Visit Report by AnotherAlice (Member since March 30 2006 with 2 posts) Visit Date - April 2005
Visit to Amherst College in April 2005 by AnotherAlice (Parent of Student, HS Class of 2005)
Visit Activities:
Information Session:
Yes - A very crowded information session, with limited seating. A straightforward, general description was provided followed by a question and answer session. Campus Tour:
Yes - Good tour guide, provided running commentary on everything from the weather to the food to courses. Managed to get us into a couple of dorm rooms by coercing friends of hers.
Amherst College Campus:
Friendliness/Courtesy of Students: 3 - Good -
As on most campuses, students seemed disinterested in the parents/prospective students touring their campus, but no one was impolite (and the guide's friends opened their dorm rooms for viewing).
Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff: 3 - Good -
We waited with big group of parents in the admissions office building, looking at yearbooks, campus literature. Staff were polite but not overly friendly.
Appearance of Campus: 4 - Very Good -
A nice-looking campus, with many buildings situated around a big quadrangle. The newer buildings seemed to blend in well with the old.
Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness: 4 - Very Good -
Seemed very well maintained.
Dormitories: 5 - Excellent -
The rooms we saw were in a new dorm and were not huge but very nice. There was a nice common area and kitchen as well.
Security/Safety: -
Seemed fine.
Overall Campus Impression: 4 - Very Good -
A nice campus situated in a not-tto-small, not-too-large New England town.
Off-Campus:
Area Immediately Around Campus: 4 - Very Good -
There are some good restaurants, hangouts on the main street. A very typical college town.
City/Town/Community: 4 - Very Good -
Amherst is part of a five-college system (others are Smith, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and UMass). You can take classes at other schools, use their facilities; shuttles run from campus to campus,
Campus Visit Notes for Amherst College:
Visit Description:
It was the Amherst information session that made me realize many parents (and some kids) should not be allowed to open their mouths at these events. Instead of letting students ask questions, the parents took over. (Why do many of us parents preface our questions with how talented/wonderful/bright/perfect for X college our kids are? Isn't that true of every kid in the room?) And I wondered as well why none of the kids were speaking up. Were any of them interested in attending or was this Mom/Dad's dreamschool? But then the one student who did venture a question asked if there was much focus on undergraduate versus graduate. And was be told by the patient but somewhat exasperated admissions rep "There is no graduate school at Amherst." (And that's why it's called Amherst College...)
-
As on most campuses, students seemed disinterested in the parents/prospective students touring their campus, but no one was impolite (and the guide's friends opened their dorm rooms for viewing).
-
A nice-looking campus, with many buildings situated around a big quadrangle. The newer buildings seemed to blend in well with the old.
-
The rooms we saw were in a new dorm and were not huge but very nice. There was a nice common area and kitchen as well.
-
Seemed fine.