Visit Report by bingle (Member since January 04 2008 with 85 posts) Visit Date - April 2008
Visit to Amherst College in April 2008 by bingle (Parent of Student, HS Class of 2009)
Visit Activities:
Information Session:
Yes - Good info on what's expected in the app; consider it holistically - you want all your selling points to come across in essay and recs. Rigor of courseload more important than extras; take all the Campus Tour:
Yes - Lovely campus; showed a new (gorgeous) frosh dorm - great lounges; minimal cooking facilities
Amherst College Campus:
Friendliness/Courtesy of Students: 4 - Very Good Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff: 5 - Excellent -
Admissions receptionist gave us lunch tickets; food svc staff helpful
Appearance of Campus: 5 - Excellent Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness: 4 - Very Good Dormitories: -
only saw a new one - great lounges, minimal kitchen with just fridge and micro, no stove/oven
Security/Safety: -
no basis to judge
Overall Campus Impression: 5 - Excellent -
Food in dining hall was good with good variety.
Off-Campus:
City/Town/Community: 4 - Very Good -
number of good restaurants; because of 5 colleges many great performances with free transportation around valley
Campus Visit Notes for Amherst College:
Visit Description:
In info session, she said that they had a big increase in # of apps this year; class size is fixed so admit % will be down. Amherst caps ED so that applying ED doesn't help odds much
HS Counselor rec should place you in context of your class and your school.
Supplements for music, theater, etc. Follow directions or they won’t be reviewed.
Having a life does not seem to be valued – rigorous courseload is. APs more important that As.
AP scores don’t place you out of any classes (although you can test out)
Open curriculum - you can take anything. Only required course is freshman seminar of 18 students. Faculty vie for opportunity to teach these. Some are multidisciplinary (eg "Light" taught by physics, art and some other discipline)
45% of juniors study abroad; made me wonder what life is like for the other half of the jr class that year.
Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments:
Courtyard Hadley-Amherst at 423 Russell St, Hadley, MA 01035 was nice and easy to find
Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:
Had good dinner at Julia's in town of Amherst
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Admissions receptionist gave us lunch tickets; food svc staff helpful
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only saw a new one - great lounges, minimal kitchen with just fridge and micro, no stove/oven