Amherst College Top Questions

Amherst's academics are excellent. There are no graduate students, and the focus on teaching is emphasized. My professors all know my name, and are more than willing to spend time discussing ideas or how to improve a paper. There are no academic requirements, other than taking a first-year seminar and choosing a major, so for the most part there aren't students in your classes who are just there to check something off a list. To do everything correctly, you have to spend a huge amount of time doing schoolwork. Some people spend almost all their time working, most people do most of the work and do fine, and some people do very little work and get by. Amherst is definitely geared toward learning for its own sake (at least in the humanities--I'm not sure about science or economics) but there are also great campus resources to help you get a job later.

When I see them on campus, I always tell prospective students that at Amherst, their experience will depend on them and what they choose to make of it. It is up to each student to manage his/her own time, and to balance work with pleasure in order to stay focused and keep a little sanity. Nobody can do all the reading, but if you don't do any, you aren't going to get as much out of a class as you could be. You may get by anyway, but to really milk an Amherst education for what it's worth (which is a substantial amount), you need self-discipline and a lot of motivation. Fortunately, the school provides a lot of outlets and a strong support network, whether it is at the writing center, through a school-provided tutor, or from the professors themselves, who seem to be available almost 24 hours a day. There is always someone ready and willing to sit down with you and help you sort out your life, and figure out solutions if you are having problems.

Classes go WAY beyond the classroom. I frequently carry on discussions about class in the dining hall or the dorm. Professors often invite students to their own homes for further discussion, etc. and students are able to take professors out to eat for free through the college's TYPO program! Research opportunities for undergrads abound, especially because there are no graduate students. The best part, by far, is the open curriculum! No core...no distribution requirements...Amherst is one of five schools in the country that lets students take classes in WHATEVER they want!

Almost all my professors know my name A lot of students goof around and then cram really hard for tests or pull all nighters before papers. Yet there is enough work that people are still working fairly consistantly. We definately have intellectual conversations outside of class, although not always about class topics, but just about issue at the school, politics, social issues, life in general... Amherst students strive to do their best, but not really against each other. I never know how anyone else has done on a paper or test, and I only know the GPAs of my very best friends, and even that is through the grapevine. I took a really cool class on the Beatles, where for credit, I joined a Beatles band and played songs on the guitar. I love the lack of core requirements. It allows me to take what I want, and not get bogged down in courses that are boring to me. Students end up taking a wide array of classes by choice anyways. The education is much more towards just learning, I really have no idea what kind of job I will be qualified for, but I'm sure that employers will want me just becuase it says Amherst on my diploma.

My professors know my name and most of them are eager to get to know me personally. The majority respond to their emails promptly which is nice, and are always willing to answer questions and facilitate discussions even in a lecture class. My favorite classes were Sociology: Drugs and Society , Music: History of Rock N Roll, History: History of the US Prison System (held in the Hampshire County Jail with inmates as classmates). Students vary in the study time. There are some who are always studying and in the library. And then there are some who play video games all day and never seem to do any work. Class participation is common, especially in a small classroom which is great. My majors are History and Spanish. History has been great with a wide range of topics and professors. Spanish has been more difficult as my first Spanish course was not counted towards the major and my summer abroad courses were not counted either. Sometimes I TYPO (Take Your Prof Out) my professors to dinner, paid for by the school, which is always great. I love Amherst's lack of core curriculum. It has given me freedom to take lots of interesting courses that I like and can excel at rather than difficult/boring courses like Math that I have no interest or skill in. Amherst education is geared toward learning, especially engaging the current affairs and developing a sense of advocacy and social justice. However, it can't hurt to have an Amherst diploma when applying to jobs.

