<p>Hi. My name is Todd. I was accepted to both Middlebury and Amherst, and I’m having trouble deciding between which one I should go to. I plan on majoring in either political science (specifically international relations) or economics and plan on going to law school. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>I think you only have to ask yourself one question: “What would The Dude do?”</p>
<p>Does either college have a bowling alley? Haha</p>
<p>Both are great. International studies is one of Midd’s strengths, but I’m sure Amherst has a great program as well. One of the biggest differences between the two is size. Middlebury has around 2,500 students while Amherst has 1,700. Are you looking for a smaller school?</p>
<p>I think I would probably enjoy a little bit bigger college. Amherst is actually smaller than my high school.</p>
<p>LOL 
Middlebury has great language programs, so if you’re interested in international relations, you might need to learn a few languages like Arabic, Mandarin and French to brush up your CV ;)</p>
<p>Have you visited both? There’s the “I fit here” factor that you just know when you go to the campuses.</p>
<p>Dude: I dare you to make a wrong decision between these two great schools. (Just don’t roll on shabbos.) Congratulations!</p>
<p>Amherst is the better-ranked school, beautiful town, great place. Amherst!</p>
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<p>When making a decision about where to spend the next four years, I wouldn’t rely too heavily on the fact that a magazine ranks one a few spots higher than the other. Middlebury also has a beautiful town, and a beautiful campus to boot!</p>
<p>I was admitted to both Middlebury and Amherst, and I enrolled at the former before I was accepted off the waitlist at the latter.</p>
<p>I had my heart set on going to Midd, and it’s definitely a superb place to get a great education.</p>
<p>I’d have to disagree with arcadia about the town of Middlebury and it’s campus, though.</p>
<p>When I visited Midd, the town was fairly deserted and there were no interesting stores or restaurants at all… At Amherst, the town is just as New England quaint and beautiful, except it’s populated by lots of college students from Amherst, UMass, and Hampshire. There are middle school brats, high school brats running about every afternoon, older people and academics reading in cafes. We have all the necessities and luxuries of life: ethnic restaurants (Venezuelan, Japanese, Italian, Indian, SE Asian), Subway, Ben and Jerry’s, Starbucks, CVS, and many bars. Holyoke Mall is a twenty minute free bus ride away: department stores, electronics stores, an AMC theatre, Trader Joes, etc.</p>
<p>i.e. as a New Yorker, accustomed to being a part of “civilization” and enjoying a rather materialistic/hedonistic lifestyle, I can’t complain about Amherst. </p>
<p>Middlebury’s campus is spacious, with vast expanses and rolling green grass too, but most of its buildings are in gray stone. Amherst’s campus is much smaller, but most of our buildings are in red brick. </p>
<p>I personally like the small campus feel and Amherst’s architecture: it’s more aesthetically pleasing to me. And, I love the town.</p>
<p>Oh, and to actually answer the OP’s academic concerns:</p>
<p>Amherst has exceptional per capita law school placement at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School that rivals that of HYPS.</p>
<p>Both Political Science and Economics have been consistently among the top five most popular majors for the past thirty years or so, and both of these departments have outstanding faculty.</p>
<p>A beautiful town? Are we talking about THE Middlebury in Vermont?
Plus, no one disputes Amherst place. On the other hand, the Claremont consortium isn’t too happy Middlebury ranks higher than Pomona and CMC.</p>
<p>When you’re talking about schools like Midd and Amherst, they’re so small that size really doesn’t matter. I mean, come on, were talking a difference of maybe 100-150 students per class. Realistically, it doesn’t mean anything. I would go for the prestige and the quality of life outside of classes. For instance, Amherst dorms are among the top in the nation, schools and hotels combined :)</p>
<p>And I don’t know much about the poli sci department here, but Austin Sarat is a legend.</p>
<p>Indeed, even Vassar folk are modest when talking about Poughkeepsie.</p>
<p>But, we cannot expect Middkids to chill and have picnics in the cemetery every spring afternoon, can we? They need their town.</p>
<p>Ah, to think how different life would have been had I gone to Midd instead. To whom would I have sung my verses of love forlorn? The worms, the gravedigger, and the cold, marble sepulchres?</p>
<p>I disagree: size does matter!</p>
<p>A dear friend of mine who’s studying CS at Midd at the moment joked with me that middkids endearingly call their school Middlebury University.</p>
<p>The campus is significantly larger than that of Amherst, and an extra 200 students per class does make a difference. Of course, it doesn’t detract from the quality of one’s education experience, but a little intimacy is lost.</p>
<p>And, yes, Austin Sarat is totally fabulous. Are you having an Amherst is awesome tingle?</p>
<p>I appreciate all the discussion and help, guys. This thread is slowly, but surely, turning me towards Amherst. The only problem is, Middlebury gave me more financial aid :/.</p>
<p>One of the pluses of Amherst is that you get all of the small classes sizes, beautiful campus setting, and accessible professors that Middlebury could also offer, but you can also go leech off of the frat parties, guest speakers, resources and events of the other “Five Colleges” if you want to. So, although Amherst is technically smaller, remember that Middlebury is 2,500 in the middle of nowhere whereas Amherst is 1,700 within twenty miles of 30,000 other college students.</p>
<p>If you call the Amherst financial aid office and tell them that you want to pick Amherst, but may not able to because Middlebury gave you better financial aid, Amherst will certainly match the offer. I did it, and Amherst ended up re-adjusting the aid and actually gave me more than the other school.</p>
<p>Well then, I will definitely be calling Amherst’s financial aid office tomorrow!</p>