<p>I’m excited to have gotten in and reality is now setting in. I live all the way in Florida, have never seen snow, and I’m pretty much used to warm weather. Obviously, I’m in over my head for Amherst. Are the winters that bad, how is it year round?</p>
<p>Two of my closest friends here are from Florida and quite a few students haven’t experienced snow until their first winter at Amherst. They’ve adjusted just fine. 
</p>
<p>It does get cold – usually the first real snow will be in November and it warms up again in late March. That being said, students aren’t on campus for the worst part of winter. (Because of Interterm, we get half of December and all of January off from classes, so many students who want to skip the cold choose to stick closer to home during that time.) Honestly, the only time we go outside is to dash between classes or the dining hall. The key is just a warm hat, jacket, boots and long underwear. A quick visit to LLBean.com, and you’ll have everything you need! </p>
<p>The weather, winter aside, is actually a great thing about Amherst. We have real seasons! Fall in New England is unlike any other when the leaves change and spring is really nice too.</p>
<p>I’m from Southern California and this is the most exciting thing ever–> " We have real seasons! Fall in New England is unlike any other when the leaves change and spring is really nice too." </p>
<p>the last time i saw snow was when I was 4. wonderful.</p>
<p>Just curious though…what is this interterm thing?</p>
<p>Spring Semester classes at Amherst do not begin until the last week of January. Students use that time either to go home, take not-for-credit classes on campus or at one of the other five colleges, work internships, travel, etc. </p>
<p>Here’s the website from this last January’s Interterm: <a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/interterm[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/interterm</a> </p>
<p>You’ll see a list of activities that take place on campus. The dorms and dining halls are open and the college provides fun activities (bowling, ice skating, karaoke, etc) for the students staying on campus. I stayed this year and worked at my on-campus job for Interterm. The campus is pretty quiet, but it was a great chance to get to know other students I hadn’t met before…all the fun of Amherst without the homework! </p>
<p>You should also look at some of the classes that have been offered. Again, they’re not for credit, but they’re still pretty cool. </p>
<p>For example, Celestial Navigation: <a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/magazine/issues/2009spring/collegerow/sun[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/magazine/issues/2009spring/collegerow/sun</a>
And a new course this past year, Crafting Public Policy: <a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/news_releases/2010/02/node/178595[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/news_releases/2010/02/node/178595</a></p>
<p>hmm i noticed that in a previous post you said that interterm was like…mid december-end of january, but the interterm website says jan4-jan22?</p>
<p>anyway i assume u go to Amherst right now…which is really really cool. Maybe I’ll see you by chance when i visit for the diversity open house thing. It’s really weird to be thought of as a a minority group, but I guess thats cuz i live in an area with a lot of Asians and go to a school where 1/4 is Asian haha…</p>
<p>Interterm is mid-December to mid-January if you consider what is technically “winter break” (the last two weeks of Dec.) as part of Interterm.</p>
<p>To clarify: classes end in mid-December and don’t begin again until late January. For the purposes of on-campus courses and activities, the interterm “period” officially begins ~Jan. 4th. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>Glad you’ll be visiting the campus! There’s no better way to get a sense of the school than to spend some time on the hill.</p>
<p>yeah that definitely makes sense, thanks a bunch man.</p>
<p>I’m really excited for the visit!</p>
<p>If DS gets to attend (depends on FA), it will seem warm to him, since he’s from Maine!</p>
<p>I grew up in Texas, and LOVE New England weather. I would never move back. The one rough time of year for me is now through April. Everything staying brown so long gets old!</p>
<p>I too am from Florida and am a little worried about the weather, but when I visited it was so beautiful that I realized it is finally time I get to see the four seasons. Besides, I really want to see snow.</p>