Amherst College Top Questions

Small calsses, professors know students on an individual basis. Education is geared toward learning for learning's sake; very few academic requirements. The open curriculum allows you to learn about and explore what you want.

Every professor knows my name, and I am on a first name basis with half of them this semester. In particular, my econ professor doesn't care anymore whether I show up to his class, as I am particularly insightful when I do, and I often meet with him during office hours to ask question above and beyond the curriculum. We are very competitive and very well informed, but choose to gang up on those with ill informed opinions. We also are not very accepting of Christians in particular. For some reason, we are fine with almost every other religion, but as soon as someone admits they are Catholic or Protestant, we question their intelligence. We have no requirements, although that may change, which really allows for a broad educational experience.

My biggest class this semester is about 20 students, my smallest has 4. For the most part, the professors are very available and friendly, and scrutiny, the school's class review website, is great for finding good professors. Best part- no general education requirements! It's easy to take whatever you want and not waste time on things you don't care about but need to graduate. People are often very stressed about grades and try to do well, but there is usually plenty of time to hang out and have fun.

Classes are great. Professors are great. All of the professors I've had have been really friendly and approachable, and most make an effort to get to know you beyond what they see in the classroom. I've taken several geology classes, which require frequent field trips, and they're always totally fascinating, plus most geology professors have no compunction about using departmental funds to buy their students food. There are no core requirements, so most students honestly want to be in the classes they take. People do spend a lot of time studying, but most of the time it is with people from their classes or in the common room. People's academics carry over into their social lives a lot; there are frequently dinnertime discussions about something discussed in class that day. Most students at Amherst are honestly interested in learning for learning's sake, although future careers are usually part of the big picture. Classes vary in difficulty, with some classes assigning a paper or two a semester and others requiring several hours of work a night.

Small classes, though selection is limited. However, you can always take classes at the other 5 Colleges. Class participation is definitely common; people are not afraid to voice their opinions and those opinions are almost always interesting and well-informed. You definitely learn a lot from your peers... And, yes, intellectual conversation definitely occurs naturally outside of class, but is mostly reactionary and not the central point of peer relationships. Students are not competitive, except with themselves. Most unique class: Workshop in Moving Image (creating and editing films), Playwriting. NO CORE CURRICULUM!! SO GREAT!! If you never want to take math again, you don't have to. Allows you to explore your interests without feeling burdened by requirements. Work hard, play hard. That's Amherst. Some students work a lot, but you can easily get away with very little by choosing the right classes and paying attention when you need to. Amherst is definitely NOT geared toward getting a job. Students apply that own pressure on themselves.

An advantage that you'll hear over and over again about Amherst is that the size allows for really dedicated professors and interesting classes. It's absolutely true. However, don't expect small classes your freshman year because intro courses tend to be very large. A good way to talk to your professors is through e-mail and office hours. I would give greater priority to e-mail because most professors tend to check their e-mail regularly whereas office hours may conflict with your class times. But if you can make it to office hours, you absolutely should go. Professors tend to explain things better one-on-one (who doesn't?) and they are always happy and excited to see students. The best departments on campus would have to be econ, LJST, poli sci, and psychology. I haven't heard much about the humanities and sciences, but there seem to be good concentrations of professors in pretty much every department. There is encouragement to try varied areas of study so that you have a balance and come out well-rounded, despite the open curriculum. Although graduates do get good jobs or highly coveted spots in top grad schools, the emphasis here is on learning and applying, not on being marketable on the job market. Most students here do go on to grad school eventually, so for most people, their degree from Amherst won't be the one that determines their career. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GUEST SPEAKERS AND THE COLLOQUIA!!!!! We have some really awesome people come talk to us. This year we had John Bolton, Wesley Clark, Andrew Bacevich, Joseph Stiglitz, several political strategists, authors, artists, etc.

I love the classes I've taken here, they're all definitely challenging. I absolutely adore the Psychology department, the professors are dynamic and very current with their research. Class participation is not as common as I wish it was but there are some professors who are really good at initiating discussions and it's definitely appreciated. The school spends a lot of time and money trying to encourage students to get to know their professors. There's a program called TYPO (Take Your Professor Out) in which you and 4 other students take your professor out to dinner and the school picks up the tab. It really makes a difference when you know that the person standing up at the front in front of the class is as human as you are! The professors here are so approachable, they have office hours and you can reach them at all hours by email or by phone or by just dropping by and seeing if they're in their office. Professor Sanderson of the Psych department had all of our names memorized by the 4th week of class...there were 175 people in Psych 11.

Since we're a small college, most classes are pretty small and most professors do know your name. Also, since there's no grad school, classes are all taught by actual professors, not grad students, and the professors are very devoted to their work with undergrads. That being said, I wouldn't say that I know all my professors really well and have dinner with them all the time. I'd say all my professors have know my name, but some I know better than others. I've hung out with professors in social or non-academic settings occasionally but not often. Academics are definitely pretty serious and you do have a lot of work-most Amherst students are fairly busy and stressed but also manage to do lots of extracurriculars and have fun and go out (and take naps). There is obviously a certain level of academic competition given the kind of people that come to Amherst, but I think it's fairly tame. Any class is going to have a few obnoxious people but also lots of cool people. It's nice that we don't have distribution requirements because you can take whatever you want- because of that, I guess different people have different academic experiences. I've taken some pretty cool classes for the Sociology and Spanish departments, including several Soci classes that involved hands-on social research. Especially in smaller classes, discussion is common and participation is often a big part of your class grade. I would definitely say that education is for the most part geared toward learning for its own sake (small liberal arts college, no distribution requirements); Amherst stresses learning how to 'think critically.' I didn't really appreciate this until I went abroad to Spain and realized that teaching styles are much different there.

Absolutely fantastic professors for the most part. The large majority of them are willing to spend time helping their students outside class and are available for advice and support. My department is fantastic, and all the professors are great professionalists. The academic requirements at Amherst can be tough, but it really depends on what path the student takes, as the school has an open curriculum. It gets tough for everybody at times though. Most Amherst students have intellectual or at least wannabe intellectual conversations outside class. Favorite class: too many to list Least favorite: Ontro to Physics II (Phys 17)

During dinner, students drift in and out of conversations about world politics and the latest South Park episode. There's a lot of really engaging, stimulating conversation among the students, but of course generously peppered with gossip and average college topics. The students really aren't that competitive; everybody more so focuses on doing well for themselves rather than sabotaging the person sitting next to them. In fact, students are really eager to help each other and give input on projects, papers, and problem-sets. The professors here really want to know their students on an individual basis, but this isn't dont unless the student makes the effort to talk to their professor and see them outside of class. Especially in large lecture classes of 80+ students, it's impossible to know each student. But professors are always eager to help their students and be available outside of class. There's also a great program called TYPO (Take Your Professor Out) where the school picks up the tab for you, other students, and your professor to have lunch/dinner. It's a great way to connect to your professor and see the human-side of them. The academic requirements at Amherst are a bit more relaxed than most schools since we have an open curriculum. It gives students the opportunity to explore lots of departments, especially during their first 2 years.