Amherst College Top Questions

While there were certainly a good amount of resources to find internships during the summer, there was not a consistant focus or encouragement of the student body. I wish I had found more internships during my undergraduate summers.

The school has two main groups, the legacies and wealthy people and the financial aid students. Within these groups there is a lot of diversity, but there is a tendency to stick with your socio-economic group. That is not to say that the school is self-segragating, in fact the administration goes out of its way to avoid this, but there is a divide between the older WASP legacies and the international and finacial aid students. This can be annoying, but can also be overcome through participating in extra-curricular activities.

The school has plenty of people that you don't know but when it comes to social life, the school is very small. The party scene has a limited number of students so after just one year, you know the large majority of students that "go out". It'd be nice to have a larger variety but at the same time, the small number does induce accountability for one's actions so parties are very responsible and respectful. Things rarely get stolen, broken, etc.

It's a very small school so it's hard to meet new people since you already know mostly everyone.

The food is not great -- there is variety but the same meals are repeated over and over. Quality isn't great. Plus, with only one dining hall, pickings are slim.

This is an incredibly difficult question as I look back on college with only the fondest memories. The school is very small. I do believe that I graduated with just as many friends as people I know at large universities, but by the end of my four years, I did feel stiffled. Amherst seniors know everything about everyone. I hope that over the years this knowledge will strengthen our friendship, but it also made aspects of senior year at Amherst very difficult and frustrating.

The workload at times can be overwhelming, especially if you choose to take full advantage of the education here. Professors assign a lot of work, which often inhibits a good amount of sleep and sometimes results in diminished quality of work.

food. weather.

The worst thing about Amherst College is the prestige we must live up to and the high esteem held for the institution. In President Marx's speech at the beginning of my time here, I remember him saying, "We are the best college in all the land." I feel that if you need to proclaim this, then you really are not, and you are trying to justify your thoughts by an open statement.

The worst thing is probably the Amherst bubble. We're pretty small, and its a little bit isolated. There are lots of service organizations on campus, but they tend to be run by a small number of people. However, we had a lot of participation in the elections, and people even travelled to New Hampshire to get people to vote.