Moving in can be a daunting experience, especially if you have never lived in New England before. Here is some information to help you with your move.
If you're flying in, you'll most likely get in through Bradley (in Hartford, CT), Logan (in Boston, MA), or one of JFK or Newark (both in New York). There are plenty of shuttle services from these airports to Amherst; Valley Transporter is the most widely used one, but there are other options. If you are in Boston or New York, you can also take a Peter Pan bus from Boston South Station to Amherst (or Northampton or Springfield, which are both close by). New York also has Amtrak service from Penn Station or Grand Central directly to Northampton or Springfield. You can also check out the local train service. Getting a cab or an Uber from Springfield, or the bus B43 from Northampton, gets you to UMass.
If you are driving in, you will either take I-90 or I-91, depending on where you are coming from. I-90 is a toll road, but there are equally fast alternative routes available (such as MA-2).
You should also check out the active Facebook rideshare group for splitting costs for rides, as there is a large number of people always traveling between Western Massachusetts and the nearby big cities, who are looking to split gas costs.
This CICS page has a great list of options. Also, here's a detailed campus map.
Once you are in the area, public transportation is frequent and easily accessible. PVTA buses are common and cover most areas you would need to visit on a regular basis; download their app here, and note that the buses are free for UMass students. UMass Transportation Services runs a few other special means of transportation as well. Note that Uber and Lyft services are less common, and should not be relied on.
The Pioneer Valley is an incredibly beautiful place for driving, with plenty of scenic drives. If you are looking to buy a car, there are many dealerships in the area, as well as personal vehicles put up directly for sale that you can find on sites such as Craiglist or AutoList. Leasing vehicles is also an option many students use. If you wish to drive more casually, there are Enterprise rentals in the area, or you can get a Zipcar student membership -- there are plenty of lots. UMass has visitor parking as well as student parking deals available; go to the parking website to find out more. The closest lots to the CS Building are 26, 31, and 68, and the closest to LGRC are 43 and 27. Note that if you are a UMass employee (e.g. a PhD student with a TAship or RAship), then you are eligible for GEO discounted rates for parking. Metered street parking is available throughout the Amherst area. You can either pay using coins, or pay using the Parkmobile app.
If you wish to bike around, you can either buy a bike from one of the many bike stores close by, or get a Valley Bikes membership that lets you rent out bikes at reasonable hourly or daily rates from several docking stations. There are many bike shops in the area as well. You can also check out the Bicycle Commute Program.
For undergraduate students, Residential Life at UMass is one of the largest on-campus housing organizations in the nation, with 52 (primarily-undergraduate) student residence halls in many styles scattered throughout campus. Note that as of 2021, there is no on-campus graduate housing available in UMass.
For all students, there are plenty of off-campus housing options. This includes both large apartment complexes, as well as multi-unit houses. There are typically plenty of Facebook and Whatsapp groups for housing as well. Take a look here for tips on transitioning to off-campus life.
The Amherst area has several large apartment complexes, such as Brandywine, Puffton, Townehouse, Colonial, Boulders, Mill Valley, Southpoint, Aspen Chase, and so on. There are also similar options a little further away, such as in Sunderland (e.g. Cliffside and Amherst Grove). There are an even larger number of multi-unit houses available for rent year-round, in Amherst as well as all neighboring areas such as Northampton, Sunderland, Montague, Hadley, and South Hadley. Note that bus service is relatively infrequent between some of these places and campus. Craigslist is another good option for finding housing.
There are also plenty of hotels, inns, and Airbnb listings in the area that are excellent for temporary housing or short stays.
Here's our checklist of things that aren't that fun but are good to get done before the first day of class:
Add your emergency contact under the "My Personal Information" tab on SPIRE.
Ensure you have your health insurance set up, as required by Massachusetts law for full-time students. If you are taking five or more credits, you are automatically enrolled in the Student Health Benefit Plan (SHBP). See here for more.
Set up your bank account. The two most common banks used by students are Bank of America and UMassFive, but others are also available.
Set up your bursar account, and paperless bill payments if you prefer.
Get your UCard from the UCard Office.
Make sure your email -- both UMass and CICS -- are set up. Ask CSCF for help with this or any other technical matters. Just write to system@cs.umass.edu.
Make sure your immunizations are done, as required by Massachusetts law.
Obtain any books you need for your courses using eCampus (follow ordering instructions here).
Sign up for UMass alerts here.
Take a moment to review the rules, norms, and expectations on academic honesty, student conduct, and gender pronouns.
If you have a campus job, before you get paid, you need to have your Social Security Number set up. You can set up an appointment here.