UMass, like any university, has its pros and cons. There is such an immense amount of diversity on campus, whether it's the people, classes, extracurricular activities, or food. Its strength is making everyone feel welcomed. As of 2024, UMass Amherst has been ranked #1 in campus food for eight consecutive years, maintaining its top spot through multiple national surveys by The Princeton Review. We are also located in a very unique spot. There is an abundant amount of nature and hiking trails, while also having everything you may ever want in terms of a downtown scene. Another great aspect of its location is proximity to four other prestigious universities where UMass students can take classes. Unfortunately, since it is such a popular university, in recent years there’s been an overwhelming amount of students on campus. One of the disadvantages about UMass is the slight housing crisis where dorms are competitive and some people find themselves in what they call a “forced triple”.

The application process begins in your last year of high school. You apply through a portal called the Common Application, a standard for almost all American Universities. There are two deadlines for applying, one in early November referred to as “early-action”, which yields a response from the school sometime in December. Another one in mid January, generally regarded as “regular -decision”, with results coming out around March/April. While applying, the only real requirements are a transcript of your high school grades and a 650 word personalized essay. The SAT/ACT, which are standardized tests in the US, are completely optional.

Once you actually enroll in the school, there will be a lot coming your way. Based on the 2024‑25 academic year, undergraduate out‑of‑state/international tuition & fees are $40,449 per year (approximately $20,225 per semester), not including room and board. On‑campus housing charges average around $9,300 per year, with meal plans costing about $8,000, so the total cost of attendance for an international student is close to $60,000 per year. For international students there aren't a whole lot of options in terms of financial aid, but there is a variety of possible scholarships available. Outside of tuition, at least in your first two years, there is very minimal spending required. Housing and food are paid for within tuition, and with the university’s fantastic food options I didn't find myself buying much food.

UMass’s academic calendar is organized by semesters. A standard year of university consists of a fall and spring semester with a winter break in between. A semester is about 15 weeks of classes, and 1 week of final exams. There are typically multiple exams through the semester in addition to final exams. Engineering is regarded as a more difficult major. For my sophomore year of university, I was taking 17 credit hours per semester. This was roughly 26/27 hours of lectures/labs per week. At UMass there are two main schedules classes fall under. Three 50 minute lectures a week or two 1 hour 15 minutes a week. Outside of class time, during a typical week I would spend about 25 hours of coursework. Some weeks were busier than others but usually it worked out to about 5 hours a day. My general rule was to stop doing work after 6/7 pm and use that time to grab dinner with my friends, relax, etc. In terms of how class material is presented to us, professors mostly resort to slideshow presentations which they will markup digitally to workout examples. A majority of my lectures were not recorded, even though almost every classroom has the ability to record lectures. Professors that do record usually abstain from publishing lectures in an effort to encourage students to come to class. Under specific circumstances such as sickness or pressing engagements professors will grant access to students as necessary. With over a 100 possible majors, UMass provides a very wide variety of classes. For almost every major there are “General Education” requirements, which range from history classes to biology. For the College of Natural Sciences there tends to be a foreign language requirement.

Taking exams is very varied between different majors. The usual routine for exam taking for students in the College of Engineering consists of two rounds of “midterms”, the name is not at all reflective of when they actually take place, and then finals which happen at the end of the semester throughout the week following the last day of classes. What has been the case for me, is that there is roughly one exam per class per a month, and then final examinations. STEM majors tend to be assessed through exams, while less-science focused majors tend to be assessed through essays and projects. For students with learning disabilities, or anything that requires testing accommodations, Disability Services arranges accommodations for taking exams. Usually this results in extended testing time and a separate testing area.

In terms of career support, the Civil Engineering department at UMass is truly fantastic. The Civil & Environmental Engineering department sponsors a CIVE-specific fair once a year, attracting dozens of employers. The broader campus-wide Engineering Career Fair, held over two days in the fall, typically hosts 50–75+ employers each day, depending on scheduling. UMass has both a domestic exchange and study abroad program. Domestic exchange allows you to study at over 170 universities and colleges in 48 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While the study abroad program focuses on studying internationally. Studying domestically or abroad is accessible to every student as early as freshman year spring.

