What’s the deal with Amherst?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that some would pick or reject a school based in largely on aesthetics or having met a few grads they do or don’t like. That to me seems like poor decision making.

“Largely”? Not really.

But they are factors.

Yep, for some it’s largely and sounds personal

not really. you are neglecting all of the factors that lead people to tour a campus in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of this post seems like a rich person’s problem such as aesthetics being so high on the decision making tree. As an immigrant, I can tell you that’s not our concern

Yeah but this isn’t a third world country, so we can actually have nice things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've toured and spent time (several days) at each of the NESCACs except for Conn College along with Swat and Vassar and felt that Amherst had the best combo of college, campus and towns. Might add that the consortium is just there if you want to use it but is a very minor to non-factor in deciding to apply there

Strangely the admissions rep spent half the info session talking about the consortium as a primary selling point of the school. To the point where a parent in the audience asked, if that was the case, why not save a lot of money and just attend UMass.

Probably because there aren’t many operating consortiums in the US. I think PP is right that if you want a consortium, you should just go to Claremont.

[Anonymous]

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Tiny, mediocre campus in a lackluster town.

Opinion.

Anonymous wrote: No academic highlights (like Williams tutorial, Swarthmore Honors, etc).

Open curriculum? Consortium?

Anonymous wrote:
Racial and socioeconomic diversity on paper, but every group sticks with themselves.

I'm always surprised when I see this repeated here. DC's friend group looks like it was made for a brochure.

Anonymous wrote:
Snobby, condescending students who think they're big shots. This struck us because the students we met at Yale and Brown were so much more friendly and humble.

Opinion.

Anonymous wrote:
They tout small classes but only 62% are under 20 students- every other top ranked SLAC and nearly every top 20 university is ahead of them.

Nice cherrypicking. They're ahead of Williams and Swarthmore on under 30. Either way, the "advantages" the other schools have are rounding errors.

Anonymous wrote:
They themselves said few utilize the 5 College consortium, so that's a moot benefit.

The benefit also takes the form of being in a real college town with sports games, bars, and an actual full selection of amenities.

The consortium is not a real benefit and few students use it. I don't know why people on DCUM still are lying about this when it's common knowledge at this point. If you want a consortium that bad, go to the Claremont schools or whatever they are.
What percent of LAC classes even have 30 students?

I don't think this is true about the consortium. My kid is at another one of the colleges in this 5 college consortium and it's definitely a benefit. She has gone to many social events at other colleges. Her friend is taking a class at another school. They do use it. Plus there's just an overall benefit to being in an area that serves a lot of college students in terms of the infrastructure that serves them.

So 1 student at another school takes class off campus (btw no one is saying other colleges don’t sue the consortium- Hampshire basically only exists to take classes at the other schools), and students go off campus to other ones for some things. These aren’t exactly dazzling reasons to go to a college- I went to many MIT and BU events while at Harvard, but I wouldn’t list MIT parties as a core reason to go to Harvard

Being in a real college town with a full suite of amenities, restaurants open late into the night, proper bars, and 40,000 other students does give Amherst an advantage over Williams or Middlebury.

Have you been to Amherst? There were only a few restaurants and bars on the main drag, I was shocked given that UMass is so big and nearby. Apparently Mich of the social life is going to UMass parties. Not ideal.

DC goes to Amherst; we are quite familiar with the town.

Please enlighten where this “college infrastructure” is then because it certainly isn’t in the little shopping area next to the school. We could barely find somewhere for dinner outside of that horrible historic Inn.

Protocol. Lao Hu Tong. Formosa. LiLi's. Miss Saigon. Bueno Y Sano. Amherst Oyster Bar. Royal Chicken and Kebab. Pita Pockets. The list goes on and on. If you go to Hadley (easily accessible by a free bus), there's pretty much every store you'll need: Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Home Depot, Michael's, Big Y, T Mobile, AT&T, a Chase Bank branch…the amenities are all there.

