US World and News College Rankings 22/23

[Hoophound]

In the 80's and 90's it wasn't as nice as it is now, especially if you drove you through. When I went to basketball camp there in the 80's there was a lot of trampled grass and boring buildings. During my college years in the 90's it was slightly better. To see the nicer parts and the traditional buildings, you needed to walk through the middle of campus back then. However, I always thought the view from 195 over Mirror Lake was pretty nice.

When Herbst arrived she demanded attention to the details. Grass needed to flourish, paint needed to be fresh and litter needed to be picked up. I liked that about her.

 

[superjohn]

I attended in 1984 and I didn't think it was a dump even then. The dorms were boring U shaped brick things, but it's what most dorms look like. There were plenty of older attractive buildings (math science and the library not included). UMass was uglier and looked like post WWII...but in Moscow. The front lawn and lake are the nicest part of campus and are the same as they were. I suppose my degree is more "valuable" but not really because nobody cares where you went once you have been working.

Certainly nicer now in some ways, but not in others. It feels cramped to me. Some of the open space is gone, and the sight lines too often leave you with nothing but buildings. The new Rec Center, McHugh and Oak Hall were plonked down in what was open space, including the old mud volleyball courts.

UMass is the ugliest campus I've seen.

 

[Guapo]

UMass is the ugliest campus I've seen.

It really is, though

 

[CL82]

The students cared about Spring Weekend, as it was one of the most famous college parties nationally. Outside of the student population / college demographic, you’re probably correct. But as a student during that time, it was a real bummer to see it go. Although I get why they did it…

I doubt my liver has recovered to this day from spring weekend. Still, it was a great time. Max Creek playing in the south campus squad, baby bottle beer chugging contest in the quad, off-campus pig roasts and kegs everywhere. Good times! (At least I think so, some of the details are a little fuzzy.)

 

[mrl2016]

The students cared about Spring Weekend, as it was one of the most famous college parties nationally. Outside of the student population / college demographic, you’re probably correct. But as a student during that time, it was a real bummer to see it go. Although I get why they did it…

Can confirm the spring weekend crackdown, while understandable now, sucked at the time

It was literally worse than a regular weekend. By senior year kids would plan to visit friends at different schools that weekend

 

[ecasadoSBU]

1000x this^

Originally from CT and graduated UConn undergrad and Rutgers (I know, I know) grad school. Now I live in NC and the perception of state schools down here vs up north is stark.

Most reasonable people would agree that UConn and Rutgers are generally good schools but I've always felt they are still viewed as more of a backup plan if you're an elite student. Down south, getting into UNC gets treated like going to an Ivy and even going to NC St or UGA is celebrated as very impressive. The academic culture is just way different.

Its simply due to the fact that we have so many elite private schools up here in the northeast. Other regions were mostly founded with "land-grant" public schools as the backbone of their higher education hierarchy.

SUNY, UMass, UConn, Rutgers, UMaine, UVM, UNH, URI are always going to be seen a second class schools in the northeast/New england. Doesn't bother me one bit. I'm okay with the value of my degree and relative low debt

 

[Guapo]

Its simply due to the fact that we have so many elite private schools up here in the northeast. Other regions were mostly founded with "land-grant" public schools as the backbone of their higher education hierarchy.

SUNY, UMass, UConn, Rutgers, UMaine, UVM, UNH, URI are always going to be seen a second class schools in the northeast/New england. Doesn't bother me one bit. I'm okay with the value of my degree and relative low debt

There is truth to that for sure, but a balance that needs to be found. One thing that northeastern higher ed culture has created is the assumption that all private schools are inherently better than public schools so you end up in situations where kids are going deep into debt to go to Quinnipiac instead of UConn or UHart instead of ECSU etc. and those schools are not better

 

[PlayItLeo]

FYI only

UConn Alumni Mentoring Program

UConn Career Development Site - School/Major/Target Career info & Mentoring Network links

Alumni Networks (UConn contacts, city group contacts listed) - UConn Foundation

UConn can and should continue building and enhancing career services, career networking, alumni networking, etc, yet each have improved in the last decade. For those interested, possibilities appear to exist.

Thanks for sharing these. Just signed up to be an alumni mentor.

 

[Chin Diesel]

There is truth to that for sure, but a balance that needs to be found. One thing that northeastern higher ed culture has created is the assumption that all private schools are inherently better than public schools so you end up in situations where kids are going deep into debt to go to Quinnipiac instead of UConn or UHart instead of ECSU etc. and those schools are not better

And that part of the paradigm is starting to crumble. It was as much as status symbol as it was an educational advantage. Now the cost for the symbol is greater than the perceived prestige from it. Sure, the Ivies are elite and there are more good private schools in the northeast than the rest of the country combined, but there are plenty of private schools whose education is run of the mill too. A little weeding out of average private schools and focus on the regional publics and state flag ships is a good thing for middle class families.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

UMass is the ugliest campus I've seen.

UMess is a thing of beauty compared with Grambling. The latter a deep slave state public university, historically and likely still massively under funded. Even compared with other under funded HBCUs, Grambling's campus is sad.

 

[UCONNJACK]

UMass is the ugliest campus I've seen.

Coming in as the 13th ugliest campus in the country.

13. University of Massachusetts Amherst​

Location: Amherst, Mass.
Year Built: 1970 (Founded: 1863)
Key Architects: Various, including Marcel Breuer, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Kevin Roche, Edward Durell Stone, and Gordon Bunshaft.
Architectural criticism is nothing new to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 1974, the Boston Globe's architecture critic, Robert Campbell, called the campus "a jumble of unrelated personal monuments that look more like a world's fair grounds than a campus." We guess that's one way to say "disjointed," but the school is still made up of a variety of concert buildings, dark subterranean spaces, and clinical architecture, so Campbell may not have been far off.