Amherst is more than worth your money. It provides you with such a great experience and a diploma from one of the country's most reputable institutions.

It's expensive- but Amherst may be one of the BEST colleges in the world about letting really great students attend, who wouldn't have been able to if it weren't for FA. In fact, I applied for FA after I got in, and they were very generous! Really, incredible FA, and if instead of student loans, they meet all of your demonstrated need with grants!

Amherst has a financial aid package to rival some of the Ivy League schools. They guarantee that their students will graduate debt-free.

I personally am not on financial aid but I have heard that the financial aid office is very friendly and helpful. If you don't have your own printer, do expect to be charged for printing in the library, and you'll have to print out a good amount for class, which can add up. But it's mainly a walking campus, and the bus service is free, which is great. And you'll have great networking resources for internships and after college - the career center is very helpful. You get the education you paid for, but you also make connections and open doors for your career after you graduate.

Expect to budget for miscellaneous things: printing short excerpt reading for courses, laundry, etc. Otherwise, the financial aid is amazing. There is great socio-economic diversity here. :)