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Amherst College Visit Report by bingle

Visit to Amherst College in April 2008 by bingle
(Parent of Student, HS Class of 2009)
(Member since January 04 2008 with 298 posts)
 
3 of 4 people found this visit report helpful

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

Campus:


Friendliness/Courtesy of Students:
4 - Very Good
4 - Very Good



Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff:
5 - Excellent
5 - Excellent
Admissions receptionist gave us lunch tickets; food svc staff helpful


Appearance of Campus:
5 - Excellent
5 - Excellent



Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness:
4 - Very Good
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
5 - Excellent
Food in dining hall was good with good variety.

Off-Campus:


City/Town/Community:
4 - Very Good
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