<p>I’ve narrowed it down to these two schools and I’m really stuck.
Please help me out! </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that I’m going to major in English, but I’m also planning to go to Vet school after college.</p>
<p>I’ve done an overnight at Bowdoin, but wasn’t able to at Amherst. I love both schools, but I feel like I have a better sense of life at Bowdoin. So if anyone could tell me about general life at Amherst, that’d be really amazing too!</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I think all the NESCAC schools are kinda similar in terms of campus culture, except for Wesleyan. Amherst has the 5 colleges thing, and a much bigger endowment. My general impression is that Amherst and Williams are considered to be in a league of their own among all LACs (correct me if I’m wrong).</p>
<p>it’s true that Wesleyan has a tendency to create its own climate and then export it. I doubt if Amherst would be singing the praises of “diversity” (even if wrapped in the same buttoned-down clothes) today if Wesleyan hadn’t started the ball rolling forty years ago. The same thing will happen when Amherst and Williams suddenly realize film studies is a legitimate field of study. :)</p>
<p>Film Studies is coming to Amherst next year, according to DD.</p>
<p>lol, there you go, johnwesley. It may take us a while, but we do eventually catch up.</p>
<p>English has always been, unquestionably, Amherst’s strongest department, in terms of both faculty and instruction quality. If you’ll take a look at a list of our distinguished faculty members throughout history, and our Pulitzer Prize winners, our Nobel Laureates, our celebrated authors, you’ll understand that Amherst is the place to be if you’re passionate about and intend on studying English.</p>
<p>garnett, you have a better sense of life at Bowdoin because you had the opportunity to visit it: I don’t believe you should rule out Amherst just because you weren’t able to visit. The campus and dormitories are beautiful and unique, and Amherst embraces diversity in all senses as its first and foremost ideal. You won’t have to worry about life there at all, even though you haven’t visited.</p>
<p>Hello garnett! I, too, was deciding between Amherst and Bowdoin. I have some friends who are doing the same.</p>
<p>I was only able to spend a few hours on the Bowdoin campus two weeks ago, but I loved the place. The campus was gorgeous, the people were friendly and down-to-earth, the outdoor opportunities are unrivaled, and both the food and dorms are amazing. The life there seemed more balanced and the students more happy.</p>
<p>I spent 3 days at Amherst as part of a diversity program and accepted students’ open house. The campus was spread out over a larger distance than Bowdoin. Streets ran through campus, unlike at Bowdoin. The buildings were red brick but not all matching because each had unique architecture. The students, I felt, were very intellectual, for the most part. However, I felt there was a divide between the athletes and those focused only on academics. I asked a freshman about his experience, and he told me the same thing. I didn’t feel like the student body was as balanced as the students at Bowdoin. Also, you could tell there was definitely a lot of wealth among the students. They were, for the most part, dressed in designer clothes. I felt like I would have to act and dress a certain way to feel like I fit in. Overall, I didn’t react as well to Amherst as I did to Bowdoin even though I spent triple the amount of time there. The food was actually pretty bad and, although clean and a step up from most colleges, the dorms couldnt compare.</p>
<p>Overall, my impression is that Bowdoin has the happy and balanced students whereas Amherst is filled with those wealthier-than-average students who were attracted by the reputation. The academics at both schools will be pretty much on par, so it goes down to where you would be happiest.</p>
<p>I sent in my deposit for Bowdoin this morning and couldnt be happier. Minutes after I called about some financial aid questions about the deposit, the admissions officer from my area sent me an email about how excited he was that I was coming and how he couldn’t wait to meet me. Bowdoin cares about its students. I know many people who chose Bowdoin over more prestigious schools such as Dartmouth and Amherst.</p>
<p>However, the choice is yours and yours alone.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions about Amherst, I would be more than willing to try and help. Or I could contact my host and ask her.</p>
<p>Hmm, I’ve heard other people talking about the athletes/non-athletes divide too.But the “intellectual” feel you mentioned sounds nice. I personally love an “intellectual” atmosphere.</p>
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<p>I’m inclined to disagree. Amherst’s student body certainly isn’t as “balanced” as that of Bowdoin because Amherst values diversity first and foremost, a kind that surpasses cultural and geographic boundaries. You might say that because everyone is so different, it’s hard to get along sometimes: and, that’s true.</p>
<p>If, by “designer clothes,” you mean North Face, American Eagle, and Longchamp, those have become more or less the norm among young middle class people. I spoke with a dear friend of mine at Vassar–he comes from a single parent household and he has two siblings about to attend college–and remarked to me that a vast majority of the student body is from the wealthy WASP establishment, but they intentionally hide their wealth by dressing “down to earth,” in torn clothing, rags, and whatnot, to the extent that they were trying to “outimpoverish” one other, a competition of sorts. He jokes with me that he gets the most respect from his peers because he succeeds in dressing most humbly–though, they don’t understand that he doesn’t have a choice in the matter.</p>
<p>My point is, many Amherst students don’t care about what they’re dressed in and they more or less throw anything on. And, what you refer to as “designer clothing” has become mainstream.</p>
<p>Amherst is arguably the most socioeconomically diverse of the elite LACs… that’s something you can’t see with your eyes.</p>
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<p>That describes a minority of students here. Why wasn’t your first impression that of young men and women who were intellectually passionate and curious and wanted to study under the Open Curriculum in an intellectual and encouraging environment?</p>
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<p>And, I know many people who chose Amherst over more prestigious schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, and Wharton…</p>
<p>TaylorAnn11, I’m under the impression that you arrived on campus with preconceived and mistaken notions of what the student body of Amherst would be like–wealthy, WASP, athletic–and you subconsciously let that color your experience negatively. I don’t think you assessed Amherst fairly, but I’m happy that you’ll be happy at Bowdoin.</p>
<p>Wharton is a business school…for me, liberal arts trumps pre-professional without a question.</p>
<p>Anyway, no shcool is “perfect”, even for the right person.</p>
<p>garnett, obviously if you post this in the amherst thread you’ll get (mostly) pro-amherst arguments. And if you post in the bowdoin thread you’ll get (mostly) pro-bowdoin. I’m not saying, I’m just saying. People are bound to be biased. Don’t forget that grain of salt when eating from the bowl of college matriculation.</p>
<p>Flip a coin. It is much more likely that your satisfaction with college will depend not on whether you choose Amherst or Bpwdoin, but on a whole host of factors for which you can’t foresee or control. Check out this:</p>
<p>[Barry</a> Schwartz: Why Selective Colleges–and Outstanding Students–Should Become Less Selective](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>Why Selective Colleges--and Outstanding Students--Should Become Less Selective | HuffPost Life)</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>As a potential math major, any preference between Bowdoin and Amherst? Also, for future internships/jobs in the fianance world, does one college have better placement success vs. the other?</p>
<p>For both the math major and the finance gig, look at Williams.</p>