Current student here to answer questions about Amherst!

Colleges & Universities Amherst College
61

<p>Hi, Paul! :)</p>

<ol>
<li>Posts #30-35 in this thread (our little discussion on food) might interest you.</li>
<li>I love the open curriculum. The system is such that if you think you’re qualified to take a class without the pre-requisites, you can try to convince the professor and you might actually get in. There’s no worrying about whether you’ve checked off certain classes when you’re a sophomore. The Open Curriculum lets you make the most of your time and seek out the things that drive your passions through free form exploration. Advisors are helpful (more so for carving out a path), as are friends (on which specific classes and professors are the most worthwhile).</li>
<li>The expectation at Amherst is that you will choose your major by the end of sophomore year, but some decide to double major in their junior year. Thanks in part to the Open Curriculum, the planning begins as soon as you’re ready to start thinking about it. My approach to this decision was simply taking the most exciting courses possible, counting how many I had for each department after freshman year, and submitting the form. The process of selecting a major proceed however you want to it to, really.</li>
</ol>

62

<p>Piggybacking off of Keilinger’s answer, your advisor can be your best resource on campus, or they can be someone you see twice a year when registering for classes. Most of the time though, they lean towards the former. My advisor, for example, is so great. I visit him every week at least, because I have a lot of classes near his office, just to say hello. He’s always willing to talk about anything. I go to him when I’m worried about exams, when I want to delve deeper into a comp sci subject that was only tangentially touched upon in a class with a different professor, or when I just want to chat about hockey. He has also given me great advice on applying for jobs on campus and is willing to proofread my personal statements. Finally, he was IMMENSELY helpful in helping me find a paid internship for the summer, which is difficult to do because I’m an international student. On the other hand, I know several people who have spoken just twice to their advisor so far and has o substantial relationship with them, not that it’s their fault though.</p>

<p>Before you declare your major, you don’t have much a choice on who your advisor will be. My advice to you is this: If you plan on taking plenty of classes in a particular department, list that as your intended major. The college tries to pair you with an advisor from your “intended” major and it’s best to have someone who will know a lot about the classes you plan on taking. Some people also get paired with faculty from activities they will participate in (for example, my friend’s advisor is the orchestra director because he iis in orchestra) or their first-year seminar professor. Once you select a major, you can pick a new advisor in that department. You can declare a major at any point, however. I know one freshman who already has a major declared.</p>

63

<p>Thanks so much for all the responses! I still have some other questions if it doesn’t matter y’all! 1. How are housing options like? Size? Location? I know the school offers substance free floors and single sex but any other interesting options? 2. Do you find you can balance your academic and social life? Or do you try to get by day to day? Is there time for extracurriculars and time for yourself? 3. How are career services at Amherst? This may also include internships/jobs over the summer. 4. How are the alumni connections? Maybe you don’t know yet since you haven’t graduated but what do alumni do after graduating? Thanks again and I might have more questions and I enjoy the wonderful and detailed responses.</p>

64

<p>@Keilinger</p>

<p>I saw in an earlier post that you were considering Dartmouth, Amherst, and some other LACs before making a decision. I’m choosing between Dartmouth and Amherst and I have no idea what I’m going to do. I’m leaning towards Dartmouth at the moment but I absolutely love Amherst as well. The two schools are pretty similar, but Amherst gave me more financial aid as well. What about Amherst made you pick it over Dartmouth? Was it just how you felt when you visited or did you find something about Dartmouth that was a deal-breaker?</p>

65

<p>paul17: I’ll tackle number 3 here. Being social, having time for yourself, and doing well in classes is not that hard. Most people do all three and more. Students here work hard and play hard (sorry for the cliche). We go to parties, lead organizations, do research with professors, volunteer in town, and even find time to waste on the Internet. So while you’ll find some people who spend all their time working, striking an ideal balance is easy if you know how to manage your time and it becomes increasingly easy as you learn how to write and edit papers quickly and study for exams efficiently. At some point, you’ll probably realize tasks that were exhausting when you were a freshman have just become part of your everyday routine - and you do it without thinking about it. You can’t do everything, but doing great in your classes and having meaningful relationships with all the amazing people around you is definitely doable. And with that said, there are definitely times when I am just getting by day to day, as you said, but that’s usually reserved for finals. If you haven’t seen my earlier post (#57) from this thread, you might find it useful.</p>

