Amherst vs. Williams - Page 2

Pawn_H7 · 04-12-2009, 05:30 PM

Quote:

I agree with with most of what's been said. I would add that Amherst is much more diverse than Williams. While Williams does have minorities, they are mostly from New England or the Midwest...in essence, not bringing much to the table.

lolwut?

Williams
* African American: 10%
* Asian American: 11%
* Caucasian: 63%
* Hispanic: 9%
* International: 7%
* Native American: <1% '

Amherst
* African American: 12%
* Asian American: 17%
* Caucasian: 45%
* Hispanic: 6%
* International: 10%
* Native American: >1%
* Not Reported: 10%

And please, look up the maps for the regional student bodies. They are identical.

PKWsurf21 · 04-12-2009, 05:47 PM

Umm... Don't those stats back up what the OP said about Amherst being more diverse? Not much more but a good amount. Even if those 10% who didn't report were Caucasian (which they probably aren't), amherst would still have a minimum of 8% less Caucasians and a maximum of 18% less Caucasians which seems to be enough to say that it is more diverse than Williams. This is by no means to say that Williams is not an amazing institution (#1 LAC in the country for the last umm, well a long time

and probably will continue to be on top for many years to come). Idk how true the other statement is about minorities at Williams only being from the northeast and midwest but I doubt where the students come from is different from one school to the other.

atom_and_eve · 04-12-2009, 05:47 PM

I can't comment on the regional/racial breakdown of either Amherst or Williams, but I CAN say that because Amherst college is right next to U-Mass Amherst & Hampshire, the Amherst experience is certaintly a diverse one and you will be surrounded by real diversity -- diversity of work ethic, intelligence, socioeconomic status, political persuasion, life values, etc., diversity that you would never find at a small & selective LAC alone

Pawn_H7 · 04-12-2009, 08:12 PM

And Amherst has 6% more asians and 3% fewer hispanics!!!!

Do you see how silly this is?

interesteddad · 04-12-2009, 09:42 PM

Those numbers for Amherst are not correct. They must be numbers for just freshmen or something because they are not accurate numbers for the entire student body. You can get the real figures in the 2008 Common Data Set at the Amherst site. It's 62.8% white (and unknown) as of fall 2008.

kwu · 04-12-2009, 10:15 PM

Amherst (2012):
International: 8.9 percent
Black: 10.9 percent
Asian/Pacific Islander: 10.7 percent
Hispanic: 10.5 percent
White: 37.1 percent
Unknown: 21.9 percent

Williams (2012):
International: 8.7 percent
Black: 9.3 percent
Asian/Pacific Islander: 10.6 percent
Hispanic: 8.9 percent
White: 62.2 percent
Native American: 0.4 percent

I'm inclined to agree with atom_and_eve, that the color of a person's skin on its own does not contribute significantly to genuine diversity.

Modadunn · 04-12-2009, 10:50 PM

Quote:

I'm inclined to agree with atom_and_eve, that the color of a person's skin on its own does not contribute significantly to genuine diversity.

Could not agree more. In fact, I am sure you can amass a room with those same stats and have absolutely no diversity where it counts most - in opinions and life experience.

slipper1234 · 04-13-2009, 12:43 AM

A big difference in my opinion is the fact that Amherst is located in Amherst, Mass, which is a "bigger small town" than Williamstown. Amherst social life thus is more intergrated with a larger community comprised of UMass-Amherst and other LACs. Whether this is a plus or minus depends on the individual applying.

johnwesley · 04-14-2009, 07:55 AM

my sense is that it's a wash; no one really visits the town of Amherst for other than occasional breaks from campus food; and, as for interaction with UMass -- it's almost nonexistent.

jaykoblives · 04-14-2009, 09:38 AM

^
Um, I have three friends who attend Amherst College who are constantly telling me that the best places to party and get girls are UMass parties. So sounds like some interaction is going on.

johnwesley · 04-14-2009, 12:02 PM

^^the best places to party and get girls *are* at UMass. Your friends are just being unusually honest about it.

jaykoblives · 04-14-2009, 12:32 PM

^
Hah hah, and I don't see a problem with that either. There are advantages in keeping work and certain kinds of play separate, no?

mini · 04-14-2009, 05:57 PM

I hope Amherst women agree that the best place to find men is at UMass.

katbenc · 04-14-2009, 07:10 PM

I am going to have to disagree about that--the only people I know who go to UMass parties are from Massachusetts and have high school friends there already. Typically, more UMass kids come to Amherst parties than vice versa. Also, Amherst College is IN town, and short of never leaving the central campus, it's impossible not to visit town regularly.

SemperParatus · 04-14-2009, 08:28 PM

I don't know why it copied my second paragraph up there ^??

Anyway,

UMass kids always come to Amherst for our bigger parties. I will admit that Amherst kids interact with UMass kids less frequently than with the other 5 college students, like Holyoke and Smith girls. But that's to be expected -- they attract more similar student bodies than does UMass.

And people don't go to town just for "ocassional breaks from campus food." The town is SO close to the school. I find myself always wandering into town, even if it's just to sit down at Starbuck's or the other coffee shops and read a book. The town is a very real factor in distinguishing Amherst from Williams, which has nothing even remotely analagous.