<p>terrible dining hall</p>
<p>anything else?</p>
<p>I’m very curious!</p>
<p>^^ i’d beware of any user who seemingly only created an account to create a thread titled “beware of amherst” and only has one reason stated as to why… Just thought I’d point that out :)</p>
<p>Maybe he/she just really hates the food. I can’t speak personally because on our visit there they wouldn’t allow us access and I never went back to sample the cooking(I usually try to order something in every main cafe on visits). Also, several students complained during our tour and My D’s overnight, but I do realize that students complaining about the food on campus is like saying the sun will rise in the East however there have been a few exceptions(Bowdoin and Columbia come immediately to mind).</p>
<p>So there you have it, for those who value good quality and variety in your meals, RUMOR has it that Amherst’s main cafe is lacking . . .</p>
<p>I will just note that this is the one complaint about Amherst that I have noticed cropping up over the years.</p>
<p>Even if it’s true, it’s probably not enough for most people to “beware” of Amherst.</p>
<p>^^The hours for the dining hall are also poor, with athletes with practices coming in after those practices and barely getting into line in time. Long waits, as well.</p>
<p>My son and I visited Amherst in the fall, which included a lunch at Valentine. Although he was not thrilled with the food, I attribute much of that to a poor choice on his part (chicken ala king). I thought lunch was fine, although other places we visited were definitely fancier and had more options. But how important a factor should the dining hall be when making a college choice, anyway?</p>
<p>Other than the chicken, my son liked everything else (the campus and the dorms are spectacular), so we are among those waiting for a decision.</p>
<p>@gratefuldad</p>
<p>So you got into Valentine eh? How big and accomodating is it?
As for the campus, no doubt, it’s beautiful and the facilities are none too bad either. That includes the dorms we got to see and the dorm our D stayed in during her overnight.</p>
<p>I would never “throw out” the quality of the education because the dining was sub-par. The academics are a given when choosing between top LACs, Ivies etc; so other things must tip the scales and one of those things is local “eats.”</p>
<p>Yes, we had no problem eating at Valentine, perhaps you went at the wrong time, I’m not sure what the hours are. Although it’s the only dining hall on campus, it has several different rooms to choose from, so it did not seem too large to me (as opposed to, say, Dickinson, which has one really large dining hall).</p>
<p>My point, if I had one, was that there are many more significant factors to consider when making a college choice than the food. As you note, quality academics are a given at the Ivies and the top LACs such as Amherst, but location, size, diversity, social life and curriculum are just a few of collegiate attributes that can difffer greatly from institution to institution. Amherst’s open curriculum, for example, sets it apart from most of its peers.</p>
<p>D. is a first year student and I have eaten at Val on three occasions. The dining hall itself is quite nice. As an earlier poster described, rather than one central dining room, there are several different eating areas and there seems to be no shortage of places to sit. </p>
<p>Having sampled dining hall food at every college visited while college shopping for two different kids, Val gets favorable marks from me. There is probably less choice than at a larger institution with multiple dining options, but the food quality seems quite good. </p>
<p>If you are into healthy eating, Val seems to make it quite easy. That said, I’m sure there is monotony to eating three meals a day/seven days a week anywhere, and no doubt there is repetition among the entree items. My D. has mentioned what she considers “weird” food themes, i.e., Midwest Night with Tater Tot casserole. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, her older sister attends a Top 20 university with far more dining options, but also many more limits about how much you can eat. She loved Val when she had lunch there, particularly the salad bar with all its protein options and the “do it yourself” deli sandwiches with Boar’s Head meats.</p>
<p>That is good to know.</p>
<p>I was not suggesting anyone turn down an Amherst education based on Valentine’s reputation I was merelly stating that it coulf be a factor in attending. Personally, compared to the slop I was offered in college, it’s all relative.</p>
<p>^ haha,
I applied to Amherst for Fall 2012. I’m sure that after my food, courtesy of Uncle Sam, for the past four years, I’ll be able to deal with whatever Valentine dishes out.</p>
<p>Should change their motto from “Terras Irradient” to “Pretentious Irrelevance”</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/amherst-college/1082287-truth-about-amherst-food-must-read.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/amherst-college/1082287-truth-about-amherst-food-must-read.html</a></p>
<p>there was some post about this before</p>
<p>The food is fine.
A horrible reason to make a decision on a school unless the food is actually bad, which it isn’t.</p>
<p>^ Very, very true. And actually, my older brother is a senior there, and I’ve visited plus ate the food many times – Really, it’s fine, and don’t decide to not apply to colleges because of “terrible dining halls” without actually knowing how it’s like, CCers. </p>
<p>I didn’t apply to Amherst because I didn’t want to shape my footprints in the path of my sibling (yeah, I used a reference from a novel I’m reading–Don’t mind me.) :)</p>
<p>Still, it’s a great school, and the food is quite fine.</p>