Professors are really good about getting to know students and encourage you to come chat with them outside class even about non-academic subjects. Professors reglarly come to our swim meets. Also a lot of oppurtunities to be involved in their research. Students are not competitive and often form study groups. I am sometimes surprised by how many people are shy or just lazy about class participation. I have intellectual conversations outside of class and I get the feeling it may be common but don't really know. An Amherst education is definitely geared towards learning and not towards specific job skills. It's more up to the student to develop a specialty on their own and gain experience through summer oppurtunities.

Classes are alright, personally, I am in a lot of introductory classes, so there is not a whole lot of interaction with the professor or class participation. But everyone takes class serious and is very serious about their grades, even athletes. Open curriculum is awesome.

Amherst has no academic requirements apart from a mandatory freshman seminar, which really gives students a lot of freedom to take the classes that they want, and also to experiment in different disciplines, without having to worry about scrambling to met requirements if they take a class that might not go toward a major. The idea of an open curriculum seemed overwhelming to me initially, but once it came time to register for classes the first time I really appreciated it.The majority of professors do know the names of their students, especially if you are in a smaller class. Sometimes, with the large lectures (intro classes usually) the professor won't know you , but usually there are some smaller group meetings of the class, usually in the form of discussion sections where the professor will get to know you. As a history major, I have found that all of my professors have known my name in my classes, and the majority of them have known some other things about me. It is easy to get in touch with professors for the most part, and because they for the most part are not dealing with hundreds of students, they are usually available to meet and talk with you. Class participation is very common, although by no means required. Because professors make an effort to get to know you, it is not as intimidating to speak in class as you might think. For the most part, because the professor knows everyone's name, it is easy for the other students to get to know each other as well. The education at Amherst is not pre-professional, but that does not prevent Amherst students from getting high end jobs right after graduation.

Professors definitely know your name. Most students study a lot and class participation is common. It is possible, however, to pass through many of the humanities classes with little effort because of rampant grade inflation. Sciences are another story.

Of course professors know my name! No question. Favorite Class - Playwriting. Playwright-in-Residence Constance Congdon is a riot (not to mention brilliant and loving.) My classmates are really funny writers and the rapport between us is unbeatable. Least Favorite Class - Novels, Plays, and Poems: Waste of my Life. Students study often, I would say. I don't because my classes usually don't demand it of me. But if you're into science, expect to have little to no life. Class participation is very common, although Amherst students are more eager to listen than to jump into the conversation a lot of the time. Amherst students DEFINITELY have intellectual conversations outside of class. We're not that competitive with each other, only ourselves. Most Unique Class - Reading Popular Culture: Girl Power. We got to watch clips from Buffy and Alias, watch music videos by the Spice Girls and the Dixie Chicks and watched movies like GI Jane and Thelma and Louise. Instead of papers, we ran our own blogs. Amherst's academic requirements are fabulous because we have an open curriculum and they're pretty chill in general. I've had no problem thus far. Education at Amherst is definitely geared for learning for its own sake. Otherwise we'd be allowed to take non-liberal arts courses and learn actual skills (which we aren't allowed to do, btw.)

Great relationships with professors. Professors that I had freshman and sophomore year still remember me and talk to me. Students study a few hours a night, but it varies. Regardless, everyone here is pretty serious about school. Students are not competitive with one another, but I would definitely say they are very self-motivated. We don't want to see one another fail, but we definitely make sure we are successful ourselves. I am constantly engaging in intellectual conversations out of class, it's one think I really like about Amherst. We're a semi-diverse group of people but we all share intellectual curiosity and value our education. Education at amherst is learning for its own sake, which i've loved. If you want to get into a very specialized career amherst makes your path a little more difficult, but not impossible. i think the stuff we learn here prepares us to take on a really wide variety of careers.