At UMass there are seven housing areas, across all these areas there are a total of 71 dorm buildings on campus. These areas varry is location and social scene, while still remaining a part of the UMass campus and within a 15 minute walk of most classes. The most populated area is called “Southwest,” which is closer to fraternity houses and generally regarded as the ‘party’ area, while “Northeast” is closer to academic buildings and a much more calm area where people seeking quiet refuge chose to live. Every housing area has its own characteristics and pros and cons. The standard for dorms is what they refer to as a “double”, which is a room that houses two people. In those rooms there is a bed, desk, chair, and closet. In the building itself there are common spaces, communal bathrooms, and shared kitchens that students have at their disposal. After your freshman year suites become a living option, which entails two doubles, a common space and a shared bathroom all in one suite. On-campus housing is guaranteed for freshman, sophomores and upperclassmen who can still live on campus, whether in a suite or dorm, but they are not guaranteed a spot. During freshman and sophomore year almost everyone lives in a dorm, junior and senior year people move off-campus. UMass does somewhat help students in finding off-campus housing, there is a website which allows you to search for accommodations and there is an off-campus housing fair hosted in the spring, but I am not sure about what that entails. Housing can range from anywhere from roughly $3,100 to $7,500 per a semester, depending on the hall and if the room is a single, double, suite single, etc. My two bits of advice in regards to housing at UMass, for on-campus living, enroll in a “Residential Academic Program (RAP),” this allows students to choose the exact building they want to live in, alongside living on a floor with people in a similar academic interest as you. As an incoming freshman I did the engineering RAP which allowed me to live with fellow engineering students and also choose the exact building I wanted to live in. As far as off-campus housing advice goes, start looking comically early. The best time to get great off-campus housing is the beginning of the academic year PRIOR to the year you will be living off-campus. Example: looking for housing for your junior year? Start looking during September of your SOPHOMORE year. Everyone starts looking around that time and if you wait there won't be much left. Now moving on to food. As mentioned, UMass has been voted #1. When we dine in the country, we eat very well. There are 4 dining halls and various other food establishments throughout campus. Students living on campus usually resort to an ‘unlimited’ meal plan which has unlimited swipes into the dining hall. The dining halls are scattered throughout campus, usually close to or ‘in’ a housing area so it is easy for students to get meals.

Since UMass is a fairly large school there is a lot of diversity in the social scene. For partying freshmen and sophomores students resort to fraternity parties and dorm gatherings. There is a large downtown scene, but that isn't an option till you turn 21 years old so upperclassmen will usually go to bars or house parties. For simply meeting people the university aids you fairly well as a freshman, during orientation and the first week of school there is alot of events optional and required which exposes you to a lot of fellow peers. During classes professors will also encourage meeting fellow classmates. After freshman year, it mostly becomes your own responsibility to meet fellow students, but with the sheer amount of students you get exposed to, it becomes very easy to find your crowd. There are over 400 student organizations and clubs, there is something for everybody, alongside student organizations there are also sororities and fraternities. These are all great ways to find people you align with and create meaningful connections. Specifically for fellow Polish students, there are multiple Polish/Slavic oriented clubs to find fellow Poles. Overall since UMass is such a large school with such a diverse student body, it is easy to find friends and engage in the social scene.

UMass competes in NCAA Division I level, the highest tier of intercollegiate athletic competition. Football, hockey, soccer, etc. are big games students like to attend. But on a more casual level, UMass offers a recreational center, rock climbing gym, ice skating, track fields, soccer fields and swimming pools free for all students. These are things you can partake in at your own leisure, for a more structured athletic scene there are various club sports, which is a casual way to enjoy a sport without extreme athletic demands.

Amherst is a fairly small town, it's mostly renounced to be a college town. Even though it is fairly small, it is very full of life and love. The surrounding area is very full of beautiful nature and wonderful hikes. For my personal taste it is perfect, although some students complain that it is too ‘boring’ as there isn't THAT much to do compared to big cities such as Boston. To get around the area there is a bus system which is free for all UMass students with student ID shown. It is very easy and convenient and can take you from your dorm to class, to the shopping mall, or to a wonderful larger town called Northampton only 20 minutes away. To get to UMass from Poland you can fly into Boston Logan International Airport located in Boston. Boston is roughly an hour and 30 minutes away from campus. You can take a Peter Pan bus which will take you directly from campus to the airport.

Personal spending heavily varies depending on if you live on or off-campus. While living on campus after buying necessities such as hygiene products, cleaning supplies for your room, etc. there isn't much else to spend on. Since food is so great and readily available I found myself going days without actually purchasing anything. A tip to save money in my opinion is just to buy what you actually need and abstain from purchasing food off-campus.

Overall UMass is a fantastic school. Everyday I feel more and more secure in my choice to study here. I feel that it perfectly embodies what I was looking for in a school. It has lots of nature, diversity, great academics, great food, a big social scene, what else could you want? College is what you make of it, remember that these are going to be some of the most wonderful and important years of your life, be proud of the life you live in and act in ways that embody your goals.