Amherst College Top Questions

Great relationships with professors. Professors that I had freshman and sophomore year still remember me and talk to me. Students study a few hours a night, but it varies. Regardless, everyone here is pretty serious about school. Students are not competitive with one another, but I would definitely say they are very self-motivated. We don't want to see one another fail, but we definitely make sure we are successful ourselves. I am constantly engaging in intellectual conversations out of class, it's one think I really like about Amherst. We're a semi-diverse group of people but we all share intellectual curiosity and value our education. Education at amherst is learning for its own sake, which i've loved. If you want to get into a very specialized career amherst makes your path a little more difficult, but not impossible. i think the stuff we learn here prepares us to take on a really wide variety of careers.

Yes, all of my professors know my name. My favorite class is people and pollution (history 28). it deals with really relevent issueas of pollution and human impact on the environment and it's done really well, we also have pretty good discussions. my least favorite is spanish 3 (intermediate). i haven't taken spanish since jnr yr in high school and i am just taking this to refresh my spanish, but it's not really doing much. the people in the class dont talk much and the only talking we do is give answers to exercised where each part is basically the same. i would love to have more conversation and vocab, but it is hard to have that kind of class at 9 in the morning... i find that most students study pretty hard every week night. class participation is common, especially when there are upperclassmen to lead it, but freshmen still participate too. i've had several intellectual conversations outside of class, but it's not the norm. most students are not that competitive. the most unique class i've taken is either the history class i mentioned above, or my first-yr seminar, called genes, genomes, and society which was very interesting. my major will be biology. i've made several appointments with profs outside of class, but only when i have questions. i love the fact that amherst has an open curriculum but will still take advantage of different departments and the typical "liberal arts" education. i'd say some of both to the last question, certain classes are geared toward jobs or grad school (like econ, maybe some sciences) but a lot are just for learning.

Academics are great. Most of the classes are relatively small, under 40, so it's possible to really get to know a professor and the other students in the class. On the whole professors encourage students to come into their office hours for any problems and just to chat. Professors are extremely welcoming. TYPO- take your professor out- is designed to let students and professors interact outside of class. A group of students and a professor go out to dinner, at the college's expense, and it's always a great time. Learning about a professor's past experiences can oftentimes be just as valuable as a class. On the whole, students are really not competitive. Grades are normally not curved so that only a certain number of As are given, which really helps. Study groups and collaborative learning are always encouraged. The psychology department, my major, is great. All the professors are incredibly knowledgeable and also very interesting people. The department offers a wide variety of psych classes which lets the majors tailor what they specifically want to learn about psych. For instance, classes focusing on both scientific based psychology and more social psychology are offered. The requirements for Amherst as a whole are also great. The open curriculum allows the students to choose to take whatever they want. That way no one is forcing you to take anything you don't want to; everyone who is in your class is normally there by choice. Overall, the atmosphere is geared towards learning and not based on how to get a job.

Professors generally know your name and if you are in a large class they give you ample opportunity to meet with them and get to know them. Students definitely engage in intellectual conversations outside of class, but it really varies. It seems that alot of work will come at once and then there will be other "down times" in between.

Most professors make an attempt to know everyone's names. Going to office hours is a big help since it is a good way to get to know professors and professors tend to be very helpful. Students don't tend to be too competitive. Everyone tries to do their best and don't really worry about how others do. I would say the education at Amherst is geared more towards learning for its own sake. A lot of students end up going to graduate school where the focus is more on preparing for a job. Except for the a freshman seminar and classes required for your major, there are no required classes at Amherst which gives you much freedom to pursue your interests. Admittedly though, some students take advantage of this academic freedom and never branch out to subject areas they struggle in.

All my professors know my name, and I usually go to my professors' office hours at least once a week. With the professors that I'm close to, I see them as my professors but also my friends. I usually have intellectual conversations outside of class at random times of day. For example, my friends and I might suddenly talk about aggressions, genes, and evolution during dinner. One time, we discussed genocide while eating salad. I also enjoy having intellectual conversations with my professor. Today, my professor and I talked about the Indian concept of beauty and skin color. Amherst has an open curriculum, which means that there are no core classes that all freshman need to take. Students can take any class they wish as long as they have the requisites. For example, a student can't take Biology 19 without having taking Biology 18 first.

Yes, almost every professor I have knows my name. My favorite class this semester is Tolstoy. Most everyone studies a lot, definitely at least a few hours everyday. Class participation is very common, but there are certain students who try to get too much attention, which can get annoying. We definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class. One of the most interesting experiences I have had is when everybody on my floor was studying in the common room, and we began to talk about many of the political issues that the US faces today. One of the campus police officers walked in, and we included him in the conversation. It turned out to be pretty interesting. Students are competitive, but not publicly. Grades are usually kept private, except among friends, if you decide to reveal it. I am most likely going to be a French major, with pre-med possibly on the side. I love the French department; both of the classes that I have taken in it have been interesting and engaging. The academic requirements are great, especially in that there are none. You are free to take whatever classes you want to, and it really allows you to explore truly random things that sound interesting. Education here is definitely geared towards learning for its own sake, especially with the lack of requirements.

Professors always know our names - even in 80 people classes, which is the largest size class I've ever taken here. My favorite classes so far have been European Art and Architecture from 1400-1800, Baroque Art, Political Economy of Development, Cuba:Politics of Extremism, and Japanese Art: From Edo to Tokyo. I haven't really taken a class so far that I have not liked - or even if it wasn't my favorite, I still learned so much that it was worth it. All my friends discuss intellectual subjects constantly outside class - we stayed up many nights freshman year arguing about subjects such as race, identity and definitions of genocide. I think students are competitive, but less openly than they were at my high school. Amherst education is really what you make of it, I think. It is certainly geared towards learning for learning's sake although I think that there are people here who couldn't care less - however, those people, I believe, constitute a minority. The most unique class I've ever taken is probably the Poli Sci upper level seminar that I'm taking right now on Problems of International Politics: Gorbachev, the end of the Cold War and the Collapse of the Soviet Union. It is being taught by William Taubman, Khrushchev's biographer, who is currently writing a biography of Gorbachev. We are approaching the study of Gorbachev from a pseudo-psychobiographical standpoint and one week's reading consisted entirely of psychological theory. It is really fascinating.

there's a lot of integration between academics and extracurriculars: clubs often invite professors or guests to give lectures in the evenings, the theme houses put together educational house projects, etc. Yes, some professors are very active in the campus political and social life. yes, there are research opportunities for undergrads (the school has lots of money, you just have to ask around). there are no grad students, so undergrads get all the attention and money, which is great. there is no core curriculum, which is also great, and one of the main reasons i chose amherst. TAs don't teach classes, they just lead extra review sessions and tutor, so they're very helpful. about 1/3 of seniors complete theses.

You learn what you want, and that can be dangerous. Make sure you take a science class if you're an English major, and make sure you take an English class if you're a science major. Take a class where you'd least like to, and you'll be surprised. Take classes with the famous professors, then with the ones who people seem to hate; usually, the latter are better because they really push you. And you have to be ready to be pushed here; you write and write and read and read and spend whole days doing problem sets or setting up lab experiments. No matter how sick it makes you, it's worth it. If you're a senior, write a thesis - it's a sense of accomplishment you won't get anywhere else. If you're a science major, take advantage of the fact that there are no grad students here and that you can work on a project that was involved in the Nobel Prize - it happens. To sophomores and freshmen and anyone else who tries. Do everything you can, and when you come out, you'll be damn pleased with it.