First, congrats everyone on getting accepted to Amherst! As we near May, we are closer to needing to make a commitment decision. I need help choosing a college (promise this is not to flex): Should I choose Tufts or Amherst?
If it helps, I’m planning to go into Biology or American Studies with a pre-med focus (but I’m not committed into becoming a doctor yet).
First of all, congrats! I’m obviously biased, but I will share my perspective. Amherst and Tufts are both wonderful schools, but they have different things to offer.
Amherst is considered one of the VERY best liberal arts schools in the country. It offers intimate and cooperative classrooms with dedicated professors, and an open curriculum that enables you to explore whatever you choose.
I am less familiar with Tufts, as I didn’t apply. But I know that it is also a wonderful school, and is particularly strong in the STEM programs I believe (I would assume their pre-med is strong).
I keep hearing that Amherst is great as building people as PEOPLE through a well-rounded and interdisciplinary curriculum, which can serve as a great foundation for future careers or grad school. If you are sure what you study, Tuft’s academic structure, as a university and not a LAC, will allow you to pursue specific topics very strongly, but you are expected to be more focused on those tracks.
So, if you are more open to academic exploration, I would choose Amherst. If you are more invested in your particular areas of study and are willing to sacrifice some academic freedom and intimacy of classrooms for a tighter focus on your subjects, Tufts might be a better fit. It really depends on the environment you’re looking for.
Hope this helped! Looking at Liberal Arts Schools vs. National University videos might help distinguish the two.
Both are great schools for bio so it comes down to all of the other factors:
My background: I attended UMass/Amherst and my son this year applied to both, was rejected from Tufts and WL at Amherst.
Thank you so much for your insights! As stated in your response, I am getting the same vibe of Amherst helping students to develop a mindset to solve any type of problem. And Tufts allowing students to dive deeper in certain subjects.
Thank you for your help in finding key points about both schools! With Amherst’s small classes and Tufts connections to graduate schools as a university. Also, congrats on getting into Amherst (and your other college acceptances)!
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences in the town of Amherst! It’s interesting to hear an inside perspective. I was a bit worried about Amherst being in a suburban/rural location, but the town sounds quite promising on how you described it.
Thank you for highlighting key decision points with Tuft’s location and commitment to biology, versus Amherst with its open curriculum and small class sizes! It helps me a lot in making a decision. Also, I wish the best for your son on getting off the waitlist for Amherst (and any other school he was waitlisted to)!
No problem! And thank you for the congrats! I am pretty sure that I am going to attend Amherst, and would love to meet you there if that’s where you end up going!
Please let us know what you end up choosing. I’m sure you’ll choose the place that’s perfect for you. 
Hello, just got waitlisted at Amherst. I was wondering if contacting the professor of the respective department of conducting my research work would help me a bit to get me off the waitlist? does emailing professors help at all for increasing your chances off the waitlist? I was also wondering to send an additional LOR as well.
Hey there! I’m not positive that those factors will help now. Amherst doesn’t consider demonstrated interested during the regular admissions rounds, so I doubt reaching out to a professor will do much during the waitlist round. However, if you are genuinely interested in talking to the professor, you should by all means reach out to them!
Also, most schools don’t want additional LoRs. However, they do tend to appreciate letters of continued interest (LOCIs). These are used to affirm your continued interest in the school and, more importantly for Amherst, to update them on any new accomplishments you have achieved since you last submitted your application.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
Hi. Wondering if anyone has been accepted from the waitlist?
My friend, who was on the waitlist, received an email yesterday notifying him that Amherst already filled their class without needing to go to their waitlist. I would assume this unfortunately means that no one is getting off the waitlist this year. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Thanks for the info.
No problem