So I was looking at ED percentages for LACs and I was like “Woah, 40%?” But the thing is, how many of these are reserved for normal students without legacies and athletics? I’m applying early essentially to get a better chance of admission but I don’t know how much that will help me if I’m a normal student. You can take a look at my chance me thread here to see if it would. Any thoughts?
This is also kind of important because my other option for ED is probably going to be Northwestern, which I suppose has the same problem.
bump
Supposedly at Amherst, anyone non-athlete/non-legacy who gets in ED would have also gotten in Regular Decision. I think you should apply to the school you really want to go to, not the one you think you have better chance. Anyway, it’s a crapshoot when it comes to such low percentage levels of admissions.
Hey! I live about five minutes from the main quad at AC, and I know many admissions staff and professors, as part of a deal with my high school I’ve taken a few classes at the college.
ED is usually mostly focused on admitting athletes and legacy students, two hooks AC absolutely loves. There is a distinct advantage for someone in your case who’s applying to admissions however- there is more reading and discussion time for ED apps. Because there are less of them; with a lot of athletes not being read, your special circumstances may be looked upon more favorably. However I will warn you that I don’t think you’d fit in very well here if you’re looking for finance/econ. The vast majority of students at the college are very social-justice oriented. They work well with local high school students, homeless shelters, etc. Most of them major in things like Africana Studies, or Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought; which are very popular on campus.
Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions about life in the 413, and about the college!
“Most of them major in things like Africana Studies, or Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought; which are very popular on campus.”
Err, no. The most popular majors at Amherst are Economics, English, Political Science and Biology. And it is well known as a target school for top finance firms to recruit. You may have met a lot of social justice people, and that’s great, but its hardly the only thing anyone studies at Amherst.
I think Intro Econ has more sections than any other class 
Info on class of 2015: most common majors-
Econ, English, History, Math, and Psychology
https://www.amherst.edu/news/news_releases/2015/05-2015/node/607973
@apremonition I’d be interested in hearing more about what shaped this impression of Amherst students. While there are plenty of opportunities for activism and giving back at the College, and many students are politically active, I definitely wouldn’t call the median student here “very” – or even “somewhat” social-justice minded.
All over CC, there are lots of threads dissecting the cultural differences between top LACs, and while Amherst’s “preppy” and/or “jock” rep is definitely an oversimplification, there are elements of truth. I would say the “average” student [and I truly mean “average,” i.e. certainly not representative of everyone] is on a club sports team, majors in math, bio, english, or political science, and aspires to law or business school.
The number I’ve heard thrown around is 40% – 40% of recent graduates working in consulting or financial services, that is. Not sure how reflective that is of multi-year trends, but it certainly fits the “gut” perception of what most alums do for a living on campus.
So, the presence of the finance/econ world is definitely felt at 'herst and the kid gunning for that J.P. Morgan internship (or what have you) is a very real and well-worn stereotype.
Employers that recruit on campus at Amherst include Bain & Co, McKinsey, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Google, and the C.I.A. Despite what many believe about liberal arts colleges – an impression probably shaped by schools like Oberlin, Carleton, Reed, etc. – this is a fairly typical mix at NE LACS in the NESCAC. Bowdoin, for example, apparently produces the most C.I.A. officers per capita (though I can’t remember where I heard that, it’s certainly evocative of the anecdotal reality “on the ground”).
When I compare my experience with friends from high school, I should note that in many ways Amherst seems more “pre-professional” than a lot of its peer schools, and I think that’s true of Williams as well, especially when you compare both (ex. similar as they are) with e.g. Swarthmore or Pomona.
I also wanted to mention – I really don’t know why LJST is always mentioned in brochures and college guides! It’s actually a very small department, and the word on the street is it’s basically the product of a schism in the poli sci dept.
Both LJST and Black Studies attract many non-majors with their interesting electives, but neither is actually all that popular (though I think LJST might be getting more so).
Black Studies – 7 grads in '14, 3 of them double majors (1.5%)
LJST – 18 grads in '14, 2 of them double majors (3.8%)
Compare that with
Economics – 75 grads in '14 (15.9%)
Mathematics – 39 grads in '14 (8.2%)
English – 52 grads in '14 (11.0%)