University of Massachusetts Amherst
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Public Health
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: White Bisexual Female
Summary
I am part of the Outing Club and the Gay-Straight Alliance.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
High School Experience: Public school in Northampton, Massachusetts with a graduating class of about 250 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Public Health
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I am part of the Outing Club and the Gay-Straight Alliance.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
I think both have. I’ve met a lot of people in the Outing Club because it’s such a big group, and the Gay-Straight Alliance has expanded my horizons.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
It’s not too bad right now. I probably do an hour of note-taking a day, and we probably have one assignment a week whether that’s a quiz, a paper, or a test.
Is there anything you feel the Public Health department does especially well or especially poorly?
They do a lot of talking about trips that are semester-long. They go to impoverished places, and it’s almost like a study abroad through the Public Health department.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s pretty collaborative and it’s not intimidating.
How accessible are your professors?
Pretty accessible. I don’t go to any office hours, but they post it on the syllabus and they talk about their office hours. They also have TA’s that are helpful.
Have you used academic accommodations? If so, how helpful were they?
The tutoring offices are really helpful. I’m so bad at statistics and they’ve held my hand through it.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your major choice?
I’m happy with it so far. I’ve always been interested in healthcare, and I originally wanted to do nursing but it was too competitive to get into the program. I tried social work, and that was too involved with people’s problems. I feel like this is a good medium. [The nursing program was ranked 46 out of 513 nationwide.]
Reasons to Attend
1) It’s a really pretty campus in the fall.
2) There’s always something to do on campus. There are so many clubs and people you can find something to do if you put in the effort.
3) The valley is really beautiful in terms of nature and mountains. It’s a really scenic area.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s a good and a bad thing how many people there are and how much stuff there is to do because it can be overwhelming if you don’t know exactly what you want.
2) Some of the buildings are kind of ugly. Outside the campus and the nature parts are really pretty, but parts of campus are not super attractive.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Sophomore: Cashin Hall in the Sylvan residential area. I have one roommate with 6 suitemates.
How do you like going to a school near your hometown?
There are good and bad parts to it. It’s good if I need to grab something from home, but it’s also very close to home which makes me want to go home.
Can you describe the level of safety you experienced on and around campus?
I feel really safe. It’s such a big campus and is well lit everywhere. I see lots of police and have never felt unsafe.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I’ll usually go on one hike per weekend, either by myself or with the Outing Club. I’ll try and go out once per week to a house party or something. These are hosted by people I know, I don’t really go to frat parties.
What nights of the week do you regularly do things?
Saturday nights.
What is an alternative to going to a bar or party that you like for a night out?
I work at least one weekend night per week. There are lots of stuff to do on campus such as performances. If I don’t go out, I would just watch Netflix and hang out with my friends.
How happy are you with the nightlife at UMass? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I don’t think I’d change anything. I’d like to go to the bars but because I’m not 21 it’s a bit tough. If you know people with apartments you’ll always be able to find a party. A lot of people go to frats, but it’s easily avoidable.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I went to high school with one of them so we hang out. A few of them are British and I like their accent and I told them, and that’s how we became friends.
How would you describe the social scene?
There’s a pretty big partying culture with tailgates and sports. It’s also very diverse and people are into studying different things.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
It’s a pretty diverse school but it’s interesting because there’s one place they put all of the foreign students and Asian students. I don’t think that’s conducive to mixing with other students. In terms of the LGBT community, I don’t really have a good read on that. [As of Fall 2018, the first-year class was 68% White, 9% Hispanic, 13% Asian, and 5% Black.]
How would you describe the student body?
Not to be mean, but most of the girls are a bit basic and a lot of the guys give off a frat bro vibe, even if they’re not in a frat.
How would you describe the LGBTQ community on campus? How strong is it?
I think it is pretty strong. I see them posting about events on campus a lot and they have the Stonewall Center.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I think they mix a good amount. Because Greek life isn’t as big of a factor on campus, people mix pretty frequently. You don’t have to be in Greek life to have a strong social life. [About 8.5% of students are involved with Greek life.]
How do you like the size of UMass in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [UMass has about 22,009 students.]
It’s a little too big. I’d like it if it were 10,000 people because it’s very overwhelming and it’s hard to meet people in classes because there are so many people you could see yourself being friends with. If you’re out walking around campus at a certain time, there are so many people and would make someone who has social anxiety want to put in their headphones and look at their phone