66

<p>collegebound8899: Congratulations! Getting into both is a huge accomplishment. I didn’t visit Dartmouth, but making the decision to go to Amherst was easy. You’re right that the schools have a lot of similarities, so picking apart their differences would seem to be helpful. Let’s start with some questions:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Where do you want to be? Amherst is in a town. Dartmouth is more rural. Both are pretty isolated, but Amherst is somewhat less so. I love city life but otherwise Amherst is a good compromise. I think it has the best of both worlds in that you have easy access to the Berkshires and the stunning nature trails on campus, but you still have four other colleges and an entire town to remind the students that other people (not students at your college) exist out there in the world. Finally, for what it’s worth, Amherst is a 45 minute car ride from the airport and Dartmouth is 3 hours.</p></li>
<li><p>Are you interested in business? Amherst has great placement into consulting, but Dartmouth also has Tuck. If you’re interested in business, there might be opportunities for undergrads at Tuck. Graduates of both colleges are incredibly well-prepared for business school, but if I knew I wanted to go into business, Tuck would be a plus.</p></li>
<li><p>How small? Amherst has 1,600 and Dartmouth has 6,000, including 2,000 graduate students. The small student body contributes to a strong sense of community at Amherst, though 6,000 doesn’t make a big school and gives you more new people to meet.</p></li>
<li><p>Frats? I was wary of Dartmouth’s reputation for having a misogynistic culture and I didn’t like the thought of hazing occurring on a yearly basis. Three underground fraternities exist at Amherst, but they’re not in most people’s consciousness. And while some people think of Amherst as misogynistic, my perception is that it’s only really apparent from time to time. I don’t know that there is a significant difference between the two schools, but I had heard many more stories about Dartmouth.</p></li>
<li><p>Do you like the D plan? Personally, I wanted to have the choice of taking a break and doing an internship during the winter. Yes, Dartmouth students can get spring/fall internships, but if you have the option of skipping out on a New Hampshire winter and doing internships abroad or on the West Coast… why not? It wasn’t as much of a deal-breaker as the location, but it was something I considered.</p></li>
<li><p>Open curriculum. Does it call to you? I love the freedom to explore at Amherst. It’s not just about scheduling classes, though. I really feel like I can chart my own course. I love that my friends are driven and smart, but aren’t obsessed with the next step in life. I love that the focus is always on stretching your ability to think. It sounds simple, but the College’s intense focus on this objective has changed how I approach everything. Amherst has had a way of making me intensely curious about things I have no knowledge of. You learn to look at issues from multiple perspectives, and yes, it makes you a far more valuable employee, but it also makes life more interesting when you have a habit of examining your assumptions and you’re able to follow your ideas down their paths. The lack of a pre-professional focus means this mindset is far easier to develop.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Dartmouth is an Ivy League, but the average person isn’t aware of either Amherst or Dartmouth. The type of person who applied to all 8 Ivy Leagues for the Ivy League name might know Dartmouth, but not Amherst. The bottom line is it doesn’t matter. To people who know both schools, and to hiring managers and grad school admission boards, they are equivalent in prestige. My recommendation is to ignore the pull of the Ivy League allure, because it doesn’t matter in terms of future prospects and it doesn’t matter in terms of the quality of education. </p>

<p>If you haven’t visited both schools already, you should do that. Ask about the majors you’re interested in at each school. Visiting was great for helping me a feel for campus life. I was thrilled to meet the people I met (professors, current students, prefrosh) at Amherst. There was impossibly strong sense of community. I liked the town but I learned that I couldn’t imagine living for four years in a place even more rural. If you’re lucky, you might just know a few hours after stepping foot on campus, as I did. Good luck!</p>

67

<p>Another Amherst student here. I made this account/came on here mostly to warn about housing next year, but I suppose I could answer a few questions as well :slight_smile: </p>

<p>But before I get to that, about housing.
As most of you are aware, we are in the process of acquiring a brand, new, shiny science center! The downside is that construction is constantly going on, beginning at what, 7? 8? in the morning. Yes, even on Saturdays. So if you are a light sleeper and/or like working in your room, I highly recommend living in somewhere other than Charles Pratt or Stearns, both of which are right next to construction. I’m an extremely light sleeper and always wake up to the sound of construction bright and early in the morning, but my roommate sleeps like a rock and snores right on through. You can’t “pick” your dorm per se, but when you get your housing forms, there should be a place where you can add comments and you could mention that you either want to be away from the construction site or want to live in a certain dorm, and they try to tailor to people’s wishes (but of course, there are limitations!)</p>