Yes, all of my professors know my name. My favorite class is people and pollution (history 28). it deals with really relevent issueas of pollution and human impact on the environment and it's done really well, we also have pretty good discussions. my least favorite is spanish 3 (intermediate). i haven't taken spanish since jnr yr in high school and i am just taking this to refresh my spanish, but it's not really doing much. the people in the class dont talk much and the only talking we do is give answers to exercised where each part is basically the same. i would love to have more conversation and vocab, but it is hard to have that kind of class at 9 in the morning... i find that most students study pretty hard every week night. class participation is common, especially when there are upperclassmen to lead it, but freshmen still participate too. i've had several intellectual conversations outside of class, but it's not the norm. most students are not that competitive. the most unique class i've taken is either the history class i mentioned above, or my first-yr seminar, called genes, genomes, and society which was very interesting. my major will be biology. i've made several appointments with profs outside of class, but only when i have questions. i love the fact that amherst has an open curriculum but will still take advantage of different departments and the typical "liberal arts" education. i'd say some of both to the last question, certain classes are geared toward jobs or grad school (like econ, maybe some sciences) but a lot are just for learning.

Academics are great. Most of the classes are relatively small, under 40, so it's possible to really get to know a professor and the other students in the class. On the whole professors encourage students to come into their office hours for any problems and just to chat. Professors are extremely welcoming. TYPO- take your professor out- is designed to let students and professors interact outside of class. A group of students and a professor go out to dinner, at the college's expense, and it's always a great time. Learning about a professor's past experiences can oftentimes be just as valuable as a class. On the whole, students are really not competitive. Grades are normally not curved so that only a certain number of As are given, which really helps. Study groups and collaborative learning are always encouraged. The psychology department, my major, is great. All the professors are incredibly knowledgeable and also very interesting people. The department offers a wide variety of psych classes which lets the majors tailor what they specifically want to learn about psych. For instance, classes focusing on both scientific based psychology and more social psychology are offered. The requirements for Amherst as a whole are also great. The open curriculum allows the students to choose to take whatever they want. That way no one is forcing you to take anything you don't want to; everyone who is in your class is normally there by choice. Overall, the atmosphere is geared towards learning and not based on how to get a job.

Professors generally know your name and if you are in a large class they give you ample opportunity to meet with them and get to know them. Students definitely engage in intellectual conversations outside of class, but it really varies. It seems that alot of work will come at once and then there will be other "down times" in between.

Most professors make an attempt to know everyone's names. Going to office hours is a big help since it is a good way to get to know professors and professors tend to be very helpful. Students don't tend to be too competitive. Everyone tries to do their best and don't really worry about how others do. I would say the education at Amherst is geared more towards learning for its own sake. A lot of students end up going to graduate school where the focus is more on preparing for a job. Except for the a freshman seminar and classes required for your major, there are no required classes at Amherst which gives you much freedom to pursue your interests. Admittedly though, some students take advantage of this academic freedom and never branch out to subject areas they struggle in.

All my professors know my name, and I usually go to my professors' office hours at least once a week. With the professors that I'm close to, I see them as my professors but also my friends. I usually have intellectual conversations outside of class at random times of day. For example, my friends and I might suddenly talk about aggressions, genes, and evolution during dinner. One time, we discussed genocide while eating salad. I also enjoy having intellectual conversations with my professor. Today, my professor and I talked about the Indian concept of beauty and skin color. Amherst has an open curriculum, which means that there are no core classes that all freshman need to take. Students can take any class they wish as long as they have the requisites. For example, a student can't take Biology 19 without having taking Biology 18 first.

Yes, almost every professor I have knows my name. My favorite class this semester is Tolstoy. Most everyone studies a lot, definitely at least a few hours everyday. Class participation is very common, but there are certain students who try to get too much attention, which can get annoying. We definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class. One of the most interesting experiences I have had is when everybody on my floor was studying in the common room, and we began to talk about many of the political issues that the US faces today. One of the campus police officers walked in, and we included him in the conversation. It turned out to be pretty interesting. Students are competitive, but not publicly. Grades are usually kept private, except among friends, if you decide to reveal it. I am most likely going to be a French major, with pre-med possibly on the side. I love the French department; both of the classes that I have taken in it have been interesting and engaging. The academic requirements are great, especially in that there are none. You are free to take whatever classes you want to, and it really allows you to explore truly random things that sound interesting. Education here is definitely geared towards learning for its own sake, especially with the lack of requirements.

