Amherst College Top Questions

Many people here play sports, and a lot of the parties on campus are thrown by sports teams. The college throws "alcohol-free" parties every month or two; they're usually sweaty dance parties where people who've already gotten drunk congregate, but they can be a lot of fun. Most people have small groups of very close friends which are part of bigger social groups. Other than sports, a cappella singing is probably the activity that the most people are involved with.

Amherst shares the area with four other schools, all of which provide cross-registration to students. The free bus system that runs between the five colleges makes the area particularly connected and the social life very accessible. The college is full of fun stuff to do and see, from art exhibits to big name speakers and concerts to movies on the freshman quad! The area is beautiful, and Amherst has, by far, the best view of any school I have ever visited! Party scene is thriving, but not too big, plenty to do for folks who don't want to party, no frat scene, tons of new people coming through all the time, great dorms and dorm life, very non-exclusive social atmosphere.

Men's basketball is the biggest sport to watch I'm on the swim team, which takes up a lot of time, but is a fun group of guys. it can be a very insular and cliquey group, athough I've maneged to have my own friends from my freshman dorm in addition to my swim friends. many swimmers are ONLY friends with other swimmers, which I think is kind of sad. Some sporting events are popular, especialy among hte preppy crowd. Theater and dance events actually get VERY high attendance becuase they only happen rarely and are well advertised, as to A Cappella performances. The Zumbyes are an amazing a cappella group thats gets enormous attendance. I met my best friends from my freshman dorm, and we've all lived together since. Many of my good firends are in Student govt, but thats just cuase we all joined becuase the other ones are in student govt. Most people party big on Saturday night, and on either Thurs or Friday night. I have no idea what people do on Sat night that isn't drinking, maybe they play computer games with each other or watch a movie in each other's rooms.

The a capella groups are quite popular. The swim team, which i am on, is notorious for being wild and cultish. Some students leave their doors open. I lock mine now just because anyone can get into any building at any time and steal things. Athletic events are not as big as at big schools. Most people go to homecoming football games and playoff basketball games but not alot. Guest speakers are frequent but not well attended unless famous. My closest friends and roommates are my teammates on the swimming and water polo teams. At 2 am on a Tues nite, i'm watching tv in the common room with my roommates. People party Thursday, Friday and Sat nites, mostly, but the big nites are Thurs and Sat. Fraternities are underground. There are about 5 of 6 and they have big parties sometimes, but the school wants nothing ot do with it. Last weekend, I got back from Spring Break on Sunday and we had a huge party to celebrate the success of our swimmers who went to Nationals over break and to kick off the spring. On sat nite, i could go to a movie or play video games, but drinking and partying is mostly what i do on sat nites.

Athletes are generally most popular, but it is ok because the majority of students are involved in some sport whether club or varsity.

My closest friends are definitely the other members of the swim team, I found that I just have the most in common with them, we chose the school for the same reason. However, it is easy to have other friends too. I think a lot of the friends people make freshman year are based on living situations, but they gradually evolve as time passes. The partying at Amherst varies depending on what you want to do. There are definitely people who party 3 or more times a week, however, there are those that may only go out once, or not at all. One of Amherst's best traditions is the Luau TAP (The Amherst Party) which occurs in September. Essentially, it is a big outdoor party held on one of the quads, with a live band. There is a lot of dancing, and because it is still warm people can really enjoy being outside. it also gives students a chance to see a lot of different people because the majority of the student body definitely shows up to this party

Most popular organizations: Black Students Union, La Causa, The Indicator, The Zumbyes, The Bluestockings, Football, Men's Basketball, the Ultimate Frisbee teams, Women's Hockey, and Women's Rugby. The Amherst Student newspaper runs my life. As one of the Managing Editors, I spend about 30 hours a week at the office lay-outing my section, editing articles, and writing. Most students in the dorms don't leave their doors open for the simple fact that a mere doorstop would not be enough to hold out heavy doors open. No joke. Athletic events are pretty popular, particularly men's basketball. Guest Speakers will always get some crowd. Not too sure about theater because I don't attend most productions. Dating scene - non-existent. It's a hook-up culture. But there are quite a number of committed couples on campus, still. Met my closest friends in my dorm freshman year. 2 AM Tuesday - I'm at the newspaper office finishing up my section because printing on Wednesday. Traditions? What traditions? Oh, you mean the concert with the crappy artist. People TRY to party every weekend, but the party scene here is pretty weak. There are no official frats or sororities, but secret frats exist. Not that important at all if you don't belong to them. Last weekend I wrote a 15-page paper for my Sex, Gender, and the Family class. Nothing beats board games on a Saturday night. Trivial Pursuit rules! Off campus? When do I get off campus?

sports teams comprise the social scene but dont exclude non-athletes. dating here is hard because its so small, but many people find great relationships here. amherst definitely has a work hard-play hard attitude. Wednesdays are at bars in town, Thursdays a sports team throws a dorm party, Saturdays dorms throw parties and the Social Council sponsors a theme party.

I mostly know about the teams, the football, hockey, lacrosse and basketball teams are all popular. other groups that are big include GSA, BSU, and Asian club. I'm a basketball player and i loved this past season. I am also doing track for the first time this year and throwing discus and shot put after one of my floor mates convinced me to do it. a lot of people on my floor leave their doors open. we've been a very close floor from the first day and we all bought door stops together. i don't see it as much on other floors. athletic events are reasonably popular, especially when a team is doing well. there are a lot of guest speakers and the ones i've been to have been good. i don't hear much about the theater happening here. i went to one play put on by a company outside the school for a class. the dating scene is almost non-existent. basically, if you repeatedly hook up with someone you may eventually start dating. if, like me, you don't want to do that, you feel stuck. i met my closest friends because they're my floor mates. if i'm awake at 2 am on a tuesday it won't be for long but i'm finishing up any work i have to do. there are a several parties thrown by the social council that happen every year and they're pretty fun. people party quite often, you could probably find at least a small party/groups of students drinking, etc, every night of the week. frats aren't supposed to exist, but there are underground frats that basically serve to throw parties. i've never been to one and i find them annoying. i did nothing last weekend b/c we just got back from spring break, but i usually go out to a party on campus on saturday nights, and for the past four months, i've either had a game or practice, and i always have a lot of work. on some saturdays i just hang out with friends and watch movies or play (non-drinking) games, which i think is really fun. i go out to eat in restuarants in town and shop.

The sports teams at Amherst throw a lot of the parties and provide a large portion of the social scene. Parties occur mainly at one of two locations: the socials and the triangle. Small parties can be found on any night of the week, but the biggest nights are Wednesday (senior bar night), Thursday (especially popular with freshman and sports teams), and Saturday (campus wide free for all). Each month there are TAPs (The Amherst Party) which are thrown by the social council and involve a DJ or band and are normally a giant, sweaty mess of students dancing and socializing. They're tons of fun and always themed to spice up life for little while. The best by far is the first one thrown, Luau, outside in the middle of the social quad. Nothing like coming back to school and having the opportunity to reunite with your friends and meet new people while wearing a grass skirt and coconut shells when it's only about 50 degrees outside. Gotta love the northeast! People complain that the party scene gets old, but if you're inventive and willing to create some of your own atmosphere there's always something fun to do. Fraternities are all underground and don't really dominate the party scene at all. They throw a couple big parties a year but overall are a minimal part of the campus scene. If I'm awake at 2 am on a Tuesday I'm either partying because in-season athletes often party on Tuesdays (far enough away from Friday game-day) or I'm awake writing a paper/studying or I'm in the middle of some deep conversation (whether it be about boys, friends, or the upcoming election).