Amherst College (AC) Introduction and Academics

Introduction

Within the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts sits the 1,000-acre campus of Amherst College.According to the school’s mission statement:

Amherst College educates men and women of exceptional potential from all backgrounds so that they may seek, value, and advance knowledge, engage the world around them, and lead principled lives of consequence. Amherst brings together the most promising students, whatever their financial need, in order to promote diversity of experience and ideas within a purposefully small residential community. Working with faculty, staff, and administrators dedicated to intellectual freedom and the highest standards of instruction in the liberal arts, Amherst undergraduates assume substantial responsibility for undertaking inquiry and for shaping their education within and beyond the curriculum.

The college is committed to learning through close colloquy and to expanding the realm of knowledge through scholarly research and artistic creation at the highest level. Its graduates link learning with leadership

Information Summary

Ranks 3rd in Massachusetts and 11th overall. See the entire top 2,000 colleges and universities list
Overall Score (about)	99.0
Total Cost On-Campus Attendance	$73,966
Admission Success rate	N/A
ACT / SAT 75%ile scores	34 / 1530
Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty	7 : 1
Retention (full-time / part-time)	96% / N/A
Enrollment Total (all students)	1,855

Academics

Academics are challenging here. Each class requires hours of reading, writing, problem-solving, and conversation

Most Popular Fields of Study

Gallery

Admissions

Amherst is one of the most competitive liberal arts colleges in America. While academic achievement is the most important factor for admission, it is not the only one. Nor is there any set formula

Financial Aid

Insufficient family income will never be an impediment to a qualified student, as the college maintains a need blind admissions policy. In fact, Amherst is now one of very few schools to be need-blind for international students as well as Americans. The college has also replaced all loans with scholarships in its financial aid packages, so that no student need ever graduate with debt. If a student is on financial aid, that aid also applies to studying abroad as well.

More than half of students take part-time jobs on campus, whether or not work-study is part of their financial aid packages. Jobs are available in Valentine Dining Hall, Frost Library, Keefe Campus Center, the Physical Plant, and elsewhere. Many students spend at least one summer working on campus in an office internship or a research fellowship. The Center for Community Engagement also offers Fellowships for Action to support students who wish to spend the summer doing community outreach work, domestically or abroad.

Student Financial Aid Details

Ranks 4885th for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best scholarships and financial aid in Massachusetts.

Students

The campus boasts more than 100 student organizations and a rich calendar of popular entertainers. Every weekend,a student group called FLICS screens a different film free in Keefe Campus Center. Frost Library hosts a weekly Community Tea, Valentine Dining Hall periodically puts on a festive Luau, and every year, there

Student Enrollment Demographics

Student Graduation Demographics

Athletics

Amherst is an NCAA Division III school and a charter member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), with thirteen varsity sports teams for women and fourteen for men. There are also six intramural sports for women and six for men, including rugby and Ultimate Frisbee. About one-third of the student body are varsity athletes, and as many as eighty percent play on the intramural teams. Athletic facilities include Pratt Pool, Orr Rink, indoor and outdoor tracks, thirty-three tennis courts, baseball and softball diamonds, and a nine-hole golf course. More casual fitness buffs can simply work out in the Wolff Fitness Center, go for a walk in the bird sanctuary, or take any of several free, noncredit physical education classes.

Alumni

Amherst has a long roster of well-known alumni, including:

Henry Ward Beecher, 1834, preacher and abolitionist
Joseph Hardy Neesima, 1870, first Japanese graduate of a Western college and founder of Doshisha University
Melvil Dewey, 1874, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System
Calvin Coolidge, 1895, thirtieth President of the United States
Charles Drew, 1926, surgeon and inventor of blood banking
Richard Wilbur, 1942, U.S. Poet Laureate and winner of two Pulitzer Prizes
Joseph Stiglitz, 1964, Nobel Prizewinning economist
Teller, 1969, illusionist (of Penn & Teller)
Patrick Fitzgerald, 1982, U.S. District Attorney
David Foster Wallace, 1985, author
Jeffrey Wright, 1987, stage and screen actor
Debby Applegate, 1989, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer
Lauren Groff, 2001, bestselling author
Kimmie Weeks, 2005, founder of Youth Action International

Amherst College