Amherst vs Brown vs Duke

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
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<p>Hello! I’m interested in Econs/IR/Public Policy/Pol Sc and am wondering how Amherst compares to the other 2 schools. (I’m aware that I’m posting in a Amherst forum=), but am still interested in your comments!)</p>

<p>I’ve heard that Amherst has this reputation of a very exclusive school where many students come from priviledged backgrounds, eg children of foreign dignitaries etc. Can any Amherst students not in this group comment on this?</p>

<p>How flexible is the Amherst curriculum-can we complete double majors etc? Also, is it true that all students have to remain in Amherst for 4 years even if they’re able to complete their degree in 3 years? I’m concerned about this as I’m only given 4 years to complete my studies in the US and hope to complete my masters as well.</p>

<p>I’m all for a LAC education but the thing is Amherst is virtually unknown in my country. =(
Thanks!</p>

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<p>the amherst curriculum is very flexible, only a freshman writing seminar is required. Aside from that, there are no requirements outside of your major, making it relatively easy to double major.</p>

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<p>Amherst is unknown amongst the people that don't matter as much for your success. Amherst has an extremely high reputation among the doctors, lawyers, and highstrung businessmen. So, you get the benefit of being able to say "Hi, I'm from Amherst" without sounding condescending while in reality
belonging in a really really good school. </p>

<p>As for the proportion of the high-background students..</p>

<p>My single mother makes $25,000 a year and I'm in. And I plan on going to Amherst. The way I see it, more rich people around, more people to mooch off of. :D</p>

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<p>Just to clear matters up, I'm intel and my family makes like $2500. I'm in:)</p>

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<p>I certainly empathasize with your "dilemma" as you have excellent choices. I think making a decision on college is very difficult as an international as you must make your decision on limited first-hand information. Very likely it will be made sight unseen.</p>

<p>Amherst is an undergraduate college so it is not as well known internationally as the major universities which are noted for their research. Furthermore, many foreign students come to the U.S. to earn advanced degrees (although this is rapidly changing) so they are only looking at universities that offer graduate programs in their fields of interest. Hence, schools like Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, Stanford, etc. have name brand appeal to many foreign students. </p>

<p>I am an Amherst alum so please accept my bias towards Amherst and similar colleges. Here are my reasons. The liberal arts college is an unique phenomenon of the U.S. education system. There really are no counterparts in other parts of the world (with the exception perhaps of a few private colleges in Canada). Its emphasis is very different than that of a research university. The focus is on the education of undergraduates. To that end, there is a tremondous emphasis on high quality teaching as well as scholarship by professors. Furthermore, the small size of the student body creates a very different learning and social experience than what one typically finds in an university setting whether it be in the U.S. or abroad. Classes are seminar-based and writing-intensive. There also are close connections among fellow students, professors, and even alumni (if you seek them out). The small size of the LACs engender a strong sense of community. In terms of applying to graduate schools in the U.S. and top graduate schools abroad, schools like Amherst are highly regarded, and you should be able to gain admission anywhere if you do well at Amherst. Finally, internationals from Amherst have done well returning to their home countries. Some of the recent prominent international alumni that I am aware of are: the President of El Salvador, the former Greek foreign mininster, the former Japanese Ambassador to the U.S., the chief Japanese representative to the EU, the recent presidential candidate in Kenya, and the Prince of Monaco. There are also many writers, journalists, teachers, scientists, and business people who contribute in their own ways to their home countries. Not bad for a small college!</p>

<p>As an international student, you may find Amherst appealing for these reasons. Additionally, there are perhaps 30,000 other students in the five college area so you would still have the opportunity to broaden your social horizons without feeling limited by one campus.</p>

<p>I have known students to graduate from Amherst in three years but it is generally discouraged. The emphasis is on obtaining a broad education in many disciplines rather than narrow specialization while in college. There is plenty of opportunity in graduate school and/or your career to do the latter. Some departments offer a master's degree (rare). Students that have graduated early usually wanted to go to professional or graduate school early, and arranged to at least complete their major requirements in three years. I knew of an older student (approximately 25 at the time, and son of a faculty member) who graduated in three years to enter a Politcal Science program at MIT and a Malaysian student who pursued an advanced degree in Economics at MIT. An American student I knew graduated early to attend law school. There definitely is precendent but it would have to be worked out with your advisor, faculty of your major department, and proabably the dean of students. However, another advantage of attending a small college, is that you can cut through the bureaucracy, and very likely set up an individualized education that suits your needs. Amherst's lack of required courses recognizes the freedom and maturity of its students to be responsible for their own education.</p>

