University of Massachusetts-Amherst Top Questions

What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?

Jared

UMass Amherst is known to be a party school. There are a lot of students that party there but are also a good number who do not fall under that stereotype. If you like to party you can find it if you look.

Vincent

No not at all

Katrina

Starting answering!UMass is not only a very political school, but also a very liberal one. You should be prepared to shuffle your way through protests on your way to class. Students oftentimes have very distinct opinions on certain issues, however most of them have no idea why they believe what they believe. If you question the very foundations of their beliefs, most of them are dumbfounded.

Sarah

The stereotype is party animals which is a valid one. However, there are a lot of people who just hang out and theres another sector of people who stay in and only work on school work.

Alex

All stereotypes are based on some sort of truth. In general however, you will find your group of friends at UMass. It really is up to you. It is a large university.

Andrea

Because UMass Amherst is so large, there is no one defined stereotype that accurately describes the student body. Every residential area, however, has its own stereotype of the students who live there. These stereotypes are generally pretty accurate.

Corey

The stereotype of students at UMass Amherst is generally that they are party animals. This is somewhat accurate, depending on where on campus you are. The Southwest residential area is the party area. Students here go crazy most nights and it's the main party area besides the frat houses. Other areas such as Northeast, and Orchard Hill are very quiet compared to Southwest.

Andrea

There are quite a few stereotypes of students that make up UMass - all of whom live in their respective residential areas. In Southwest, the general stereotype of students consists of the "lax bro" and the "bleach blond, tanned skin 'swesty' girl". These types of people are stereotyped as drinking a lot and very often - even almost every night of the week. Central is stereotyped as the place to be for the hippies/hipsters/art majors/pot heads/drug abusers. Everyone is generally very nice and laid back, as opposed to the people in Southwest. Northeast is stereotyped as the place to be for Asian students. Orchard Hill is generally a pretty quiet area with no solid stereotype. It's very similar to Central.

Daniel

The typical stereotype for UMASS students is that we're going to a cheap safety school. The cheap part is more true than the safety school part, because UMASS is actually a very good school despite whatever funny jokes we have about it. Stereotypes within the school basically stem from the area you live in on campus. Guys living in Southwest, "the party area", are bros that go to the gym every day and drink copious amounts of protein shakes and endlessly go after girls. Girls from southwest wear strictly yoga pants, Ugg boots, and a Northface jacket. Inhabitants from central are drug users, and people in Sylvan are suicidal. Some of these are more true than others; there are definitely more "bro's" living in Southwest than anywhere else, but I doubt there are many suicidal people living in Sylan.

Lisa

UMass is known as a "party school" and a very big university. It is true that there is a lot of partying, but many people choose not to party as well. Being such a big university, there is something for everyone - hundreds of clubs, sports, fraternities, and other social outlets. There are so many different types of people here that you will find your niche.

Ryan

As a diverse campus containing a student body representative of a wide variety of socio-economic, racial and cultural backgrounds, UMASS does not carry any all encompassing stereotype. Rather, we are appropriately known for our diversity, our rich and wide ranging student populace and our interest in enriching our campus and learning community.

Jaime

Party animals, it's true and not true. I'd say the split is 50/50 and that's the same at most Universities I've seen.

Lisa

My school is pretty diverse but I would say that the majority of kids are friendly and just looking to have a good time while doing well in school.

Annalise

UMass is a diverse campus: there is a whole set of stereotypes that basically everyone knows about. They are generally categorized by residential area: Central is typically characterized by hipsters, hippies, artsy-ness, guitars, and weed. Not always true; I am a Centralite and I do not smoke or drink nor am I a hipster. But especially in upper Central there is a lot of music being made and I feel like you find a lot of people who are interested in social change and the like. Orchard Hill is where a lot of science majors live and tends to be thought of as geeky; in part because several of the science-related RAPs are located here. I've found that there are a lot of nice, friendly people that live there. Northeast is located near the engineering, math and science buildings, and tends to have a lot of Asian students that live there. Generally considered quiet and studious and not very exciting on the weekends, though I have never lived there. Also Thatcher language house is located in Northeast. Southwest is notorious for its nightly party scene, its Swesties (dress code consists of North faces and Uggs or athletic-type garb), and its choice of fun over schoolwork. People generally go to Southwest to get hammered and lots of crazy stuff happens there over the weekend. I would say it embodies the overall stereotype of UMass, but I know plenty of really awesome people in Southwest who aren't wild partiers and who take school very seriously. Oh and Sylvan gets hated on for being lonely and isolated, because it is far away and often you get stuck with people you don't know. Nothing appears to happen there. Ever. But I've heard it can be fun if you live with a group of friends. =) Now in many cases these notions are true, especially at first glance, but like I've mentioned you find a lot of different people in every area. These are simply the way everyone sees the different areas on campus. If you are a visual learner, watch Sketch-22's video "Where to Live at UMass" on Youtube.

Gabrielle

The main stereotype is that everyone is a major partier! Truthfully, this may be accurate for about 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students, but each year, that percent drops. Most people are very involved with the school through a club or a sport.