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Amherst College Visit Report by macnell
Visit to Amherst College in July 2008 by macnell (Student, HS Class of 2010)
(Member since February 08 2009 with 21 posts)
3 of 4 people found this visit report helpful
Visit Activities:
Information Session: Yes - situated in a small conference room with 5 or 6 families, and admissions officer and a current student. Laid back and informative.
Campus Tour: Yes - Same student who participated in info session gave tour. He was pleasant and spoke highly of his school.
Campus:
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Campus Visit Notes for Amherst College
Visit Description:
This was our daughter very first college visit, in July of 2008, while we were taking a vacation to New England. We've learned much since this first visit, but Amherst still ranks as a very good tour and very good impressions were made. One thing we did learn from this summer excursion was to let our two older children tour with one parent while the other parent took care of keeping the three younger ones occupied and happy. we did not do that on this trip and if we had, daughter probably would have liked her tours much better then she did. We started by checking in and having an info session in the admissions building. Everything was laid back and relaxed. THe AO and a student answered questions from the families and prospective students. In talking about the highly selective nature of Amherst, never did the AO make Amherst seem haughty or full of itself. He joked that they had not had a student from one of the high plains states in that years recruiting class (I think it was idaho, Wyoming or Montana), so if one of the attendees happened to be from that state, they might have a leg up on some of the applicants from the New England and Mid Atlantic states. From there, the student took all of us on a tour. We saw a dorm which consisted of two rooms. The room mates could each take a separate room as their bedroom or use one room as a bedroom for both and use the other room as their living room/common area. The dorm was a good size. It's been so long since we saw it to recall if this dorm set-up was the norm or if it was only for upperclass students. The Robert Frost Library was very nice, with plenty of study space for individuals using study carels, groups using tables, laid back studying on couches, or larger discussion-based studying in small conference rooms. The Keefe Campus Center was also nice. it had the post office, a game room with various games and a jukebox. We think there was a place to get snacks and drinks. There was a nice theater also, which showed weekly free movies. The Atrium of the campus center is a good size and that was the central spot where various campus groups would advertise their events and such. We saw a classroom in the art department. We think it had stadium style seating and was a decent size and modern. Everything looked nicely laid out and probably gets plenty of use. We walked towards the rear of the campus where you can look out on the valley of athletic fields and see the large nature area that is part of the campus. It is very lovely. It's an easy walk to the business portion of town and there are many dining options and various shops. The downtown area separates Amherst from UMASS. Amherst is a small liberal arts school, but is part of a consortium with Smith, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and UMASS. So, there are more class options then you may think. Since we were there in July, we did miss out on the typical campus atmosphere, which we regret. Should this college remain on our daughter possible list (after SAT's and other things are known), we'd definitely return during session to see the campus with the student body in full motion.
Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments:
Didn't stay in the area... traveled on to Boston after our visit.
Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:
We ate lunch at a place downtown.. it was called the Amherst Brewing Co. or something similar to that. The kind of place that would be busy on weekends with the students. Good pub style comfort food.