University of Massachusetts Lowell

I love this school. It has a dedicated faculty, great leadership, and prepares students for all the aspects of the real world. UML is a gem of the UMass system.

I am currently a student at UML continuing education department. There has been a disturbing hypocritical attitude by most higher educational institutions over the years. First, they have increased their cost at alarming rates. Rates that far exceed inflation. Rates that are somewhat transparent to the student but not to a massive student load debt bubble. Higher education organizations are the only entity’s that that we pay a boat load of money to and don’t get treated as valuable costumers. For example, I had a professor that basically stopped grading anything and stopped giving us any type of idea of where we stood in the class. She didn’t respond to emails and basically went MIA. When I complained to two different departments in the school I was never even acknowledged. I did not even receive a response. If a business such as Verizon ever stopped my service (that I paid heavily for) without explanation they would be in serious trouble, Yet these higher educational organizations operate with a do as I say not as i do attitude.
I realize that my statement is somewhat general and probably varies from school to school. However, this is my personal experience at UML and I thought people should be made aware.

I visited the university for a weekend and it was completely dead. I’m a wallflower so that’s not bad for me. The suite I stayed in, in the raven hall or whatever, was actually really nice. The classrooms seems small, but the buildings aren’t up to speed.

NERVE center hosting an event on Human Augmentation — GREAT testing facility, OUTSTANDING service, SPACIOUS facilities. Professors, grad students and staff are top notch. Couldn’t be happier with the workshop accommodations!

I chose to attend UMass Lowell as an English major which is also the reason why I chose to drop out. While they are an amazing Engineering and Nursing school, they’re requirements and curriculums for Liberal Arts majors just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I felt as though they couldn’t give me the most for my future in Writing. I was required to take four semesters of a foreign language and nearly half of my credits to graduate were gen eds. While most of my friends had all of their gen eds completed midway through their second year I was still taking them into my third year. Also with a concentration in writing, i never imagined I would have to take so many Literature classes. I understand some, but more literature than writing courses didn’t make sense to me. I do have to say though in my opinion UMass Lowell’s greatest asset to their English department is Professor Andres Dubus, the well-​known author of the book The House of Sand and Fog, amongst others. I took a fiction writing course with him that was three hours long one night a week and I truly looked forward to attending it. He taught us in a way that was so different from anything I had ever learned before. He encouraged us to write what we wanted and not to follow the rules where we didn’t feel they applied. Most importantly he never stressed that we should have a beginning, middle, and end in sight when we began writing, but rather to just go with it and let our creative juices flow and take us where they wanted. Other than this one particular class I took at UMass Lowell i do not think much of the curriculum I was given.

I attended three full time semesters at UMASS Lowell. I enrolled in a mixed bag of in-​classroom and online courses. It’s a good school and you get a thorough education. My only gripe is how they went about establishing the curriculum for certain majors. As a business major you would have to take not one but two calculus courses in addition to the statistics and other math related courses that are standard. You also have to take three science courses. Seems like a lot of advanced math and science for someone who is earning a degree in business.
Same goes for their english curriculum… three science courses and four foreign language courses are required. Yes, four foreign language classes for an E-​N-​G-​L-​I-​S-​H major.
I’ve only had one or two professors that I felt were there just for a paycheck, which can be said of any school. Overall, the professors here are very fair and do a very good job at teaching the material and offering assistance if you need further clarification. I highly recommend the philosophy course with Dr. John Kaag… this is a man who loves his job and keeps his class engaged.
Otherwise, it’s a good school with a solid reputation, especially if you are an engineering student. For the price of admission it is as good as many private universities. Me personally, I transferred out to a school that puts more emphasis on your actual major rather than wear you out with redundant courses which are not related to your major or profession.

I have been an online student since 2011. Since I am an older student, the lack of interaction or campus environment doesn’t rate high on my priority list. It might be nice to get to know your fellow students but I am much more focused on my education. I won’t see the campus until graduation so I can’t speak to the facilities. Most of my professors have been good & supportive and for those that weren’t that’s par for the course and wasn’t the norm.
I also agree with one of the other posts about scholarships. My GPA hasn’t been lower than 3.7 and every semester I applied for a scholarship yet never received one which I found surprising since I met the qualifications and even made the Dean’s List.
As an online student my main complaint would be the lack of course choices. It wasn’t always easy to meet my requirements because there were some limit to the availability of courses which was frustrating. I hope they realize that they need to expand their online course selection.

I’ve been here for three years and although some of the professors are really great, the university itself is only concerned with your money. They scam you for as much as they can get. I paid $ 350 for a parking pass — yes, $ 350 — and was told upon arrival that all the lots were full. It feels really great to pay that outrageous amount so that I can park illegally down the street, let me tell ya. I would pass on Umass Lowell and look for a school that actually cares about their students.

