Is Amherst 'preppy'? - Page 2

OldbatesieDoc · 10-17-2009, 09:34 PM

Thanks 'rent. I'm getting a little crusty too, I guess...

Duke99 · 10-18-2009, 01:31 AM

ok i got a lot of Amherst info here. Thanks guys.
I'm also applying ED there, and since i'm an international, the FA drew me towards this college and i have loved its site (i know it isn't much)
It's need blind for internationals and it has 10% international students, so diversity right there. Since many internationals also need A LOT of FA, you can count on students there being from a poor background as well (me being one if i get in)

I thought about REED as the INTENSE CREATIVITY type of college, it's just what i have inferred seeing the enrollment from my country (two of my seniors went there who were two of the most creative)

I'll probably be RDing there seeing comparing the FA status of both.

'rentof2 · 10-18-2009, 01:47 AM

Duke99 if you apply ED and are accepted you should have no buiness applying RD anywhere else to compare financial aid. When you apply ED you are agreeing to attend if accepted. You are agreeing to not apply elsewhere, and to withdraw any applications you had previously submitted. You understand that, right?

If the financial aid offered is not sufficient, you can get out of your ED agreement, but you would do that before you have other offers with which to compare it. Make sure you understand what you're agreeing to with an ED application. You don't want to be acting in bad faith.

Duke99 · 10-18-2009, 02:23 AM

@rent
well yeah i understand all that. I guess what i was trying to say came out wrong.
I meant to say that i like both Amherst And Reed, but i chose amherst over Reed for ED because i campared Reed's FA status and Amherst's Fa status and came to the conclusion that i'd probably get more FA from Amherst.

ejr1 · 10-18-2009, 11:25 AM

DD just graduated and we also received the Pell grant. She worked on campus, and even did Study Abroad and received a fellowship one summer. What wonderful opportunitites she had there! One of her friends from NY just came to visit us, and she is still in contact with the wonderful friends she made there- of all backgrounds, wealthy, middle class and poor. She says while there is an element of snobbiness, she mostly couldn't tell if someone was or wasn't wealthy. During senior year, there is a tradition of going on a trip. She and some of her friends couldn't afford it. Instead, one of her friends' parents opened their beach house up to the kids, stocked the fridge so they wouldn't have to spend much for food, etc., and they all took off for 5 days - you couldn't tell at the beach house who did or did not have money. It didn't matter - they were all friends and they were together having fun. At graduation, you can rent a tent for a party and have it catered. The dorm wanted to have a party in one, but the kids couldn't afford it equally and they didn't feel right about having the kids who had money pay for it all. So one of the kids, whose parents had rented the tent in front of the dorm for a party in the evening, gave it to the class to use for the afternoon, and the parents chipped in and we bought ice cream and the fixings, and had an ice cream party. The kids played ball on the lawn, the parents talked, and we had a blast! So if by having money you mean snob, not all are that way, and those that aren't understand that not everyone can afford these things, and they include their friends no matter the socio-economic status and adjust their plans in order to do so. Are there some snobs? You bet. But my D's friend who attends UT Austin talks about some of the rich snobs she met there (or should I say bumped into, because they wouldn't really talk to her!)

hoveringmom · 10-18-2009, 02:14 PM

Thanks again--My D agreed to apply! It sounds like a wonderful school and perfect for her... provided she gets in... and we can afford it! I'm sort of getting a stomach ache worrying about that part. My S goes to NYU on a very generous scholarship, but we still have to pay around $10K/year, which I realize is not a lot, but for me is a great deal. So I'm praying that my D gets a scholarship that allows her to attend a wonderful college with the opportunities some of you describe, without massive debt, which, in this economy especially, is just not an option for us.

We had thought of Reed, but she wants to stay within a 5 or 6 hours drive max (we live in NJ). Lucky that there are many schools within that radius.

lmpw · 10-18-2009, 05:36 PM

I must chime in. My daughter is in her third year at Amherst and LOVES it. Amherst is the most diverse in terms of SES as well as race, and having students from all over the globe. There are many, many students there who are not financial well off or from "preppy" backgrounds. My sense is that students of all kinds fit in there. I'm certainly not saying this because my daughter is a student there. If she didn't like it, I would certainly point that out. I recall when my daughter was looking at Amherst, I asked students what they liked and disliked about the college (I asked students at all the colleges we visited this questions). To a person, the most a student would say in the way of criticism was about the food in Val. Other than that, they all loved Amherst. It has an extremely low (almost non-existent transfer rate which speaks volumes about how well the students like the place). I think your daughter's counselor is totally of the mark. If your daughter loves Amherst, then she would be doing herself a great disservice not to apply based on this counselor. He/she could just be jealous.

mythmom · 10-18-2009, 07:24 PM

The kids I know who were really attracted to Amherst and dying to go were not preppy. They were creative, brilliant, lovely kids.

