<p>If any Amherst students on this forum were accepted to the above colleges but chose Amherst, please tell me your reasons. I know there are plenty of Amherst vs. Williams posts so this thread can focus in general on why people chose Amherst over other schools.</p>
<p>I was considering applying early to some of those schools, but settled on ED to Amherst, which was binding. I decided against those schools for reasons i outlined in the "does anyone out there absolutely love amherst?" thread. here's what I wrote there:</p>
<p>I firmly believe that Amherst is the best college in the US (or anywhere else, i suppose) for my particular tastes and needs. I wanted a highly academic school, cooperative students, a small learning environment, and most importantly, high personal access to professors. I want to shape my own education, and I want professors to be consultants and friends as well as instructors. I want a place where my own enthusiasm for learning can grow and be satisfied, where no institutional roadblocks prevent me from learning deeply (unlike high school). Amherst provides all that.</p>
<p>I also wanted a place I'd like to live. Amherst's beautiful campus, great dorms, close community, good location, and small physical size made it attractive. </p>
<p>Other schools have some of these attributes, but I couldn't find another school that had them all. To me, Amherst seems to have EVERYTHING (except engineering, but that doesn't interest me for undergrad). I can tell you why I specifically did not apply early to other top schools. </p>
<p>hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply.</p>
<p>i picked amherst over brown because the latter really is just an overrated school. not many schools can match the academics at amherst. my gc told me (she's really an incredible gc. she's been at our school for a couple decades and she sends about 3 people ever year to harvard) that it's as selective as harvard.</p>
<p>Praguer,
I chose Amherst over Yale a number of years ago for many of the reasons stated by Fire. For me, I preferred a smaller community where I could make close friends with faculty and classmates. Many of those relationships are still vital to this day. I have found traveling life with other learners, and enjoying the journey with them, an important part of my college experience. At Amherst, I found students and faculty passionate about learning for its own sake (a refreshing change from h.s.!). The smaller college environment at Amherst is very conducive for making friendships and promoting interactions between people who otherwise may not have much contact with each other.</p>
<p>I also liked the 5 college area with shops/activities/entertainment, the bucolic setting of a picturesque college town nestled among hills, and not having to worry about serious crime.</p>
<p>You have a lot of great choices. I hope you have visited all or at least most of the colleges. Best wishes for your future.</p>
<p>I picked Williams over other schools on that list. I think Amherst and Williams offer the best undergraduate educations in the country. Those are all great schools, however, and your choice should be determined by which school "feels" the best for you. Williams was a much better fit for me than Amherst was, but it may not be for you.</p>