I don’t understand why the ratings are good. This school sucks. No one ever helps you with anything, they just want your money. And most of the professors don’t even speak english. I had to drop classes because I couldn’t understand them. This school is a business, not a place for learning. They wouldn’t even give me my transcripts to transfer until I paid a ton of money… No wonder the transfer rate is above 70%…AVOID

UMass Lowell: Value, Quality, and Growth
Overall Experience: Great
Value:
It is a state school, so the price is not outrageous. I hear they have some good deals going on with Middlesex if you have a certain GPA. Worth looking into. The price has gone up a generous amount since I started coming here, but so has everywhere else.
Quality:
There are Pros and Cons to UML. They have some fantastic professors and they have some terrible professors. Make sure to check Rate-​my-​professor (Google it) to avoid the terrible ones, but take the reviews with a grain of salt. I have had fantastic professors with medium to low scores because of a couple bad students. The parts where they gain quality are services. You have to go to the career center on north. They got me the job I have today and will help you gain interview, resume/​cover-​letter, and job searching skills FOR FREE! They have great health services. If you don’t see it on a tour, you had a terrible guide. Transportation and food are hit or miss. Parking is terrible at the moment, but they are investing a lot of cash in new parking. Check their website for details.
Growth:
They are buying a lot of real estate in Lowell. They bought the Tsongas Center, Saint Josephs Hospital (university crossing), and countless apartment buildings. They are building or have just finished a new building on every campus. They are getting a new bridge. So, the days of looking down and seeing bedrock 100 feet below you are soon to be over. They just started Co-​op for Business and Engineering. If you are any of those majors, DO IT!!! I am doing a Co-​op in Lawrence now and it will really set me apart from all of those grads with stereotypical college jobs.
Misc:
Obviously there are some great sports teams here. You get in for free with the UCard. They host concerts with discounted tickets. The Marching Band is fantastic (and open to everyone!). They offer rowing, intramural sports. WUML, Theater, Greek life, and much much more. Great in Music, Business, and Engineering just to name a few majors.
My biggest complaint is their housing policies. If you are an upper-​class commuter, you automatically get put on the waiting list for the fall semester, so you will not get in until the spring if you live within 40 minutes. They guarantee housing to incoming students and will not allow upperclassmen to take empty rooms where freshman lived. What? They don’t want my money? I understand not letting them live in the same room, but if its a dry dorm, I cant expose them to anything they aren’t already seeing.

My son is going into his Sophmore year studying Chemical engineering. I was reading some of the other reviews regardng this school and respect their input from their experience and perspective. I can only review UMass Lowell from a perspective of a parent of an commuting day engineer student
In this eceonomy, it is astounding that there is a University that has so many resources and opportunity available to the attending day student.
I had my reservations about my son attending here for engineering. he got in WPI but was wait-​listed and eventually couldn’t get in cause of the limited seating.
But they say things work out for a reason.
Because it’s a state school there are several pluses people need to know in this economy
1. tuition is ridiculously cheap considering the quality of the teacher you get. Many of these teacher are high performers with real world experience and connections with many that taught at Ivy league schools. His Chemistry teacher worked as NASA as well as teaching at MIT, Harvard and Oxford. WHAAAT??? on $ 10 000 tuition? The connections your child could foster alone is worth the tuition
2. Tech saavy. From on line teacher and guidance counsellor chats to homework submissions on line (including being able to get videorecordings taken of a number of classes (in case you miss a class)), you know they spent a lot of time trying to keep up with what is needed ensure access for both students and teachers.
3. Urban school. While many people would rather shuttle thier children off to rolling campuses and hushed halls at some far away college in upstate NY or ME, University of MA at Lowell is an urban school. Its education with its sleeves rolled up. As a student, if you can get through the rigors of Freshman year (college Boot camp I call it) you come to the conclusion that, like the real world, if you want to get ahead, you have to be a self motivator and take control of your eduction. Yes, your son has to think like John, Inc. College is not there to hold your hand. College should reflect real life. Competition with other kids not just across the states but from other countries is quite real and you need to make sure you hustle to make the grade At ULowell they have all the resources at hand both at the admin and student worker level. All it takes is a parent to go to one of their orientations while their child is at theirs to be blown away at the money, opportunities and services available if the student takes the time to look. The admin staff is responsive and helpful. I’ve NEVER had a bad experience dealing with them. they take the time to talk with you about the ins and outs. Don’t waste their time complaining and whining, ask what’s needful
4. State school. OK this is the awesome thing. If you child attends a state community college, ULowell will take any course your child talkes and get a B. I know many hard up parents are sending their kids to community college the first two years and transferring the credits to UMass Lowell without barely missing a beat. They will work with the community college to make the transition smooth
5. Connections. My son is working one on one with a professor during the summer with expectation of going co-​op between his sophmore and junior year. While not all students and all majors have this, it is important to stress that its at the student’s initialtive to get noticed. And since the teachers (as well as the school itself) are heavily connected to all walks of industry, your child could very well work for the state or federal government or for one of several large companies in the private sector. My son was told by his teachers and upper classment that companies are snatching ULowell kids as soon as they can cause they know these kids are hustlers
Negs? The school is not a pristine palace. Its an urban school and an older one at that. It doesnt have the warm and cozy feeling alot of colleges have. not right off anyway. it grows on you more like. The neg is more about where it is located. Its smack in the middle of Lowell (in a nicer section) which worries parents once the kids leave the campus. The state police are right on campus to keep the peace and protect with police call boxes everywhere (average response time 2 minutes) Lowell has many more nice places than not nice and its patchy as opposed to one bad lumped together area so you have to be aware. Its a mill town with a history of ethnic diversity. The average student runs a little more street smart than other kids at more suburban or rural schools. But there are so many niches in the school and so many clubs and associations (were talking double digits) and its so eclectic your child is bound to find one.
They also have issues with Freshmen parking they are ironing out (again, VERY responsive)
But this Univerisity (ranked 19^th in the world for science and engineering) is growing and building themselves into the new millenium.
THIS university you should watch!!!

