I visited University of Massachusetts Amherst on a dreary day but had a wonderful visit. After recently visiting a lot of small private colleges, I just fell in love with UMass. I think it's because I loved the mix of all different kinds of people. There wasn't one vibe that stood out. At UMass, there are athletes and there are nerds. There are athletes that are nerds. There are students from many different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. There are liberal students and there are conservative students. There's a place for everybody here. And I really like that. Here are some stats worth sharing: UMass is the third most-funded research institution in Massachusetts - behind MIT and Harvard. It has been in the top 30 for LGBTQ-friendly campuses for past 8 consecutive years. Also, UMass is consistently rated number one for the quality of campus dining. I ate in one of the dining halls and I have to say the food was excellent. It was fresh, well cooked and delicious with plenty of choices. And I eat in a LOT of campus dining halls! There are pros and cons to going to a large state university. One of the pros here is that there are 50 division one athletic teams and all games are free to all students! One of the cons is class size. My tour guide told me that as a freshman, his smallest class had 150 students and his largest class had 300. Prospective students should think about that. However, as a junior, his largest class has 25 students, and he's in the business school. Some of the programs at UMass are becoming increasingly competitive so here are some things to know about admissions: Nursing, Computer Science, Engineering and Isenberg School of Business are the most competitive colleges within the university. As such, once you are accepted into a program, you may not transfer into nursing or business. You may switch into engineering or computer science but only on a space-available basis. So make no assumptions. I was told that unlike many large flagship state universities, admissions is truly holistic. After a first read of the entire application, the best parts of the application are put on top of the file.They do subsequent reads of each application in a layered fashion reading the best parts first. I had not heard of this strategy before and I think it's fabulous. Also, all merit scholarship money is reserved for out-of-state students. That's an interesting twist! My overall summary is that UMass is far from a consolation prize for any Massachusetts resident and it should be given serious consideration by out-of-state students. I think this place is a gem.