<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I just came across this website for asking and answering questions about Amherst (and to mention how much we hate Williams): [url=<a href=“http://urtak.com/u/amherst]urtak[/url”>http://urtak.com/u/amherst]urtak[/url</a>]. Only a few people have participated so far, but I think it’s pretty cool and might have some potential.</p>
<p>-A student from the class of '12</p>
<p>S and I visited Amherst on Monday and really liked it. S is a distance runner, and he was very impressed with Coach Nedeau.</p>
<p>One question: The tour guide said that there is only one dining hall, and it’s open only until 7:30 pm. Isn’t that a little inconvenient? They said the coffee house is not on the meal plan. S is not going to have extra money so that he can just run into town and eat out constantly.</p>
<p>Second question: Do a lot of students take advantage of being able to take classes at the other colleges in the area? How hard is it to get into the classes you want?</p>
<p>Third question: This is our first child to go through this process. The woman at the info session said that Amherst gives NO merit aid, but other people have told me they actually will, but call it something else. We will qualify for very little, if any, need-based aid, but there is NO way we could afford to send S to this school without help.</p>
<p>Fourth question: Why is Amherst better than Williams? :-)</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>I am sure students can answer some of those questions better than I (a parent), but Amherst does not give merit based aid or school based scholarships. They only give need based financial aid. This is true of many of the top colleges and universities.</p>
<p>The inconvenience of Val hours is more of an irritation for kids who are used to eating later at home than an actual impediment. Although they stop letting students in at 7:30, once you’re in, you can eat until 8:00. If you’re worried about your son’s XC practice interfering with dining hall hours, forget about it. Amherst sports teams schedule practice around Valentine. I’m on a team that practices off campus, and our coaches are sure to have us back by 7:20.</p>
<p>As for your second question, I know only one person who has taken a class at another Five College school, and she enjoyed it. I couldn’t tell you how easy it is to be enrolled. The free bus system makes getting to these classes easy, albeit a bit time consuming if you’re going anywhere but UMass.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of Amherst giving merit-based aid under a different name; it is strictly need-based. Try the Amherst-specific family contribution calculator to see approximately what you will be expected to pay: [Amherst</a> College Financial Aid Calculator (v.12.0 for the 2006-07 academic year)](<a href=“http://www3.amherst.edu/~finaid/calculator/]Amherst”>http://www3.amherst.edu/~finaid/calculator/)</p>
<p>Why does Amherst trump Williams, you ask? Why do dogs chase cats? That’s just the way it is.</p>
<p>7:30 pm is late enough for the dining hall. I often go in at 7:30 and hang around until 8:15 when they kick you out. As for random late night food, I just take fruit and snacks from the dining hall to eat later, pretty straight forward.</p>
<p>I have not taken a class at another college, but I know people who have and have said it is very rewarding. They haven’t seemed to have trouble with it. It’s easier if you have a car for Smith and Mt. Holyoke classes, but Umass and Hampshire are 10 minutes by bus, which is fine. I would like to take a 5 college class, but there are so many good ones at Amherst I want to take first!</p>
<p>There is no merit-aid because one would assume everyone who goes here is pretty smart/gifted. If you think you need aid as badly as you say, then I think you would get some. Did you try the aid calculator? And if the situation is as odd as you say, you could try talking to the financial aid office. Amherst is very good about aid, more so than most other colleges. They will listen.</p>
<p>1) The only downside about Val is that it gets very noisy during peak hours. The lines are never unbearably long, which is a good thing. Coffee house purchases aren’t covered by the meal plan, but some items on the menu are reasonably priced–others, ridiculously.</p>
<p>2) 52 percent of the Class of 2007 took at least one class at one of the other Five Colleges by the time they graduated.</p>
<p>3) Need-based aid only. You could appeal and also apply for loans.</p>
<p>4) What? Who would make such a ridiculous claim? ;)</p>
<p>thanks cool site!</p>
<p>In response to the question about financial aid, Amherst is VERY reasonable. There is an appropriate parental contribution based on income, a student contribution based on summer/year work, any federal aid/work study, and a portion taken from savings. The rest is covered by the school in grants, regardless of the families income.</p>
<p>Wow…this thread has ventured completely off-topic. I wish people would read the previous posts before writing their own, so as to prevent this from happening. Oh well.</p>
<p>Yeah, we really need a “current student answering questions” thread. And pin it.</p>
<p>That’s actually what I meant at all. If you look at the first post, you’ll see that I started this thread to try and tell people about a website I found for Amherst students to give their opinions. This thread was not meant as another “ask all your questions here” discussion.</p>
<p>do engineering course in LAC would do good?</p>
<p>There are no engineering courses at Amherst.</p>