Amherst College Top Questions

professors KNOW you here. know how you think, how you dress, what you like to eat, your family history... they really invest themselves in you. everyone studies all the time, even if they play like they don't. class participation is required. it's how you get your grades. we claim we're intellectual outside of class, but it's rare to come across a real intellectual conversation outside of class. and if you do, it tends to be peppered with "you dumbass, it's this way," or such epithets. amherst is uber competitive. the psych department here rocks my socks. it's amazing. you can spend time with professors outside of class. i tend to not. amherst is about learning to think. it's much less about whether you can regurgitate than whether you can put together these billion things you've read and come up with something new.

Small classes with low professor-student ratios. The largest class I've been in was an Intro Chem course and that was 75, maybe. The best part about the academic life is that there are no core requirements at Amherst, beyond a first-year seminar and the requirements for your major. That means you are free to take advantage of the broad range of courses available in any area! Also, the Five Colleges collaborate to allow students to take a course anywhere in the Consortium. So if that really interesting course in Mount Holyoke is catching your eye, you can go for it! My favorite classes this semester are History of Sexuality and the Environmental History of Latin America. The two couldn't be any different, but I find myself pushing myself to learn more about these fascinating subjects. Courses here are very unique, and the Psychology Department is a great place. I frequently have e-mail discussions with my professors about anything and everything. It's really amazing, the dedication professors have to the students, and the respect that everyone has for each other.

I can definitely say that all of my professors know my name. I spend time with them outside of class often, asking them questions during office hours, running into them on campus at different events or just on the street while I'm jogging or walking to class. I babysit their children and have dinner with them through TYPO (take your professor out to dinner). I have had many enjoyable classes. One of my favorite classes was an art class, and another was an english class that I took freshman year. I also really enjoyed my geology classes! Students study various amounts, depending upon their dedication level and major. As a science major and pre-med, I believe I've studied a bit more than some of the humanities majors. However, I've spent less time writing papers and reading! Class participation is very common in classes, especially in upper level classes. Outside of class, we certainly do have intellectual conversations, mostly about politics, sociology, medicine, research, etc. My roommates and I talk about things we see on the news and different lectures we attend. The most unique class I've taken, by far, is the scripts and scores theater and dance class that I'm taking right now. We're learning how to project our voices, compose scores for performance, participate in improvisation, and combine our experiences and background knowledge as a form of intense collaboration to create some pieces that we will perform in May.

No complaints.

yea all my professors know me. favorite class fiction writing hands down. Hate math. Im always studying. common but not necessary. yea sometimes. Very competitive..but on the low.black music black poetry. idk havent chosen my major yet. Feel fine, open curriculum. Geared toward learning. But going to amherst in general is geared toward getting a job.

Most professors I've encountered really do care about the subject they are teaching, and many are quite passionate about it. Most of your professors will make an effort to know your name, and most are very open to forming friendships with students. Class discussion and participation has been high in all the classes I've taken. Academics are extremely rigorous here, especially some majors. Students are very frequently stressed all the time. The students are all extremely competitive with one another, which is an attitude the administration seems to subtly encourage. People often judge one another by their grades/resume. Amherst offers some really great classes, some of my favorites have been The Value of Nature, and West African Dance. The Biology Department is really great. There are a few professors who definitely fall into the "old boys club" mentality, but more and more younger professors are entering the program. These younger professors are all extremely engaging and bright.

I have found that classes here, while requiring a good amount of work, often place a higher value on the students' insights than just random memorization of facts - at least in humanities classes. For instance, my 15-person political philosophy class reads a book every three weeks or so, and while you need to know that book inside and out, we spend every class discussing the concepts instead of being lectured on them. Aside from this, I really cannot say enough about how awesome the open curriculum is. Seriously, THIS RULES.

Academics are demanding but manageable. Classes are relatively small with encouraged participation. Professors are easily accessible. Personally I dont consult them often but they are definitely there. Amherst requirements are very lenient. You can take whatever classes you want to take. Classes are definitely geared towards getting a job

Because Amherst is so small there is no reason to not know your teachers and for your teachers to not know you. Amherst even has a fund where students can take their teachers out to dinner. Classes are so small that participation is necessary for all the students. Students are hard working but never competitive. I love the open curriculum because I can take the classes that I want--the problem is, there are so many interesting classes that I never know how I'm going to pick just four a semester!

all of my professors know my name. they are also very receptive to students who make an effort. i think academics here have a very personal feeling- people study however much they want to without worrying about how much others are studying. its a great feeling to not have other people breathing down your neck about grades, but to still have a highly intellectual environment.