OldbatesieDoc · 10-23-2009, 05:43 PM

What a relief. I see I am totally off base here. There are, no doubt, no children from prep schools at Amherst. They are all at Williams, and HYP of course.

mythmom · 10-23-2009, 06:01 PM

OldbatesieDoc: My very public school kid is at Williams, so you can imagine what it cost me to say nice things about Amherst. LOL.

BTW: S much preferred Williams, and did have a choice. He did find the info sessions at Amherst stuffy, but many find those at Williams snobby and stuffy, too, and we didn't.

He liked Williams quirkiness (the purple cow mascot for example) even though it has the sports/drink/athletic reputation.

For the record for the OP -- Williams does have a more vibrant music department than Amherst and a more vibrant art department, so I would say Williams is artier. Amherst is more diverse.

Snobbery and clothes and all that have not been an issue at Williams at all. I bought S a gorgeous messenger bag for high school graduation so he could carry his computer around. I found a really, really inexpensive leather one (leather store going out of business) and although he likes it, he says he's afraid it looks pretentious, especially when everyone else is just using backpacks.

And I am not blowing Williams' horn -- I am sure Amherst is the same. I don't think one could find two schools more similar.

I do think Amherst and Tony Marx are more committed to a certain kind of social equity than the folks at Williams, though Williams is trying to attain that, too.

Of course, there are prep school kids at all NESCAC schools.

OldbatesieDoc · 10-23-2009, 07:20 PM

I agree, I just think it's disingenuous to describe any of these schools as not "preppy".Preppy means prep school graduates attend the school in sufficient numbers to make an impact. Now, South Dakota State is NOT preppy. The school I attended was preppy. I was a public school kid on aid, and at times, felt at a social and financial disadvantage. On the other hand, I loved my alma mater, and feel even now that those 4 years were some of the happiest of my life. So go to a LAC. But there will be preppies...

vossron · 10-23-2009, 07:35 PM

I think some don't like the word "preppy" so they point out that these schools are not as preppy as they once were, though they're still likely the preppiest of today's schools.

If not, which schools are preppier today than Amherst and Williams?

'rentof2 · 10-24-2009, 12:14 AM

People here who have current experience with the college, either as students or parents of students are just sharing what their practical experience is. Apparently we know less than others here who are not having a practical experience of the college. Okay then.

As to what schools are "preppier" -- how could any of us answer that question without making unsupported assumptions? I mean, if the technical definition of "preppiest" is the college with the highest proportion of students from prep schools, how could we even find that out?

But if that kind of stereotyping is more useful than real people with real experience of this college sharing their impressions... then have at it.

vossron · 10-24-2009, 04:17 AM

Hey, my question was a question, not a statement!

I asked precisely because I don't have real experience, hoping someone does. If my assumptions are wrong, I want to know.

mythmom · 10-24-2009, 08:13 AM

Most people consider Colgate, Hamilton, Davidson, Dartmouth, Wake Forest, and Duke among others to be "preppier" than Williams or Amherst.

And preppy usually means what my generation called "straight" -- middle of the road, more conservative, and less quirky or crunchy.

I don't think it refers to how many people went to private school. Preps schools aren't as "preppy" as they once were. For example, one of S's best friends was a working class Latino boy who had been in private school on scholarship.

My kids went to private elementary school and the kids were poorer than the kids from the public they eventually went to. We live in a wealthy school district (we are not), and the school drew from surrounding areas where the schools were not as good. The "prep" school was also more diverse.

I sent my kids there because it fit in better with my work schedule -- I didn't have to worry about a bus dropping a kid off to an empty house.

So, things really aren't as they were.

Both Williams and Amherst a leftist schools that encourage individual expression. Both have a portion of students who are varsity athletes and both are known for a drinking culture, Williams more so; the later items are "preppy" elements.

Both have moved away from their former "preppiness" in different ways. Amherst streses diversity; Williams abolished frats in the early 60's.

For my son, the essence of Williams was the fact that when he was watching HOUSE with some friends everyone got the Shroedinger's Cat reference.

Neither Williams nor Amherst are filled pre-professional schools with "straight" kids just waiting to take their place in corporate America, although of course there are some students who do fit that profile.

Both are filled with insightful, studious, well-rounded, and yes, fun loving kids. Williams attracts kids who love the outdoors, and Amherst attracts kids who appreciate the consortium and its social possibilities.

On Williams' website you can find a research study that was done on the varsity athletes. They are a really interesting "quirky" lot themselves.