I have no reason to believe that Amherst is in trouble financially. I think they rank second or third for strong endowments amongst the LACs. I just meant it is something all school need to watch. The goal is a good one- to reach and help as many students as possible, it’s just a balancing act.
I also believe Amherst is in a particularly strong position being in a consortium (Swat and Haverford too).
All of the dorms have been recently renovated and although I’ve only seen one, it was the nicest LAC dorm I’ve been in. Some of the bigger and newer school (Vandy, Emory, Wash U) have pretty amazing dorms because they are newly built.
Lastly, I disagree about the athletic facilities, but I suppose it depends on one’s sport. It’s not MIT, but for the size of the school, I was blown away. Certainly if you are a tennis player, squash player- the courts are tops. There are running trails all over the place in nature conservancy so I’m surprised a XC runner wouldn’t like the space. I’m not as sure about the fields, but the view of them is fabulous. I also like how close the gym is to the campus so in the winter months it’s easily accessible. Bowdoin’s gym is a real hike. Bowdoin has put an updated work out facility centrally located on campus which adds real value for the students though, but if you play on a team, you still need to hoof it.