<p>The FA at other schools was so bad that we were in 7th heaven when Amherst's came through. D, too will graduate without debt.</p>
<p>My parents are I are... distraught. I'll leave it at that.
Maybe it had something to do with being accepted off the waitlist.
But, with a 1.2 billion dollar endowment, and a $739,372 endowment per capita, I'm not so sure.</p>
<p>Brown, in comparison, has a 1.4 billion dollar endowment, but its $174,845 endowment per capita pales in comparison.</p>
<p>And, rishibhai, I can't explain it either. Perhaps, no matter how much an Amherst education costs, it's worth it?</p>
<p>I have no idea what your circumstances are, kwu, but I am also middle class and my family is very satisfied with financial aid. Amherst's financial aid certainly isn't perfect, and the new programs from Harvard et al. are wonderful, but that doesn't make Amherst the 7th worst out of the top few hundred colleges in the country.</p>
<p>Amherst financial aid is amazing, and it has a reputation for being amazing.</p>
<p>Dcircle, when you say Brown is "free", I think you mean it doesn't charge tuition. Room and board is still pretty hefty.</p>
<p>I agree that Amherst financial aid is amazing. I'm going there on pretty much a full ride myself.:)</p>
<p>Brown has at least a $2.8 billion endowment. (Actually, almost certainly higher now since this data is from September 2007)</p>
<p>Deflecting</a> subprime woes, U. endowment hits $2.8b - Campus News</p>
<p>And it's strange how the FA offer says you need to pay "x" amount and then the bill comes, and it is SO much lower! They take so many other things into account, such as transportation expense, etc. So, our out-of-pocket has been minimal at best.</p>
<p>
[quote]
brown is free for family's making less than $100K and only $5000 per year for those making $150K. as a result, it's extremely socioeconomically diverse
[/quote]
Not quite. There is no parental contribution to tuition for families whose income is lower than $60K. Students are still expected to contribute at what seems to be a pretty hefty price. And R & B still cost. There are no LOANS for families whose income is under $100K, and the loans go up by a percentage above that, and are capped at some (seemingly to me, anyway) high number. You can check this out on the Brown Financial Aid web site and look at their new FA Policies. Nonetheless, these new policies are meant to further diversify the student population.</p>
<p>My D will be a sophomore, and she knew all her profs by their first names. They also knew her by her name. So, at least the ones she had were very accessible and friendly.</p>
<p>She looked at Amherst a couple of years ago, and one of the important things for her was a beautiful campus and she just felt that Amherst wasn't pretty enough. Frankly, I could understand what she was saying, but that is about as subjective a criterion as there is, but it was her feeling. Not right or wrong. Also, she didn't like the town, and while the ability to take classes through the Five College Consortium is a good thing, she said that she didn't want to have to negotiate other schools' ins and outs or travel to another campus, no matter how user friendly the system is. So, she ended up not applying to Amherst and is happy as could possibly be at Brown.</p>
<p>" for her was a beautiful campus and she just felt that Amherst wasn't pretty enough."</p>
<p>hahahaha that's really funny</p>
<p>I have a question regarding the whole taking classea the the 5 colleges. Do a lot of people acutally do that? Becuase as of now, it seems like most of the classes I would take will be at amherst. Plus, I heard there is a policy where you can only take classes at the other schools if it is not offered at amherst.</p>
<p>brown has a $3 billion endowment and is the midst of a $1.4 billion capital campaign.</p>
<p>per capita endowments are not a useful measure of a school's resources since there are obvious economies of scale.</p>
<p>for example, brown has a higher per capita endowment than columbia, penn, and other ivies but there are much more important things that differentiate these schools</p>
<p>Wow, from all of your comments, it seems I'm one of the very few people whose family got utterly shafted! Great!</p>
<p>
[quote]
one of the important things for her was a beautiful campus and she just felt that Amherst wasn't pretty enough
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That is just too funny. One of the reasons why I had wanted to attend Amherst so badly was precisely its "pretty" campus. And I visited some rather "pretty" campuses, including Princeton's, Columbia's, and Harvard's, Notre Dame's, BC's, etc.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, she didn't like the town
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Relative to Providence, Amherst, MA, may not be quite up to par, but its certainly better than other LAC towns, such as Haverford, Middlebury, and Poughkeepsie.</p>
<p>kwu, a lot of my friends actually appealed for financial aid and got more money. I guess it is a little late for this upcoming school year for you, but maybe you can try to talk with the financial aid office to make sure you get a good package for next year. And I think we have to reapply for financial aid on a year to year basis (right?).</p>
<p>....and Brown was? While I'd agree that there are more picturesque settings than Amherst, the argument that one chose Brown over Amherst on this basis of its beautiful campus and surroundings exemplifies the observation that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p>kwu, the financial aid is based on income and assets, so if your family has ample resources the school would expect them to be used to pay for your college. Since the aid is needs-based only, they either determined you didn't have as much need as you and your parents think you have, or else there is some kind of misunderstanding as to what resources your family actually has. It would be worth asking the FA office to explain your award and how they arrived at it just in case there is an adjustment that can be made.</p>
<p>Our family income is <60K and we have no assets, investments, or anything else other than the old, tiny house we live in, but Amherst still expects a combined student and parent contribution from us that is significant relative to our resources.</p>
<p>I am not complaining. They are being <em>very</em> generous to put it mildly, but we will also have to wring some more money out of somewhere to pay the bills. Like I said, we're happy to do it for the opportunity they are giving our son, but it's not like they expect a family to make no sacrifices if they have the resources to do it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Relative to Providence, Amherst, MA, may not be quite up to par, but its certainly better than other LAC towns, such as Haverford, Middlebury, and Poughkeepsie.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That all depends on what you're looking for in a town, doesn't it? The Town of Middlebury is the quintessential New England town--right out of a postcard.</p>
<p>The Amherst architecture is kind of blase. It's pretty boring; just brick cubes a lot of times. I think that's fairly objective. I love the school, but it's hardly as pretty as Bowdoin's for LACs, or the Ivies.</p>
<p>With all due respect, there are more important differences between these schools. </p>
<p>On a separate issue, I find it funny that people are characterizing Amherst as a bunch of jocks. I actually think that Amherst students are more serious and that Amherst is a cut above Brown.</p>
<p>I think that fit is inexplicable. D's best friend had a choice between Amherst, Dart and Brown. He chose Brown. Their other good friend had the choice of Williams, Dart and Brown and she chose Williams.</p>
<p>The schools are fairly comparable in selectivity (though Dart seems to be pushing up its numbers) and all are small enough for students to not get lost in the wash. </p>
<p>Beyond that subjective factors will prevail -- campus culture, strength of a particular major or the campus itself.</p>
<p>Having said all that, as a prof of English, I will say that Brown's English Dept. and its approach to literary studies is a bit weak which I very much doubt Amherst's is. (And this is from the mother of a Williams student.)</p>
<p>You may not care at all about the strength of the English Dept. but then again, you may.</p>