DP here. I went to Dartmouth and Hanover is similar in size, but farther from other little towns. I remember Amherst being close to Northampton, which also has a bunch of great restaurants, shops and coffee shops. The point is that if you have a bunch of colleges nearby, there's more places to check out, which makes Amherst more interesting than, e.g. Williamstown. I heard that the kids at Williamstown drive to Northampton.

That’s definitely not true, at least not because they need to. People go to North Adams or Pittsfield. It’s easier to go to Albany than it is to Northampton

Northampton is far nicer of a place than North Adams or Pittsfield.

But if you’re going an hour out, just go to Albany-which has multiple times the things as Northampton. No one really mentioned niceness originally, so I’m not sure why we care.

I am one of the Amherst detractors. The Williams Inn was heaven. Even the sandwich and coffee places were nicer.

Students don’t go to the Williams inn.

There were plenty there eating with parents when we were there. But yes, kids likely tend to eat on campus at all schools.

I’ve been on maybe 30 college visits between my two kids over the past three to four years. Amherst is the only one I really disliked. Obviously, thousands of kids attending the consortium schools feel differently and are happy to have that location be the place where they spend their college years. However, op is not alone in wondering why.

That’s cause parents are rich. Just putting it out there that unless money is no object, most students will never attend the Williams inn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of this post seems like a rich person’s problem such as aesthetics being so high on the decision making tree. As an immigrant, I can tell you that’s not our concern

Well as an immigrant you probably care only about rank, right?

Never make negative assumptions about things/people outside your bubble or range of experience. When you’re trying to feed and house your family, learn a new culture, and in many cases, help extended family, certain things can seem like “First World problems”. For some, having their kids attend any college is huge. It’s takes a generation or two before families can worry about “fit” or campus aesthetics and even many non-immigrant families don’t have that luxury.

I believe that was the PP’s point.

[Anonymous]

We absolutely loved Amherst when we visited. One of the few schools that had nothing in the "dislike" column, other than very minor concern about it being the same size as DC's high school. Didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous fall day, and students seemed happy and were friendly. Sadly DC, with high stats, was not admitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We absolutely loved Amherst when we visited. One of the few schools that had nothing in the "dislike" column, other than very minor concern about it being the same size as DC's high school. Didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous fall day, and students seemed happy and were friendly. Sadly DC, with high stats, was not admitted.

Can you describe what you liked? It's really hard to tell when all the people who hate on it have concrete issues, and all those who love it just talk about student happiness or law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of this post seems like a rich person’s problem such as aesthetics being so high on the decision making tree. As an immigrant, I can tell you that’s not our concern

Well as an immigrant you probably care only about rank, right?

Never make negative assumptions about things/people outside your bubble or range of experience. When you’re trying to feed and house your family, learn a new culture, and in many cases, help extended family, certain things can seem like “First World problems”. For some, having their kids attend any college is huge. It’s takes a generation or two before families can worry about “fit” or campus aesthetics and even many non-immigrant families don’t have that luxury.

Ok but at first, rank is highest priority, no?

Fwiw I married into a first gen family. So this is my personal experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of this post seems like a rich person’s problem such as aesthetics being so high on the decision making tree. As an immigrant, I can tell you that’s not our concern

Well as an immigrant you probably care only about rank, right?

Never make negative assumptions about things/people outside your bubble or range of experience. When you’re trying to feed and house your family, learn a new culture, and in many cases, help extended family, certain things can seem like “First World problems”. For some, having their kids attend any college is huge. It’s takes a generation or two before families can worry about “fit” or campus aesthetics and even many non-immigrant families don’t have that luxury.

Ok but at first, rank is highest priority, no?

Fwiw I married into a first gen family. So this is my personal experience

America isn't like other countries where you have to go to the most tippy top college to get opportunities. Rank is one of the considerations, but many people look for a school that they'll enjoy for 4 years-that includes a nice campus, opportunities that they would take advantage of, and other things. We also have so many colleges that are similar tier or good at certain majors that it doesn't really matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We absolutely loved Amherst when we visited. One of the few schools that had nothing in the "dislike" column, other than very minor concern about it being the same size as DC's high school. Didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous fall day, and students seemed happy and were friendly. Sadly DC, with high stats, was not admitted.

