Amherst College

Located in Amherst, MA; Amherst College is part of the Five College Consortium, established in 1965, which is comprised of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  The schools are geographically close to one another and are linked by buses which run between the campuses.  Students in each of the five colleges are able to attend classes at any of the five institutions, at no additional cost. Amherst College is exclusively undergraduate, with less than 2,000 students on campus.  It is ranked as the second best liberal arts college in the county by U.S. News & World Report.

Founded in 1821, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher education in Massachusetts.  In the 19th century, when Williams College debated over whether or not to relocate to Hampshire County, those in favor of the move left Williamstown to open Amherst College.   Amherst went co-ed in 1975, admitting women for the first time in its history.  Amherst admission is highly selective, only 12% of applicants are admitted each year.  Annual tuition is through the roof at over $60,000; all inclusive.  However, Amherst remains one of the rarest of rare institutions - a need-blind admissions policy for domestic and international applicants that meets the full demonstrated need of every admitted student, eliminating loans for low-income students.  The net price of attendance is approximately $13,000 per year.

Needless to say, it is really, really hard to be admitted as a freshmen.   The small class size, the personal attention from an academic adviser charged with only five advisees, ranks Amherst one of the highest in schools for dollar spent per student.  Amherst is known as the “Singing College”, with numerous a cappella and singing groups.   Other traditions include sliding down Memorial Hill on dining hall trays after a fresh snowfall.  Some say the sport of Ultimate Frisbee was created at Amherst in the 1960s.  Amherst has many notable alums including Charles E. Merrill (1908), one of the founders of Merrill Lynch & Company and Raymond J. Teller (1969), half of the duo Penn and Teller.

We were very very impressed with our student tour guide.  He had an obvious talent for public speaking.  We also heard some students singing on the residential quad.  Campus life seems idyllic.  

Students who applied to Amherst College, also looked at Brown University, Williams College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  

For more information on Amherst College, visit  https://www.amherst.edu/.

Amherst College is located at 220 South Pleasant Street Amherst, MA  01002 (413) 542-2000