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Undergraduate Admissions

Admitted First-Year Student FAQ

To accept your offer of admission you must pay your nonrefundable $500 enrollment deposit using the link in your offer letter.

UMass Amherst rarely approves requests to defer admission decisions for students who are unable to attend during the admitted entering term indicated on their offer letter.

First-year students should accept their offer of admission online by May 1 (December 15 for students beginning in the spring semester). 

Your application for admission is used to determine your eligibility for all merit-based scholarships awarded by UMass Amherst. If you have been awarded a scholarship then you will see a Financial Award link when viewing your Admissions Decision on your personal Admissions Center in SPIRE. Questions about merit scholarships should be addressed to the Admissions Office. Scholarship assistance to transfer students is more limited.

Need-based aid requires submission of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form. If you intend to apply for financial aid and have not already done so, file the FAFSA form immediately. Financial Aid Services begins emailing award information to admitted students in late December. Awards are viewed in SPIRE.  Transfer students must request that a copy of their FAFSA report be sent to UMass Amherst.  The FAFSA code for UMass Amherst is 002221.

Certain majors are highly competitive and we are not able to admit every applicant. If you wish to transfer to your intended major or another program after enrolling, we recommend that you work with your academic advisor to learn the requirements for admission. (Please note that it is not possible to transfer into the Nursing major.)  Starting fall 2015, the university implemented an Exploratory Track Program for all first-year students who have been accepted for admission to the university as an undeclared major.

For students entering in the fall semester, there are a couple of date-specific options where you can request a change to your major.

  • Before May 1: Please send a request to the Admissions Office. If you are requesting a competitive major, you may have to enroll at UMass Amherst and then satisfy certain academic requirements before you can change your major. 
  • After May 1: If you do not submit a request by May 1, the next opportunity to request a change to your major is at your scheduled New Student Advising and Course Registration appointment.  During your meeting with the advisor from the major or exploratory track to which you were originally admitted, you can discuss changing into a different major. Please note, changing majors that involve changing schools/college at UMass Amherst may not be possible at New Student Advising and Course Registration.

Before contacting Undergraduate Admissions or your academic advisor, we encourage you to read about current limitations on changing into majors in the Manning College of Computer Science, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, and Isenberg School of Management.

If you would like to double major or add a minor you will need to speak with your advisor during your online New Student Advising and Course Registration meeting. They will be able to instruct you on how to proceed.

Students interested in teaching must complete a major appropriate to their particular license (early childhood, elementary, or secondary education). Once you finish your undergraduate degree, you may apply to a post-baccalaureate program at UMass Amherst or elsewhere to prepare for licensure. The university's new Exploratory Track Program is for students interested in education as a career path in a variety of settings (e.g., formal, informal, or international).

Your admission was based, in part, on the course schedule you declared in your application. Therefore, we will approve drops in your schedule only for medical reasons or extenuating circumstances. You can change your schedule, but the change normally must be to a comparable level course, e.g. AP for AP, honors for honors, etc. Any request for a schedule change must be submitted online.

When we review final transcripts in the summer, we check final grades as well as schedule changes. An unauthorized schedule change or extreme drop in grades could jeopardize your admission.

Yes. Your offer of admission is contingent on successful completion of all courses in progress or planned prior to your entry to UMass Amherst.

First-year students: please have your official final high school transcript sent to Undergraduate Admissions by July 1. Transcripts from any post-secondary institutions you may have attended during or after high school must also be sent.

Official high school transcripts can be submitted via email to mail@admissions.umass.edu.

All post-secondary institution transcripts (community colleges, other colleges, etc.) must be sent to us electronically through one of the following services:  National Clearinghouse, E-Script Safe, or Parchment.

If a high school or post-secondary transcript needs to be mailed, the address is:

UMass Amherst Undergraduate Admissions Office
Mather Building
37 Mather Drive
Amherst, MA 01003

Students entering UMass in the fall will be able to sign up for housing and New Student Orientation & Transitions in the spring. We will communicate with admitted students when those dates approach.

Please check our Bursar’s Office website for the current tuition and fee schedule.  For an estimation of the tuition and fees, please see our Financial Aid Services website.

After all college courses are completed, please have the official transcripts sent to us directly from the college. If the courses are transferrable, then the credit hours and grades will be added to your UMass Amherst record once you begin your first semester. Student-printed transcripts are not considered official.

Students can receive credit through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program, College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), Dantes Subject Standardized Tests (DSST), and International A Level examinations.  Strong scores may allow for a course waiver or course credit.  All scores MUST be sent to the Office of Admissions directly from the testing agency.  It is also helpful to have a copy of your test scores on hand when first meeting with an academic advisor. This will let academic advisors know what credits you have earned.

Visit the Registrar's website for more information about transferring credit.

Welcome!  Each year we admit students from more than 70 countries around the world.  Please see our checklist for admitted international students.  Also, our International Programs Office works with international students throughout their academic careers, assisting with initial immigration advising and documentation, orientation, and ongoing advising and counseling.

If you decide to decline our offer of admission, please follow this link and select “I would like to decline my offer of admission.”

Our Information Technology (IT) office will send you information on how to access your IT account, including the student information system (SPIRE), email, wireless internet, etc. If you need assistance with your NetID or password, please check the IT website for students.