Amherst College Top Questions

i love the size of amherst, great for relationships with professors and getting to know a diversity of students more intimately. it seems like class and work is taken more seriously here than other schools, i definitely appreciate that about amherst. i feel like im getting a better education than most people in the world. people either think im talking about UMASS amherst or are very impressed that i go to amherst. the town of amherst is actually really cute and convenient, but its not a college town the way Penn State has a college town. A frequent complaint is the school's funding of different programs and how they spend their money. we have a huge endowment and all the students know this, so when athletic teams suffer due to a lack of funds, we tend to feel really overlooked and under-appreciated.

The best thing about Amherst is the people, i've already met a lot of really nice people who i know will be lifelong friends. I would definitely change the food at val. It might be a little small, i feel like i know most people already, but i like it. when i say i go to amherst people usually say wow what a great school. It feels like i spend most of my time at the gym, especially surind basketball season, but probably the dorm, i usually do work there and just hang out with friends. I love the town of amherst, there's enough to do on campus that it doesn't need to be anything more than it is. I haven't had much experience with the administration. I've met our class dean and he was very nice and personable, the secretaries, offices, etc are pretty helpful. the big controversy this year was the start or amherstconfessional.com where people starting posting obscene and cruel comments. there's a fair amount of school pride, people come to big games and we drew some decent crowds at some of our big games. I feel like amherst student have a certain quirkiness to them, in a very good way, but it's nothing specifically unusual. one experience i'll always remember was winning the nescac tournament by beating tufts for the second time that season. the most frequent student complaint is far and away the food.

Prospective students always seem to worry about the size of Amherst as it's only 1600 or so students. Some people think this sounds entirely too small, but when you're actually at Amherst it doesn't normally feel that small. Just like at a big university students find their group of friends and hang out mainly with that group. The smallness is actually an advantage most of the time because it's easy to meet new people and make new friends since you are constantly bumping into people at the school. It's not like a big school where you might never see someone you meet one night again. The town is great! Being so close to UMass-Amherst, a big university, means that there are good restaurants, a nice little variety of bars, and the best pizza joint in the east all within walking distance from the college. Plus, there's incredibly easy access just two minutes away in a car to all the stores you would ever need: Target, Walmart, Stop and Shop, Blockbuster, Dick's Sporting Goods, etc. The most frequent student complaint is that we only have one dining hall and that its hours are minimal. It is only open from 4:30-7:30 for dinner. Still, this guarantees that when you go in there you'll always find someone you know to eat with.

Amherst is a bit small, but that creates a real sense of community and close relationships with people around you. The five college system makes the town of Amherst very accepting of students. The food at val is not great.

The best thing about Amherst is the open curriculum. If you never want to take an English or science class, you don't have to. Although some might consider Amherst to be too small, coming from a smaller high school, I think the size is just right. A lot of times when I tell people I go to Amherst, they either have no clue what college I am talking about or think I must be extremely wealthy (which I am not). I spend most of my time on campus at the Frost Library and at the gym. Amherst has the quintessential college town with lots of small shops and restaurants. The biggest recent controversy on campus has been hateful and even racist postings on the site Amherst Confessional.

One of the best parts about college is the professors. The first time I wrote a college paper, I had a lot of trouble. So my professor sat down with me for an hour and taught me how to write a paper. Other times, she and I just sat in her office to discuss literature and culture. I came to Amherst, knowing that I was inadequate and not as prepared as the other students. Naturally, I was intimidated. But the resources and the professors provide limitless opportunities to learn, catch up, and thrive. Furthermore, there are five colleges within the Amherst area; so using the 5 college system, students can take an enormous variety of classes. The students and professors are unique, tolerant of all backgrounds, and supportive. There is little to no discrimination on campus. My friends and I come from radically different backgrounds and hold opposite views at times. For starters, I come from a very traditional, neo-Confucian background. However, I found that meeting people of different cultures, economic backgrounds, and views challenges my beliefs and helps me grow as a person. Coming here entails achieving academic excellence but also learning to interact with people outside of your comfort zone. It is an amazing experience.

