass, you just are learning about English itself. Hopefully I will be doing an internship soon, if you are looking to do something in particular there is always BDIC which you can create your own major and our agenda as well.