Amherst College Admission
Amherst College Undergraduate Program
Amherst College Application

The Facts

Amherst College is a small liberal arts college located in the state of Massachusetts.  It houses just over 1,600 undergraduate students, and is known for its curricular flexibility.  It has no core curriculum or general education requirements, and students are able to personalize their own majors and programs of study.  Despite the seemingly laid-back structure of the school, the academic atmosphere is extremely intense.  Students are incredibly driven and motivated to succeed in all of their classes.  There are no smaller “sub-schools” at Amherst; students are able to choose from several general major areas of concentration, yet still design the manner in which they go about achieving their degree.  Some of the most popular majors among students include English, economics, psychology, and political science.  An interesting note: nearly half of the students at Amherst complete two or more majors in only four years!

Admission to the school is quite competitive for a school of such diminutive stature; last year, over 5,631 students applied for admission to the school, 1,001 were admitted, and 413 students enrolled for the coming fall semester.  The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1320 to an impressive 1540 and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 29 to 34.  Additionally 86% of those admitted were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class.

The school has an impressive student to faculty ratio of 8:1, and students say that their professors are constantly accessible, and make sure the students know exactly when they can come for assistance.  Freshmen are treated no differently by the faculty than the upperclassmen, and the professors will often give students one-on-one attention.  The majority of professors are top professionals in their fields, and give their students plenty of internship opportunities and research fellowships.  Because of this unique fact, the school offers a strong preprofessional emphasis in many areas, often interdisciplinary.

The town of Amherst, Massachusetts is quite quaint, and extremely historical.  Although it may not be the most exciting place, it does offer students a wide range of dining options, shopping, and plenty of cute cafes and bookshops to hang out in.  There are also a few movie theaters and a mall, so students from urban areas won’t be at too much of a loss.  If students feel the need for a weekend in the city, both Boston and New York City are quite accessible by train and by car.

There isn’t any sort of Greek scene on campus in the form of fraternities or sororities, but students don’t seem to mind.  They spend most of their time studying anyway, but when they want to kick back and relax, they usually do so in smaller groups.  The school does offer many student-run organizations that students love to get involved in.  Sport are also quite popular at the school, and rugby is perhaps the school’s favorite pastime. The dating scene is pretty good; expect lots of intelligent cute guys and girls who like to chat at length about life over a good cup of joe.

“The college is really community oriented.  You feel supported here both by your peers and professors, which is nice, although uncommon at other larger schools.”

“ Amherst is such a gorgeous town.  The residents are really nice, and it just has a very low-key atmosphere.”

“The academics here are amazing, with a lot of flexibility in the way you go about experiencing them.”

“The party scene is pretty lame.  There are never any big bashes where everyone comes together and has a great time.”

“Amherst is pretty dead.  Everything closes really early, and the few bars are really strict with carding.”

“If you are lazy, this isn’t a good school for you.  There is no structure here.”

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