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Amherst College

#3 in Best Liberal Arts Colleges in America
  • A+
    Overall Grade
  • 4 Year
  • Amherst, MA
  • 272 reviews
    A+
    Overall Niche Grade
    How are grades calculated?
    1. Academics
      A+
    2. Value
      A+
    3. Diversity
      A+
    4. Campus
      A-
    5. Athletics
      A
    6. Party Scene
      B
    7. Professors
      A+
    8. Location
      B+
    9. Dorms
      A
    10. Campus Food
      B
    11. Student Life
      A+
    12. Safety
      A-
    View Full Report Card
    Amherst is a highly rated private college located in Amherst Center, Massachusetts in the Springfield, MA Area. It is a small institution with an enrollment of 1,836 undergraduate students. Admissions is extremely competitive as the Amherst acceptance rate is 13%. Popular majors include Economics, Research and Experimental Psychology, and Mathematics. Graduating 95% of students, Amherst alumni go on to earn a starting salary of $44,100.
    About Amherst College...
    Athletic Division
    NCAA Division III (with football)
    Athletic Conference
    New England Small College Athletic Conference
    Address
    Boltwood Avenue
    Amherst, MA 01002
    Website
    amherst.edu
    Work Here? Claim Your College

    Amherst College Rankings

    Niche rankings are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews.

    Admissions

    Acceptance Rate
    13%
    Application Deadline
    January 1
    SAT Range
    1400-1560
    ACT Range
    32-34
    Application Fee
    $60
    SAT/ACT
    Required
    High School GPA
    Recommended
    Early Decision/Early Action
    Yes

    Test Prep

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    Cost

    Net Price
    $19,519/ year
    National
    $15,523
    Average cost after financial aid for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, as reported by the college.
    Average Total Aid Awarded
    $49,467/ year
    National
    $7,535
    Students Receiving Financial Aid
    62%

    Academics

    Professors
    A+
    Based on faculty accomplishments, salary, student reviews, and additional factors.
    Student Faculty Ratio
    8:1
    Evening Degree Programs
    No
    100%
    of students agree that professors put a lot of effort into teaching their classes.19 responses
    89%
    of students agree that it is easy to get the classes they want.27 responses
    22%
    of students agree that the workload is easy to manage.27 responses
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    Claim your free account to keep your college's data up-to-date and get insights on user activity for your profile.

    Majors

    Most Popular Majors
    • Economics
      77 Graduates
    • Research and Experimental Psychology
      56 Graduates
    • Mathematics
      53 Graduates
    • English
      43 Graduates
    • Political Science and Government
      42 Graduates
    • Biology
      35 Graduates
    • Computer Science
      33 Graduates
    • History
      31 Graduates
    • Environmental Science
      19 Graduates
    • Sociology
      19 Graduates

    Students

    Full-Time Enrollment
    1,836Undergrads
    Part-Time Undergrads
    0
    Undergrads Over 25
    1%
    Pell Grant
    22%
    Varsity Athletes
    32%
    Poll
    What one word or phrase best describes the typical student at this school?
    Based on 17 responses
    Report
    • Academic, passionate, open-minded
      82%
    • Critical thinker, disciplined, loving
      12%
    • Diverse
      6%

    Campus Life

    Freshmen Live On-Campus
    100%
    Poll
    90%
    of students say they don't have Greek life.21 responses
    Poll
    58%
    of students say varsity sports are a big part of campus life.31 responses
    Poll
    What one word or phrase best describes your school?
    Based on 19 responses
    Report
    • Awesome.
      47%
    • Better than Williams.
      26%
    • You'll know everybody!
      16%
    • Awkward
      5%
    • Home away from home
      5%

    After College

    Median Earnings 6 Years After Graduation
    $65,000/ year
    National
    $33,028
    Graduation Rate
    95%
    National
    49%
    Employed 2 Years After Graduation
    90%
    National
    83%
    82%
    of students feel confident they will find a job in their field after graduation.11 responses
    Colleges like Amherst College
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    Amherst College Reviews

    272 reviews
    All Categories
    Our tour guide was well trained. He waited for someone to leave the dorms to have them tell the group what the best thing was about Amherst. The Dean was very intelligent and knowledgeable and gave a great information session presentation to the group. It is a small liberal arts college which is academically based and hard to get into. A mini Harvard that was scaled down. A shuttle transports you to the other 5 colleges connected with Amherst (University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Smith College, Mount-Holyoke College and Hampshire College). If accepted into any one of these colleges, you can attend classes, sports, activities at any of these colleges if they offer something that you are interested in. A nice feature to have offered because all of a sudden there is a larger area of interest, sports and activities to choose from. Making it almost impossible not to have something that you are looking for or interested in which can happen at small schools with limited choices.
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    Amherst is simply an amazing institution. The student body here is top notch academically, yet friendly, not cutthroat. The professors are genuinely available, almost 24/7, and have an interest in seeing their students succeed. Make no mistake, the academic environment is rigorous - for the most part the student body is made of of academic "1%-ers," and the pace and expectation is what you'd expect from that.
    The town of Amherst is a quintessential beautiful Northeastern college town.
    People are super successful coming out of Amherst. The acceptances to top medical, law and other graduate schools each year is mind-blowing. Same with people going into finance/Wall Street.
    All in all, Amherst is a magical place to spend 4 years!
    I love Amherst. It’s definitely small and rural, so you have to be prepared to find most of your social life on campus itself. But if you’re ready for that, the academics are great, professors are helpful, people are wonderful, and campus is beautiful! The financial aid packages are amazing, because Amherst intentionally makes the hard part gaining admission—not paying!