Amherst DIVOH Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

<p>Hello! I got a friendly email from Amherst a few weeks ago inviting me to attend a Diversity Open House on campus this fall!</p>

<p>I am interested in applying to Amherst, but I have a few questions that perhaps you all could answer before I apply to this:</p>

<p>1) I am Asian. Should I still apply? (I am also in the low income bracket I suppose; < 50k but my family doesn’t really have financial difficulties per se)</p>

<p>2) Is the admissions into this program as competitive as admissions to the college itself? (Do they send these invitations to a lot of people?)</p>

<p>3) If I attend, will my chances for admissions to the college increase/is this something I should mention on my college app to Amherst, or even to other colleges?</p>

<p>4) Can anybody who went in previous years explain what the experience was like/do you recommend it, etc?</p>

<p>Thanks :D</p>

2

<p>Bump…</p>

3

<p>1.When I went, there were all types of people so it certainly doesn’t lessen your chances.</p>

<p>2.It’s a bit competitive but it’s certainly not the same as the level of competitiveness in admissions. Being invited to the visit does at least show that they’re interested in you. Even if you are invited, the application is open to everybody.</p>

<p>3.I think that they mention to you that around 75% of those who went to the open house and applied were admitted…and if not that percent, it was still a really high portion.</p>

<p>4.Visiting a school is probably one of the best ways of seeing how well suited you would be for it. After DIVOH I made it my #1 choice and applied ED.</p>

4

<p>Thank you very much. It sounds like fun; I think I will apply. :)</p>

5

<p>Just faxed my DD application today. Good luck everyone.</p>

6

<p>Can international students apply ?</p>

<p>As i read Amherst pays for transportation.Does it pay for international students?</p>

7

<p>On the Testing information section it says:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Does this mean I must put both my SAT I and ACT scores? Or can I choose? Because my ACT (34) is significantly better than my SAT I (2120).</p>

8

<p>Austro, I am not sure if the wording of that means you have to submit ALL tests you have taken, I believe it just means for the tests you are submitting. My D who just graduated, went ahead and sent in both. In her student records, it only showed the highest one of the two. I’m pretty sure you can just send in your ACT, but I don’t see any negative in sending in them both, as she did and her scores were lopsided as yours are.</p>

9

<p>Thank you GA2012 mom. I was wondering if I should call and get that clarified, but I guess I will just be honest that I didn’t do as well on the SAT.</p>

10

<p>are we allowed to superscore our ACT composite? i’m just wondering because they ask for each section of the SAT but not the ACT</p>

11

<p>I don’t think any school superscores the ACT.</p>

12

<p>I’ve also heard that the DivOH boosts your chance of acceptance into the college but don’t let that turn into overconfidence ^^. </p>

<p>I’m also Asian, and an incoming freshman at Amherst (didn’t attend the DivOH) but I know a friend who was invited to attend the DivOH but was deferred ED and denied RD. He didn’t have bad stats or anything (he’ll be at Wesleyan next year).</p>

13

<p>I would encourage anyone interested in Amherst who gets invited to apply to DIVOH to do it. My daughter graduated in the Class of 11, both parents Ph.Ds, no financial need and she was admitted early decision. Yes, if you attend the DIVOH , your chances of being admitted is something like 75%, they waive your application fee as well (at least when my daughter applied). It certainly made her want to attend Amherst which wasn’t even on her list before she got the communications from them. She LOVED Amherst and I would certainly not apply because of what you may stereotypically think of as “diversity”. Amherst views diversity in many ways. So, go for it and good luck!!</p>

14

<p>You should definitely apply (even if you weren’t invited)! I didn’t apply until it was too late and there wasn’t any room left… but I still received a fee waiver :slight_smile: I applied early and was admitted so if you don’t get into the DiVOH program for whatever reason, don’t sweat it too much!</p>

15

<p>When do you hear back from them? I just applied.</p>

16

<p>Hi! Quick question: What exactly is the advantage when you submit your application by the priority deadline? Thanks!</p>

17

<p>I believe the priority deadline ensures that your application will be read while there are still spots for the program, but I don’t know if that is clearly expressed anywhere and it might just be my interpretation of it! I submitted my app last week so I can’t wait to hear back!</p>

18

<p>I’m applying to Amherst’s DIVOH, but I’m also interested in applying to Middlebury’s, which happens to be the same October date as Amherst’s. Of course, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it yet (and I don’t believe Middlebury posts decisions until early in the fall), but should I omit the October date box on the DIVOH application?</p>

19

<p>I would just omit the October date box… they probably won’t be too happy if you cancel to go to another school’s event. </p>

<p>I just submitted mine! When do decisions come out?</p>

20

<p>I think last year the September attendees received decisions late August and October received them early September, so hopefully around that same timeline.</p>