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Amherst College Reviews

Average Rating Details

Academic Rigor

See Amherst College reviews submitted by students. Find out what students have to say about various aspects of attending Amherst College. Read about academic experiences and campus life in these free Amherst College reviews, or contribute your own Amherst College review if you're a current student there.

  • 14 out of 14 people found this review useful.

    Justin From New York, NY

    Reviewer is A current student here.

    Categories Rating Comments
    Am learning a lot

    The teachers take a great investment in your education. I am able to meet with them whenever I need extra help. They make time for students and have set office hours. Where the teachers, not the TAs assist you. The small college feel fosters an environment where students strive to excel, yet are not highly competitive against each other. Most students about worry their own grades as opposed to others.
    Am enjoying being here

    I enjoy the small town feel, because there is still a lot to do with the four other surrounding colleges. Especially with the large state university U Mass. I also feel that the people are generally friendly. You can find yourself having a long conversation in dining hall with someone you've only met once before.
    Bang for the buck

    The school is a bit expensive, but I feel that you get what you pay for. The education and experience you receive is tough to be matched. The school also offers great financial aid packages for those who need it.
    Tips for prospective students

    Make sure you do as much research as you can. Look at the types of classes and clubs the school offers and see if they interest you. I also suggest staying the night for a visit, that is what made me decide to stay.
    Great for these types of students

    Students that like small classes and thrive in a hands on environment. This school is also good for athlete because there are many resources available for them and many students on campus play a collegiate sport.

  • 10 out of 10 people found this review useful.

    Anonymous from CA

    Reviewer is A current student here.

    Categories Rating Comments
    Am learning a lot

    I love my classes. Our class sizes are REALLY small. My class sizes range from 8-25 students. Professors put you on the spot and ask you if you're sick if you missed class, and they know you by name the second day of class. We're reading original source scientific documents when studying genetics.
    Am enjoying being here

    I love this school. It's so spontaneous. We have unplanned things all the time: trips to the hill to go stargazing, night hikes through the bird sanctuary, jumping on leaves (which is a big deal for me since I'm from the West Coast), etc. I've made apple pie and carved pumpkins for the first time, randomly started a sing-a-long in the common room that had kids flowing in from other dorms, and watched several foreign language films. I'm also getting into Latin dance and classical Indian dance. :)
    Bang for the buck

    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. :)
    Tips for prospective students

    On applying: There are so many articles out there. Read them all. Don't write a resume-recap-essay. Do be unique. Yada yada yada...

    On deciding: Amherst is the best college ever. Public schools will be like your HS all over again and Amherst is actually cheaper for me since I got great financial aid. Private universities, even the elite ones, are more diverse, but there are still tons of HUGE intro classes taught by grad school students. Liberal arts colleges have the diversity of elite private schools but have small class sizes. Within the liberal arts colleges, most are in the middle of nowhere (Williams, Middlebury), and then a 1200 student body might get too restricting. Amherst is in the Five College Consortium, so there are four other colleges nearby and always new people to meet. So basically, we rock. :)

    If you come here (which you will): Go to everything during orientation. Avoid forming cliques early.
    Great for these types of students

    If you love meeting people who have different perspectives, you'll love it here. I've had so many interesting lunchtime discussions in the dining hall with students from South Africa, Myanmar, and the Philippines for so long I almost forgot to go to class...I love it here and I can't imagine what it would be like if I had gone to a UC where the student population was mostly Asian...it would be like my high school all over again and I wouldn't have had as diverse of an experience.

  • 4 out of 4 people found this review useful.

    Drew from North Easton, MA

    Reviewer is A current student here.

    Categories Rating Comments
    Am learning a lot

    The thing I love most about Amherst is the relationships you can have with your professors. You hear about professors at small liberal arts colleges who go out of their way to help students, and form personal relationships with them, but you never quite believe them. Well, here you should believe them. I've had professors have me over to dinner, I've had professors offer to skype me from South Africa to help me with my papers, I've babysat for my professors, and I've had professors drive home and back again to get a book for me that they thought I might enjoy on a subject related to class material. The professors are an amazing resource if you reach out to them. They really want you to succeed, and care about you as a person as a whole. In addition, the personal attention ensures that you are pushed to do your best work. But the professors know you and mainly grade you according to their expectations for you personally. They hold you accountable, as well. If you are sick or miss a class, professors notice. Overall, I find it is an amazingly supportive atmosphere that allows for creative exploration and personal growth while also offering so many different areas of study. One of the classes I took last year is called Witches, Vampires and Other Monsters (it's an art history course and is amazing) - look it up on the website!
    Am enjoying being here

    I could not have found a better college. The location is great - you're close enough to Boston or New York that you can take the train in (the station is literally a 5 minute walk from campus), or you can just go into the town of Amherst for tons of great local restaurant options. If you get a little tired of Amherst, Northampton is just a 30/45 minute bus ride away. In addition, the fact that it's part of the 5 college consortium means you can take classes at any of the other colleges, and students from those schools may end up in your classes at Amherst as well. It's a great way to meet other students in the area, and gives you a little breathing room if you find Amherst becoming a little small (although I promise you won't!). There are so many opportunities to go hiking, bicycling etc and the view is GORGEOUS. My freshman year I had a view of the mountains right out of my window - imagine waking up to that every morning. The facilities are great, the people are incredibly friendly, and the student body is very active and diverse. I have met so many different people, especially international students. Everyone here loves learning for the sake of learning - I'll frequently find myself having discussions/debates about current events over lunch or dinner.
    Bang for the buck

    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.
    Tips for prospective students

    Make sure you go to office hours! The professors are very receptive and will often help you organize your papers or tell you what they're looking for. It's an easy way to boost your grade, and make contacts for future letters of recommendation.
    Go to Judie's and get the popover with apple butter sauce (it's delicious)
    Make use of the career center, and the dean of students office - they're incredibly nice and helpful.
    Try a club sport - it helps you meet people and get outside for some easy, relaxed exercise and it's a great way to get your mind off work for a little while.
    Great for these types of students

    Students who enjoy small, discussion based classes, close relationships with professors, the outdoors and athletics. Not a lot of lecture courses past the introductory courses. Expect to be called on in class and known by name - they'll notice if you don't show up. You really have to read the material and actively participate in class.

  • 2 out of 2 people found this review useful.

    Kaya

    Reviewer is Researching this school. Reviewer has been to campus.

    Categories Rating Comments
    Will learn a lot

    Amherst has great academics, if you can focus. The no-requirements curriculum can be your undoing if you're not a very self-controlled student.
    Will enjoy being here

    Just from my tour alone I love the people! My tour guide was great, the students in the Admissions office were great, the Associate Dean of Admissions who did my information session was great. So incredibly not pretentious. The town of Amherst itself is so quaint. It's rather non-hokey for western Massachusetts.
    Bang for the buck

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

    As I'm sure you've heard from other schools, make sure you take the most rigorous classes available to you. That and be involved in your school and community.
    Great for these types of students

    If you have great self-control and can stay on track with your educational plan, go for it.

  • 2 out of 6 people found this review useful. 1 person found it offensive.

    James from Wayzata, MN

    Reviewer is Accepted here and planning to attend soon. Reviewer has been to campus.

    Categories Rating Comments