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.
Do you enjoy the experience at your school?
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. :)
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
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. :)
Do you have any 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.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
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.
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.
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. :)
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. :)
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.
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.