Amherst College | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Red

Class: Freshman
Major: Economics
Gender: M

High School: Bellaire Senior High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

Amherst is a wonderful place. The cliche that we talk about classes and have energetic discussions outside of the classroom is 100% true. Friends will fight over some disputed topic, such as abortion or the death penalty, and then five-minutes later be talking about something trivial or going to play ping-pong at the campus center together. The school is very small, which has its advantages and disadvantages. Everyone recognizes everyone, and even knows somthign about them. Gossip is rife, do noit expect to escape the classic high school drama here. However, its size brings a sense of coziness and comfort, one can talk to anyone about anything; noone on campus is seperated by more than two degrees. The college town is small, but has a few good restraunts. Antonio's Pizza is the best slice you will have, coming in all sorts of weird and fantastic flavors (my personnal favorite is the Steak and Bacon), there are a few good chinesse restraunts within walking distance too. The PVTA is a free bus that takes students to the other five colleges, including North Hampton, which has all sorts of upscale shops and restraunts. Nobody complains about the campus administration, who try to make themselves as visible as possible. It is not uncommon to see the president eating at Valentine or working out in the gym. There is tons of school pride. If you come, do not ever mention the fact that you also applyed to Williams...huge rivalry.

Academic Life

Classes here are wonderful. Professors will know your name and where you are from. Students study around two to five hours a day, depending on whether someone has a paper or not. Class participation is extremely common. Don't come here if your planning on relaxing in the corner. There is some competition, but not in a negative way. People help eachother before tests and while they are curious to see the scores of their peers, never brag or boast. People can TYPO (Take Your Professor Out) there professor and get a free meal in town, this is very popular amongst good professors, which there are tons of here. There are no requirements, making premed and double majoring easy.

Student Body

There are no types of tudents who would feel out of place. Different types of students interact all o fhte time, there is no segregation. My brother, who also goes here, is a debater, and he is rooming with a vasrity pitcher next year. However, while some students are not politically active, everyone is politically aware. I could tell you whether each person in this school was a Republican, favored Obama, or favored Clinton. People do talk about how much they will earn in the future, after all, we go to Amherst, and we brag about it. The student body here tends to be pretty athletic and way more attractive than at the other elite schools.