<p>Now for questions…</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How are housing options like? Size? Location? I know the school offers substance free floors and single sex but any other interesting options?
This largely depends which dorm you’re in. The ranking for dorms usually goes Pratt → James/Stearns → North/South → Williston/Appleton. The rooms in Pratt, James, and Stearns are pretty darn big (twice the size of the other dorms I’d say), and depending on which room you get, some are just ridiculously LARGE. I would also consider these dorms to have the best locations as well (at least for science/math people), since Stearns/James are right in front of Merrill, LSB, and SMudd. Stearns and James are decently close to Barrett and Chapin as well, and James is the closest to Val.
You can’t get into any theme housing until sophomore year, unfortunately.</p></li>
<li><p>Do you find you can balance your academic and social life? Or do you try to get by day to day? Is there time for extracurriculars and time for yourself?
This varies from person to person, but I can say I don’t know of ANYONE who doesn’t participate in extracurriculars. This semester, I’m taking 2 lab, a humanities, and an arts course. I’m also an athlete and am in a musical group, volunteer with kids off campus, and work 3 jobs-- and I still have time to adequately study and make time for myself. It just takes good organization and planning :slight_smile: And I definitely know people who do more than I do, so yes, it’s very possible to have a balanced life! </p></li>
<li><p>How are career services at Amherst? This may also include internships/jobs over the summer.
I should utilize our career center more than I should, but we have fantastic resources. The career center sends out emails to students a couple of times every week, updating lists of various jobs and internship opportunities. You can set up appointments with various staff in the career center for whatever your needs-- mock interviews, resume/CV/cover letter reviews, etc. There are also students (juniors/seniors) called Peer Career Advisors (PCAs for short) that have drop in hours every day, and they can help you go over your material.
Amherst also has a database called Quest that helps you search for jobs/internships. Some of these are offered by alumni, although many are non-alumni affiliated opportunities as well. In fall semester, you have the opportunity to apply to a program called Amherst Select (ASIP for short), and students who are accepted are given access to an exclusive database of internships offered by Amherst alum. A lot of these opportunities are fantastic, as they’re the kind of stuff that most students don’t usually get access to if they simply google things up. </p></li>
<li><p>How are the alumni connections?
(read above ^^)</p></li>
</ol>

68

<p>@Keilinger</p>

<p>Thanks for that really long informative post! :slight_smile: I’ve actually compiled a pros/cons list for each school and it’s pretty close at this point. I’m most likely going to Dimensions and visiting Amherst afterwards. I think that that will be the only way to make a decision. They’re both great schools though so I’m not exactly worried about picking the “wrong” one. Also, I got your pm and I’ve been looking at a lot of Amherst vs Dartmouth threads. I honestly still can’t believe that I’m having this problem though… They were my two tip top reach schools.</p>

69

<p>@simplification @ Keilinger</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses! Because of them and many other factors, I’ve finally decided on Amherst! I am so excited! This is one question that my mom was worried about when we toured the campus back over the summer. Since you don’t have a campus store, how do you buy books and other Amherst memorabilia? I faintly remember my tour guide telling us that there’s a store in town. How does it work?</p>

70

<p>Congrats paul17!! Amherst parent here.
There is a store in town, AJ Hastings which sells Amherst memorabilia. You can also purchase items online.
Amherst bookstore in town carries all textbooks and the college also has a used bookstore sale every semester
Hope this helps, and congrats again!</p>

71

<p>@paul17:
Welcome! I can remember (albeit vaguely) when I made my final decision, so can just imagine how excited you must be. :slight_smile: Apart from Amherst books, there’s also Food for Thought in the neighborhood. Both of them are locally owned and Food for Thought is non-profit. Many professors send their reading lists to either store before the beginning of each semester.</p>

72

<p>Yep, AJ Hastings! It also sells UMass stuff, but I’d say it’s mostly Amherst.</p>

<p>And about books-- you can get books at Amherst Books at the start of each semester. The basement of the building is filled with course reading material for Amherst and UMass students. If you’re lucky, you’ll find used copies for a lower price. If not, we also have something called The Option where students sell back their books to students on campus. It’s open at the beginning of each semester, and you can usually get some of your textbooks/readings at a decent price here. Also, if you can find upperclassmen to sell you their books (or even borrow), you’ll save money there too! Unless of course you want to buy your own new shiny books. My English professor is big on supporting local book stores :)</p>

73

<p>Could you comment on the teacher quality in comparison to a larger, research university? Liberal arts colleges have a reputation for better teacher quality, so I wanted to know if you could elaborate on how, exactly, the teacher quality is better.</p>

<p>What are your favorite classes that you have taken? Least favorite? What classes do people generally enjoy most?</p>

74

<p>Dear juliwang:</p>

<p>Having never attended a large, research university, it seems unfair to comment; however, we can tell you about our experiences with teacher quality at the 'Herst.</p>