The campus is easily the best thing. It is absolutely gorgeous, to start with, and just the perfect size. You see familiar faces every day, but there are still enough people to feel that you're not in a fish bowl. Val. I'm pretty sure everyone will say this. The selection stinks. The food itself stinks. The repetition stinks. And it is way too small. When it gets crowded, it's unbearable. And we should have better fro yo flavors. The size of the school is just right for me. It's big enough that you don't know everyone and you can meet new people every day, but you still don't feel lost because you can bump into a teammate or a friend on the way to class or Val. Half the people I tell either assume that I am talking about UMass or ask me "That's the University of Massachusetts, right?" The other half nod and say "That's impressive." I spend most of my time in my room. The dorm I live in is absolutely gorgeous, and I do most, if not all, of my work in here. I also spend a lot of time at the gym because I am an athlete. The town is a little bit too small. I wish there was a place where you could get fresh food without getting your car and going to Whole Foods. There is a ton of school pride. You can't go a day, maybe even an hour, without seeing someone wearing a piece of clothing that says "Amherst" on it.

The best thing about Amherst are the professors. As someone who never developed close relationships with teachers in high school, I have been so pleased to find so many wonderful, caring, inspiring people teaching here; I often spend 20-45 minutes in a professor's office chatting about everything from work to politics to art. The depth and breadth of interest of the professors is also wonderful. The professor of my poli sci class - Cuba, Politics of Extremism - started each class last semester by playing for us part of a podcast on the musical theory of Beethoven's Fifth. He was also thrilled to hear that I wanted to double major in Art History and Poli Sci. I think the size is a little small, but I wouldn't give it up for anything since the atmosphere is really great. I spend most of my time on campus in the library or my room, or when the weather is nice, hanging out on the quad. Everyone LOVES the administration here. Our president, Tony Marx, is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. He listens to the students and truly tries to incorporate their opinions and desires into his decisions. He is also simply a wonderful human being. There is a fair amount of school pride. I wish there was more, but it is nice that the sports teams don't run the school. One experience I will always remember: going out to dinner with my professor, several Amherst Alums from the fifties, two other students and a lecturer whose talk on "Building Community in Latin America" we had just attended - Dr. Joseph Tulchin, former Director of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program and Amherst alum. We spent the evening eating delicious food and discussing everything from Venezuelan rhetoric to the Chilean glaciers to what the fraternity life was like when Dr. Tulchin attended Amherst. Another wonderful experience: my 15-person seminar on Renaissance Marvels (a colloquium taught by an english professor and an art history professor) took a field trip to Washington DC (flown there and back - and the entire trip was paid for by the school!) to look at original manuscripts in the Folger Shakespeare Library and to get a private gallery talk with Nicholas Penny, the former Senior Curator of Sculpture at the National Gallery in DC (and current Director of the National Gallery of London). We also went out to eat with our professors and grew incredibly close as a class.

i love amherst’s size, and the setting in a small town, but it's not for everyone. my favorite tradition, and generally one of the most popular yearly events, is Casino, a formal event with swing dancing and gambling (the profits go to charity). one of the great hobbies on campus is bashing the student government and complaining about how funding for clubs is allocated. i wish the school were a little less inward-looking. we joke about the 'amherst bubble,' but really, most students don't make an effort to volunteer in the community or even think about issues off-campus. college is like camp, where students are expected to do little more than keep up with their coursework and entertain themselves, which is ironic since our school’s motto is 'terras irradient,' (light up the earth). but hey, it's nice to escape from the real world for four years :) also, there's only school spirit during homecoming and games against Williams (but homecoming is mainly just an excuse to drink all day in public with alums.)

Seniors are scared as hell coming out of Amherst; it's like leaving your mother's arms for the first time. Everything we want, we can get here if we work for it. I'd love to think that's the real world, but it's not. We have a wonderful career center, but let's be honest - half or so of the English majors want to teach, and only one or two got jobs. Nobody wants to leave here, and people find just about any excuse to stick around for a year or two in the Valley. It's a wonderful place, but it's addictive. Just a warning.