Amherst College Top Questions

What are the academics like at Amherst College?

Scott

Classes aren't too hard, it's just that the students are smart so it forces you to do your best work. The professors are pretty solid, I've had some good and some bad. If you are outgoing with your professors they will help you and talk to you anywhere.

Tristan

Yes, all professors know my name (kinda sucks when you sleep in, you immediately get an email...). Favorite classes: Abnormal Psychology - Prof. Halgin (a UMASS professor) is simply fantastic, you will remember 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of his lectures, so engaging! How often do students study? - all the time. Class participation is very common and there is no oppositional culture (meaning, none of this high school crap that participating in class is not cool.) I can say that one of the most characteristic features of Amherst are the intellectual discussions outside of class, you learn more out of class (and in Val) than in class. Students are very competitive, but I have not heard of friendships suffering from that, no one is out there to get you or stab you in the back. People are cool, but they just take even small assignments very seriously. Most unique class - Abnormal Psychology. The econ major is not a bullshit, many professors but just a few are quite demanding. It's still not as hard as the sciences, but you cannot slack through it. The math major is more rigorous, the rhythm of your life will be dictated by problems sets, they count as a big part of your grade, so you have to study hard every week. Professors are EXTREMELY HELPFUL, they will never refuse to see you even with the most idiotic question you come up with; poor people, we almost abuse them. The academic requirements are adequate to what I expected and to the capacity of the student body, but if you want to "take a break from life" and just chill, forget about it. The education in Amherst is geared more towards intellectual pursuit. Job recruiting is impressive for a liberal arts college, but if you know for a fact that Wall Street is your dream, go to an Ivy, they have better recruitment. In general, you don't need to worry, you will have a good life after Amherst.

Chelsea

The best thing about classes here at Amherst is that they are small enough that the professors always know your name! (Excepting a few introductory courses.) Anytime I needed help, I always felt comfortable asking because my professor knew who I was and wanted to help me understand the course!

Terry

Very Competitive. Hard classes, and the students take them very very seriously

Sasha

Professors definitely learn your name and are accessible. Depending on the class people will participate some, although it has never been a major feature of any of the classes I've taken. That said I know for example that in philosophy classes, class participation is prevalent and there is a lot of well thought out discussion. There is not much competition on campus, most people only stress themselves out about their own performance, never that of others. As for requirements, Amherst is known for its open curriculum, but in all honesty I would rather have more structure and a common experience of a reasonable core curriculum.

Rebecca

The professors are very accessible here, and relationships between professors and students are close. The campus even offers a program called TYPO (Take your professor out), where they give students money to take their professors out to dinner in town with a small group.

Alexander

Most professors know most students' names and there is plenty of class participation. This kind of reflects the sort of classes you choose, though. Big intro classes will have 100 students and will naturally have less discussion, but few classes are that large. One example of the good school-student-professor relationship is TYPO. This is a program in which the school will pay for students to take their professors out to dinner at a local restaurant. It is a lot of fun and many students make use of it. I am an English and geology major. The geology department is excellent. Professors all go by a first-name basis, and the group is very tight-knit. Classes are challenging and fun; there are many field trips to the surrounding areas, as well as winter and summer trips to locations at which professors have on-going projects (Greece, Hawaii, Iceland). Amherst does not give credit for "vocational" classes, which is sometimes a hassle. I couldn't take a journalism class at Mt. Holyoke, so I had to audit it. Otherwise, the academic requirements are great. There is no "core" curriculum, which allows great latitude of class choice. Some choose not to take advantage of this, taking only science or humanities classes their entire time at Amherst. This is a wasted opportunity. Most students take classes in every kind of field.

Red

Classes here are wonderful. Professors will know your name and where you are from. Students study around two to five hours a day, depending on whether someone has a paper or not. Class participation is extremely common. Don't come here if your planning on relaxing in the corner. There is some competition, but not in a negative way. People help eachother before tests and while they are curious to see the scores of their peers, never brag or boast. People can TYPO (Take Your Professor Out) there professor and get a free meal in town, this is very popular amongst good professors, which there are tons of here. There are no requirements, making premed and double majoring easy.

Brett

Professor student relationships are great. Love the academics.

Dylan

In the entire college, there are maybe five large introductory lecture classes with as many as 80 students. Most of my classes, even freshman year, had around 20-30, and are some combination of lecture and discussion. I'm a double major in Sociology and Environmental Studies, which is easy to do at Amherst because there are no core requirements. You will never sit through a miserable intro math class just because it is required, or have a bunch of kids who hate English ruin your intro English class. Not having core requirements increases student engagement in all classes and gives everyone time to explore fields that they may not plan to major in.