Can you describe what you liked? It's really hard to tell when all the people who hate on it have concrete issues, and all those who love it just talk about student happiness or law school.

I'm not that OP, but I think the campus is gorgeous with all the trees and a mix of buildings and the nature preserve right there and the view over the mountains with the war memorial. (Frost Library is not attractive, but its dedication was the last place that JFK spoke publicly before traveling to Dallas to be shot, so no one is inclined to knock it down.) The new science building is amazing and the dorms are all really nice now, with guaranteed housing all four years. It has that small school feel. The little town is adorable with the green and the old churches and a great pizza place and coffee shop, but if you want more amenities you can easily be at the WF, TJ, Target, or go to Northampton which is one of the cutest little towns in America with some of the best food. There is a huge focus on the professors being available to the students. Most classes are small seminar type classes. The professors are required to have regular open office hours, and even get a budget to take kids out to lunch or dinner to get to know them better. The professors that go there do so because they want that experience of being able to connect with the students. And it has long had a focus on trying to pull a diverse set of kids from around the country -- so, yes, you have the contingent of rich kids from Dalton, Brearley, etc, and the kids whose grandparents went there -- but you also have kids from all around the country and all walks of life. For the most part, they aren't filling their diversity numbers with rich kids from abroad. I think the consortium is a very small added plus -- I think some small percentage of kids lean heavily on it, some larger percentage might make very small use of the libraries or maybe 1-2 classes -- so I wouldn't let that be the driver. But having Northhampton nearby with its food and indie music scene is a major plus, and one that maybe differentiates it from Williams and some of the other rural LACs. (And UMass also works to pull in bigger acts if you like things like concerts.)

None of my kids are going there -- my oldest wanted a bigger school, and the younger ones won't have the stats. But I think it's a very nice school with a lot to recommend it. If you don't like small schools, and don't like the bucolic New England vibe, you're not going to like it.

[Anonymous]

IYKYK is right. Amherst, Williams, and Middlebury are for families who don't really need to work (or work very much), value intellectual pursuit as a concept, will then go on to sit on boards or otherwise do good works, while living in their (multiple) beautiful homes while raising the next generation who will repeat the script.

It's a nice place to be for those early years and you will be able to reminisce with your crowd over cocktails on lazy days overlooking the ocean.

[Anonymous]

I liked Williams and W & L but not Amherst. Everything except the two new construction buildings just felt downtrodden, especially the town. But to each his own, plenty of people think the other two schools are too isolated.

[Anonymous]

There seems to be multiple posters unaware of the fact that Amherst has no legacy preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IYKYK is right. Amherst, Williams, and Middlebury are for families who don't really need to work (or work very much), value intellectual pursuit as a concept, will then go on to sit on boards or otherwise do good works, while living in their (multiple) beautiful homes while raising the next generation who will repeat the script.

It's a nice place to be for those early years and you will be able to reminisce with your crowd over cocktails on lazy days overlooking the ocean.

This is a weird take. I know several immigrant kids (Asian Americans) who graduated from Amherst and were my classmates at a T3 law school. All of them are Biglaw partners except for the one who decided to go back to Wharton to get an MBA and become a PE guy. Trust me, they are all busy working (and drinking cocktails too!), but my point is that their Amherst education was a stepping stone to a lucrative career.

My kid is applying to Amherst this year because - based on the people we know and our research on the school - the Amherst network is strong and Amherst graduates have very good outcomes for grad school and professional schools.

I love everything that the PP said about the beautiful, idyllic area. You want your New England fall - you won't find a better place. Being able to experience college life in a small town with everything nearby is a wonderful place for someone who is just starting their adulthood.

[Anonymous]

I’ll add some specifics if it helps. The access to professors is unreal even to someone like me who went to a smallish (3500) college. The math professor who teaches many of the lower level math classes holds office hours for more than 20(!) hours per week to make sure those who need extra help end up succeeding.

In addition to the great medical and law school placements, Amherst students have much higher than average acceptances into REUs. This is largely because they are able to get research experience on campus as early as spring semester freshman year which boosts their resumes.