Professors always know our names - even in 80 people classes, which is the largest size class I've ever taken here. My favorite classes so far have been European Art and Architecture from 1400-1800, Baroque Art, Political Economy of Development, Cuba:Politics of Extremism, and Japanese Art: From Edo to Tokyo. I haven't really taken a class so far that I have not liked - or even if it wasn't my favorite, I still learned so much that it was worth it. All my friends discuss intellectual subjects constantly outside class - we stayed up many nights freshman year arguing about subjects such as race, identity and definitions of genocide. I think students are competitive, but less openly than they were at my high school. Amherst education is really what you make of it, I think. It is certainly geared towards learning for learning's sake although I think that there are people here who couldn't care less - however, those people, I believe, constitute a minority. The most unique class I've ever taken is probably the Poli Sci upper level seminar that I'm taking right now on Problems of International Politics: Gorbachev, the end of the Cold War and the Collapse of the Soviet Union. It is being taught by William Taubman, Khrushchev's biographer, who is currently writing a biography of Gorbachev. We are approaching the study of Gorbachev from a pseudo-psychobiographical standpoint and one week's reading consisted entirely of psychological theory. It is really fascinating.

there's a lot of integration between academics and extracurriculars: clubs often invite professors or guests to give lectures in the evenings, the theme houses put together educational house projects, etc. Yes, some professors are very active in the campus political and social life. yes, there are research opportunities for undergrads (the school has lots of money, you just have to ask around). there are no grad students, so undergrads get all the attention and money, which is great. there is no core curriculum, which is also great, and one of the main reasons i chose amherst. TAs don't teach classes, they just lead extra review sessions and tutor, so they're very helpful. about 1/3 of seniors complete theses.

You learn what you want, and that can be dangerous. Make sure you take a science class if you're an English major, and make sure you take an English class if you're a science major. Take a class where you'd least like to, and you'll be surprised. Take classes with the famous professors, then with the ones who people seem to hate; usually, the latter are better because they really push you. And you have to be ready to be pushed here; you write and write and read and read and spend whole days doing problem sets or setting up lab experiments. No matter how sick it makes you, it's worth it. If you're a senior, write a thesis - it's a sense of accomplishment you won't get anywhere else. If you're a science major, take advantage of the fact that there are no grad students here and that you can work on a project that was involved in the Nobel Prize - it happens. To sophomores and freshmen and anyone else who tries. Do everything you can, and when you come out, you'll be damn pleased with it.

The campus is pretty intellectual. There isn't too much competition between students, which is nice. Most humanities classes are discussion. Everything is taught by professors, which is great. Most are eager to meet with students outside of class, and some try to take part in extra-curricular activities. There's no core curriculum at Amherst, which is amazing. It means that few people are taking classes that they aren't interested in, which is better for both students and faculty.

If one must decide on a single aspect of Amherst that sets it apart from its peers, it is on its academics. Famous for its lack of a core curriculum, Amherst students bear the freedom and responsibility to choose any class at any time. While I have seen some students abuse this privilege by taking only "gut" or easy courses, others truly take advantage of this by trying subjects that they would normally have been restricted from due to distribution requirements at similar schools. The school definitely fosters the image of producing humanities and social science majors--probably from the relative well-spokenness of Amherst students. However, the biology, neuroscience, and psychology departments are quite renowned. More so than just the actual subject matters, the professors themselves are one of the central reasons to attend Amherst. Not only are they accessible, but they actually enjoy student interaction. Additionally, you are never taught by TAs at Amherst.

The competition between students varies depending on class year. In my class year, there is not much competition between students, we tend to compete with ourselves. I think everyone has a sense of what they are able to accomplish and not meeting our own expectations is the biggest letdown.