whitecadillac

hi, everyone. i'm a senior right now trying to narrow down my college choices to the ones i really honestly think i could see myself attending.

so while i am interested in amherst, i was wondering you guys could give me a completely honest portrait of what it's like to be a student there.

maybe you could answer the following questions?

1.) what are the classes like? extremely hard? fairly easy? there's not an open curriculum at amherst, right?
2.) i want to be a movie editor/producer/filmmaker. i know amherst is not well-known for film. i am applying to schools known for film (usc, chapman, nyu, etc) but i like amherst as a school anyway. if i were to go to amherst instead of a film-centric school, would i pretty much kiss my chances of being a filmmaker goodbye?
3.) i'm a bi guy. is amherst bi-friendly? are all orientations well-represented at amherst?
4.) does it get boring at amherst? i hear that the neighboring city doesn't offer much and that it can boring. true? false?
5.) what do people generally do for fun at amherst? i'm interested in joining a lot of student clubs. but i don't like drinking or doing drugs. are clubs big ways of socializing? how prevalent is drinking/drugs? are sports HUGE there? cuz i'm only into playing for fun.
6.) how is financial aid? i'd need a ton to go there.
7.) what is the typical amherst student like?
8.) does the small size ever make it boring/suffocating? like do you know everyone at the school within the first year and never meet anyone new?

and any other info about what it's REALLY like to be at amherst would be really helpful.

like is there any certain criteria i NEED to fit to be happy at amherst? (for instance, it's a lot better to be liberal at brown than republican.) does anything like this apply to amherst? thanks a lot guys!

Curiosisity

There is an open curriculum (no class requirements.) The classes are definitely challenging. For science and math that means plenty of labs and problem sets, for humanities it means you'll be regularly writing long papers. Academics are top priority for everyone! The professors are GREAT and you will get loads of personal attention. I can't emphasize that enough. For example, in one of my "biggest" classes, the professor still has a private meeting with you before every paper to give you feedback and suggestions on your latest draft.

Not necessarily. They just added a Film and Media Studies major, which will become available next year. It's apparently going to be a cross-disciplinary major that draws classes from the English, Art History and Theater and Dance departments.

Amherst is pretty queer-friendly. Not to mention the surrounding area is very liberal, and Smith/Northampton are notoriously gay-friendly. The Pride Alliance throws great Gay Amherst Parties (GAP).

The town is cute (nice restaurants) but certainly not metropolitan. There's a lot of outdoorsy stuff to do if you're into that, plus the Five College Consortium offers new options if you get tired of what's on campus.

There are many sports teams to fit different levels. As for the social scene, there is definitely drinking, but drugs not so much. My circle of friends socializes by going dancing, watching certain TV shows together, going on trips to the movies or the mall, or ordering late-night food in our dorms.


Amherst definitely gives out a lot of financial aid. It's a big priority for them, so if you can prove your need I think you should be able to get the necessary support...

The student body is pretty diverse, so it's hard to give a generalized description. There are jocks, nerds, rich kids, poor kids, scientists, poets, future bankers, future non-profit workers, extroverts, introverts - you name it. I guess you could describe many students as "well-rounded." Since the school is small, it likes to admit people who have multiple interests they could bring to the student body.

I like the smallness. It makes feel very friendly and safe. It's never been a problem for me. My high school was a similar size (430 people in my graduating class) and I still didn't know many people by the end of school.

Catfish

I was going to answer this, but Curiosisity said pretty much everything I was going to, so listen to him/her. I would add a couple things:

2. We just added a film major, and there is a group of students that actually make films. I know of one short film that's doing so filming this weekend, for example.

5. Joining clubs/activities/teams is the number one way to meet people, make friends, and have things to do. Outside of academics, extracurriculars are the thing people spend the most time on.

7. People tend to have unexpected talents/accomplishments that don't fit with whatever stereotype you may put them under. There are jocks who are also very talented writers, and music nerds who spend their summers with professors here doing theoretical physics research.

8. You might think so, but I find that I am still meeting new people. You do get to the point where you recognize a large percentage of people either by name or face, though, even if you haven't actually met.