I go to UML online. I never feel like an actual student and there are no resources for getting to know your fellow student body. I feel very isolated on their ugly «Continuing Education» page, when in fact I am not a corporate or CE student, merely a college age student going online because I cannot attend a physical campus.
Outside of the social isolation from this college where I don’t feel like an actual student I also don’t have an adviser. I advise myself through ISIS by using the plan by requirements tool. Financial Aid is always lovely to work with I have to send in tax returns, statements, IRS reports from the IRS. Every semester when Financial Aid is up for renewal I have had to do this with this school. It is getting maddening.
The education is ok. I have a 3.9 GPA, though I can’t get scholarships. I have applied for most of their scholarship offerings with no luck obtaining even a John Deer rejection letter from some. I feel devalued as a student here. The tuition is moderate around $ 400 a credit. I am studying for a BA in Psychology. I am looking into transferring colleges because I want to feel like a valid student going to a University. I want a chance at the actual scholarships, validation for a 3.9 GPA, and not over verified every single semester by overzealous financial aid workers with an attitude.
I will give them 3 stars because I am sure there are worse out there, but I am sure there are better too. Prior to Unilocal I have never even seen or have been given photographs of UML. Their little Continuing Education Page is destitute of actual campus life and you feel outcasted as a valuable student.
I am on the deans list, but I didn’t get any Kudos or hook ups for it like an oncampus student did who reviewed them on Unilocal in 2009. I guess they just don’t value their online students…

I’m a Sophomore at UML. It’s nice and local, I commute. Professors are helpful and have a sense of humor.
Unfortunately, many of the students also commute. I almost feel like I’m a glutton for punishment each morning before classes while I search for a parking spot. It’s not uncommon for several cars to stalk you to your car, then battle it out when you drive off. North Campus parking– FORGET IT. It’s non-​existent. South Campus parking last year wasn’t so bad– you may have had to walk a bit, but there was a spot there somewhere! This year, they’re forced to open up the field because the lot is maxed out. (I wonder what will happen in winter when the field will be closed…) But I think if they’re going to charge $ 168 a permit, you should be guaranteed a spot or should have a limit of how many permits they sell.
There are several shuttles to ship students from North Campus (math & sciences), South Campus (art & psychology majors), East Campus (dorms), the new UML Inn (the old Doubletree downtown used for dorms), and the train station (which I heard they may or may not have gotten rid of). The shuttles are crowded and sometimes late, but I think it’s just easier to schedule most or all of my classes on one campus.
Tuition isn’t bad and when I got on the Dean’s List I got significantly more financial aid than my freshman year. And I also think I’ll try living in the UML Inn next year (when they’re supposed to finish renovation).

For over thirty years this has been a place to get an excellent education at a very good price. Who needs IVY at rediculous prices? The rest of the world knows as you will see so many foreigners coming here. Solid engineering programs and a thriving arts program. North campus is admin and nerds (high tech engineering) south campus is artsy sensitive. LOL Great intercampus shuttle bus service. A world class educational institution with alot planned in the future for expansion.
Photos are of south campus, will add more as I take them