Things I Love About Amherst College

Omg! I found a draft of this blog post that I had written, perhaps in the fall of 2020? It was never posted! So, here, 2 years later, I finally hit publish.

This post is for those who are feeling hesitant or worried about going to college.

It is also for those who are considering Amherst! I hope this makes you more excited about the school! Go Mammoths!

Deciding which school to apply to is hard. I researched each school for way too long, and once I found a few that I loved, I focused really hard on getting into those colleges. And it payed off. Amherst has been a great fit for me so far, and I'm so happy it worked out.

This list is from being a student on campus from August 2019 to March 2020, being a remote student until May, and then watching the college communicate with me over the summer of 2020.

Location:

1. Amherst, Massachusetts is beautiful.

2. Living around mountains provides beautiful backgrounds.

3. 4 seasons add variety.

4. With outing club, I was able to go white water rafting, skiing, and visit a falconry (all without paying).

5. The huge hill on campus is so fun to sled down.

6. The air is so clean and fresh. Sometimes I just breathe it in and smile.

7. Only 4 hours from home.

8. Pretty easy public transportation. With Peter Pan buses I can get from campus to Port Authority, Manhattan, and then walk to Penn Station to take NJ Transit home.

9. Amherst bussed me to Boston to watch a basketball game and it only took an hour or so.

10. We have a bird sanctuary on campus, which is essentially a huge forest with trails and a lake.

11. The bike path is heavenly. The entrance is by the tennis courts, and it goes for miles through beautiful forests, farms, and marshes. Take a right, bike for about 40 minutes, and you reach the town of North Hampton (where Smith College is).

12. Farm!

Academics:

1. The professors actually care about what they are teaching and about their students.

2. They seem to answer emails faster than they did in high school.

3. Office hours are super easy to attend. And you can form connections that will be great for getting jobs, resources, tips, etc.

4. Amherst has huge budgets. Or colleges have larger budgets than high schools in general. I got a whole work desk for myself for my studio architecture class! My geology professor shipped me a box of rocks this past spring! I took a class where we were required to go to Ecuador for a week (got cancelled from Covid, but still!).

5. There's at least a couple of events being hosted on campus each day where you can listen to someone scholarly talk about their work.

6. Some professors are way too enthusiastic. One of my geology professors started crying in front of our last in-person class last March because he said he would miss us.

7. My professor for my half credit hip hop class created such a strong community that she got every single student to dance even if they were uncomfortable at first. I would have gone to class every week even if it weren't for credit.

8. My psychology professor really tried to engage us during lecture. She would give us fun cognitive tests to prove what she was teaching.

9. Small class sizes!! So far, my class sizes have been: 15, 12, 52, 18, 19, 35, 23, 12, 12.

10. If you try hard you can get into almost any class you want. I had to write an essay and meet in person with the professor twice to get into the class going to Ecuador. When I was waitlisted, I kept emailing and showing enthusiasm for the class. I even saw him in our dining hall and approached him to introduce myself again! And it worked!

11. Open curriculum lets you pick whatever you want. No core requirements!

12. You can choose up to 4 classes to take pass/fail during your time at Amherst. They want to encourage people to explore classes out of their comfort zone without the pressure of grades.

13. Take a class during interterm (January break)! I recommend Collecting 101, a curating class at the on campus art museum.

14. Study at Beneski Museum of Natural History. You can write an essay alongside a giant mammoth fossil.

People:

1. The president of the college is so inspirational. She thinks very deeply about whatever she says, and she is incredibly well spoken and deliberate. She's also funny!

2. They invited speakers like Min Jin Lee and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to campus!

3. The students I can surround myself with are smart, open minded, humble, kind, and inspiring.

4. People have amazing stories if you listen.

5. Amherst really does well getting a diverse student body on campus.

6. My classmates have great music taste.

7. They are passionate and will make change. I've seen so many petitions go around written by students demanding more from people on campus.

Extracurriculars/fun:

1. The senior thesis piano concerts are amazing.

2. Amherst will fund trips to Six Flags, trampoline parks, bowling alleys, basketball games, arcades, and more.

3. Students actually care about the clubs they run, and they work really hard and dedicate so much time to these clubs.

4. Club sports are great. I recommend ultimate frisbee. It's outdoors, easy to learn, easy to practice with friends, and you can get fit.

5. The gym is open to anyone. It's so fun to workout with friends in the fitness center and then go play a game of basketball or a game of tennis.

6. There's lots of opportunities to dress up. In addition to formals for various clubs and sports, there's also PINDAR dinners. Hosted by the school, you learn how to talk intellectually with your peers at a really fancy catered dinner.

7. Downtown is literally across the street. There's lots of inexpensive restaurants.

8. There's this activity called Val Sitting where you sit in the dining hall for multiple hours while doing homework and eating lots of food.

9. Free drop in figure drawing sessions twice weekly.

10. Zumba classes.

11. A massive fall bonfire.

12. Resource centers that are so fun to sit in to do homework. So many posters, books, and colorful things to surround yourself with.

13. Bike share. Check out a bike for the day.

14. I actually had a lot of fun going to varsity sports games with friends.

15. Students get free entry to the Amherst Cinema after 9:00pm. I've gone to see Parasite, Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts, and Jojo Rabbit.

16. As much as people grumble about the dining hall food, we love to go there. And plus, it's fun to experiment with the food options.