Next stop on my recent East Coast trip of college tours: Amherst College
A few takeaways from my campus visit:
- Amherst is the smallest of the colleges I visited on this trip with a population of 1,970 undergraduate students. Located in Western Massachusetts, the campus is quite beautiful with winding paths among red-brick buildings, picturesque views of the Holyoke Mountain Range, and spacious grassy areas.
- There are no core requirements at Amherst, meaning that students choose their courses based on their personal interests and future plans.
- Amherst is part of a 5 college consortium (including Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst) allowing students to take courses and use library services at any of the 5 colleges. There is a bus that takes students from campus to campus.
- Amherst is a leader among elite private colleges in seeking socio-economic diversity among its students.
- Because there are no graduate students on campus, professors rely on undergrads for research. This college is a great choice for students interested in early research experience.
- Working on your student’s college list? If Amherst sounds appealing, your student may also be interested in Williams, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Colby.
Go Mammoths! (the mascot is a nod to Amherst’s very own on-campus Museum of Natural History, making the school a great choice for Geology majors)