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<p>I enjoyed reading that post; it provided compelling reasons to go to Amherst, which is one of my top choices.
Your posts in other forums concerning medical school admissions are very useful as well.
Thank you for your time!</p>

<p>I have one question if you wouldn't mind answering.
Any warnings, negatives, for attending the Liberal Arts College such as Amherst?</p>

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<p>My thoughts:</p>

<p>Some of the potential negatives of LACs are smaller curriculum, lack of graduate level courses, and geographical isolation (as many of the LACs at least in the Northeast are located in rural areas). Amherst gets around some of these issues by being part of the 5 college consortium. For example,one of my classmates who was an anthropology major interested in Indian culture took Hindi at UMass. I personally enjoyed going apple-picking with friends on a crisp fall day, biking through little New England hamlets, cross-country skiing through the Amherst bird sanctuary, or climbing Mount Tom in Holyoke range. The rural setting has its charm. On the other hand, the 5 college area provides a tremondous amount of social and cultural activities. </p>

<p>Although Computer Science is a major, the technical fields such as engineering, computer design, robotics, etc. really are not offered. You would be better off going to MIT, Stanford, or even Harvey Mudd. Swarthmore and Smith offer engineering degrees which could be combined with the LAC experience. At Amherst, the liberal arts education is emphasized rather than "practical" fields such as accounting or business. These areas are pursued after college, if someone is interested. Last year, a student on this board was trying to decide between attending Penn Wharton and Amherst. In my mind, it really was comparing apples with oranges.</p>

<p>Although I was attracted by the small size and the possibility of knowing almost all of my classmates, the small community might seem like a "bubble" to some others.</p>

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<p>psalm139, I wasn't an econ major so I have not the authority to speak for the econ department at Amherst, but I was a polisci major - so here ya go:</p>

<p>just to clarify, in the US, normally, IR is considered a subfield of political science. so your asking about IR and PS separately might cause some confusion.
Political Science in general at Amherst is very good - I would say that it is one of the strongest departments on campus with the largest number of recognized faculty. It is especially good in law (public law) with two public law experst: Austin Sarat and Hadley Arkes. Not only are these two guys very well known in their field, they offer students very diverse viewpoints (Arkes - very conservative, Sarat - liberal.)
The IR field is not as well established here, unfortunately. The main IR guy is Ronald Tiersky. he's a bit dry and some don't like him because he's mean and could be tough to some as a grader. his credentials, however, are top notch. He was the director of the the SAIS (John Hopkins' renowned International Studies program) Center in Bologna, an expert in French politics as well as war&peace theory, which as you may know, is the core of IR. He also served on the Council on Foreign Relations (publisher of the prestigious Foreign Affairs.) I learned a lot from him. Professor Machala can be considered another IR prof, but he's more known for his Marxist stuff.
Another strength of the department is Comparative Politics. Prof. Corrales, while relatively young, is well known in his field (Latin American politics.) - I had the opportunities of talking with several professors from Dartmouth and Harvard and they all confirmed this. Taubman is very famous among Russian Studies/politics scholar (he just won a Pulitzer for his book on Khruschev.) The reason why I mentioned this is because Comp Politics, while essentially different from IR, can provide extremely helpful knowledge. To do well in IR, such knowledge is very important.
There's an IR program organized by the five college consortium. You take classes in the five schools and are awarded with an IR certificate in the end. Amherst's IR course selection is not that great but with MHC, HC, Smith and UMass, the selection is obviously super large.</p>

<p>Amherst's curriculum is extremely flexible. Double major is quite popular. If you want, you can even triple major and still have some spare classes that you can take for fun.
You don't have to be at Amherst for 4 years. The College has a "2-year residence" rule which requires you to take classes ON CAMPUS for 2 years to be awarded a degree. I was a transfer. I studied abroad for one semester and actually studied at Amherst for a period of 2 years.</p>

<p>Amherst is by no means exclusive. The student body, while not extremely diverse, is composed of people from all sort of background. I myself was an international student - was there on full financial aids, meaning I belonged in the lowest income bracket. I did just fine. Loved the school, made many good friends.</p>

<p>Amherst doesn't teach you many practical things. But there, you learn how to think - and write - those are the most important things. Right nowI'm working for an investment bank in New York. When I first came in, I had no finance knowledge. But training was provided and I caught up very easily. For that reason, companies today look for fresh graduates who possess analytical skills rather than a specific set of industrial knowledge.</p>

<p>Join Amherst. You'll love it there.
This is written late @ night... way past my bed time now. so please pardon any mistakes I may have made in my writing.</p>