<p>Teacher quality may be considered as a sum of multiple factors: one-on-one attention, lecturing ability, quality/quantity of feedback, own independent research/publication, etc. </p>

<p>At Amherst, professors strive to be accessible both in and out of the classroom, engendering the creation of strong student/faculty relationships. Such relationships are helpful not only in present academic work, but also when applying for grad school/internships/etc. Naturally, a student can’t be passive, but by and large, professors relish the opportunity to speak with students, and there are plenty of opportunities to collaborate with professors on their research.</p>

<p>We love the 'Herst, so we want to insert some personal anecdotes here to illustrate these points:
-SWUG #1: During a research seminar, the professor invited the class to dinner at his house to get to know us better. After the class ended, I was able to assist him with his research during the summer.
-SWUG #2: After taking an upper-level English course devoted to literary magazines and editing, my professor asked me to become a reader on a publication of which she is the Editor-in-Chief.</p>

<p>Favorite class(es): We can’t have just one.
SWUG #1 - “Financial Globalization and Global Crises,” “History of Israel” and “Abnormal Psychology”
SWUG #2 - “World War II in Literature and Film,” “Nazi Germany,” and “Passing”</p>

<p>Least favorite class: This was really hard for us. We mainly attribute these decisions to our own inexperience in choosing courses as young undergrads. These classes were taken in our first semesters.
SWUG #1 - “Cancer and AIDS”
SWUG #2 - “Introduction to Religion”</p>

<p>Popular and generally well-liked courses: “Introduction to Psychology” (SWUG #1 - Two thumbs up), “Social Organization of the Law,” “Introduction to Geology,” “Nazi Germany,” and “Reading, Writing, Teaching.”</p>

<p>Some professors have gained a cult status and their classes are always very popular.</p>

<p>From our own experience, we have most valued classes that are quite small or whose structure provides a forum for lively discussion/debate (most classes seem to fit at least one of these criteria).</p>

<p>Best,
The “Bleedin’ Purple and White Since '09” SWUGs</p>

75

<p>Hello guys, I’m an international student in my junior year. I’m planning to apply for Amherst class of 2019. I’ve been doing some research and some information is rather confusing. First of all, as Wikipedia says, Amherst is sometimes referred to as ‘the singing school’. I find this great since I’m already a member of a band formed back in 7th grade and singing is kinda my passion. However, most people only talk about athletics when asked about the school. So I’ve been wondering if the information on Wikipedia is true. Also, I want to know what kind of sports people play at Amherst? (I’m particularly interested in tennis, badminton and soccer).</p>

76

<p>^
<a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/athletics[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/athletics&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

77

<p>Thanks GA2012MOM, but what about the singing part that I asked about earlier?</p>

78

<p>juliwang:
I’m on domestic exchange at Harvard right now. Based on my experiences here, the teaching at LACs is much better. This makes sense - PhDs go to LACs because they want to teach; they go to big universities because they want to do research. From what I hear, it is difficult to focus on teaching when a decision about your tenure is to be made based on your research output. Personally, I find Amherst students to be far more engaged in discussion than at Harvard. Although you do have section with TFs, graduate students simply don’t have the experience of full-fledged professors. In addition, I find that lectures can set the mood for section - Unless you have a fabulous professor, people can be kind of indifferent when section rolls around each week. There are many fantastic things about non-LACs, but I don’t find that the educational experience within the classroom is one of them.</p>

79

<p>PKMG: Amherst has 6 acapella groups, I think. Two are co-ed, two two are women-only, and two are men-only. If you go for open house, you’ll get to see all of them perform. There’s also the Women’s and Men’s Chorus; they hold rehearsals separately sometimes, together other times, and also put on big performances together. If you’re interested, there is a Madrigal choir. Those are all the groups I can think of right now. They have a big presence on campus and a ton of people are involved, from beginners to people who have been singing forever.</p>

80

<p>So I’m currently an Egyptian, Junior high school student and I’m strongly considering Amherst. I’m planning to major in Physics and while the school looks AWESOME (according to my researches) I wanted to get a bit more insight into the campus vibe and the community. </p>

<p>Does Amherst has that tight-knit community?! Does the campus act as one unit?!
I was also wondering about tolerance in campus, Are students LGBT-friendly and so?
One thing I was worried about was the “gossip” and the “high-school drama”; How bad is it?</p>

<p>As for the academics; I know Amherst is probably one of the best schools out there. For any Physics majors out there, how is the Physics and Astronomy department specifically? Do you get to conduct your own researches?</p>