Questions RE: Letter from Amherst and rumors

BAfromBC
Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:20:20 +0000

My D (currently working on her app) recently received a letter from Amherst acknowledging the receipt of her SAT scores and congratulating her on her “fine showing.”

(Yes, we realize this is just a form letter from Tom Parker’s office and in no way is even an implied offer for admission.)

But, we were wondering whether this is a common practice at Amherst and whether there is more than one version of this letter floating around. Anyone know anything about this or receive a letter like this?

MY D also sent scores to 20+ other schools and hasn’t received any other acknowledgements. So, do any of Amherst’s peer institutions engage in this practice?

We heard that Amherst overenrolled last year, and will be offering admission to fewer apps (translation: more rejections than ever) for class of 2012…any truth to this rumor? Is there enough housing for these “extra” kids?

One last query: My D’s idea of fun does not include substance abuse (seriously, not a delusional parent–I went to a school with a “party” rep) and she’s wondering how tough it is to find a niche at a small school like Amherst if you’re not the party type. (D is sweet, witty, pretty, tall, vegetarian, agnostic, accomplished dancer, intellectual political activist, socially liberal, personally conservative, practices yoga and meditation, loves the theater.) Her social life mostly revolves around the arts in NYC. (She stopped going to HS parties because it got old watching wasted kids indiscriminately hooking up and throwing up.) She’s heard conflicting reports about the party scenes at all of these LACs. She’d also like to know what the roommate selection process is like. Is she a “fit?” The “straight” story anyone?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks.