Hi! I’m looking for some advice. I was recently accepted to both Boston college and Amherst college and was wondering if anyone had any strong opinions on which is more academically challenging/ will give me the best college experience. I am looking to major in biochemistry (or neuroscience if available) on the pre-med path. I love dance and theater and would also like to continue these in college. I currently have a 4.0 gpa at my high school (unweighted) and have taken numerous APs, so I would want a challenge academically. Any thoughts?
I think Amherst will be more academically challenging, and if you want to major in neuroscience I don’t think you could do better than Amherst.
Hi! I’m actually a student here at Amherst, and I can guarantee you that it is HARD. I am a Chemistry major along with Pre-Med, so I have insight into the courses for the first year of college. Chemistry is no joke. I’m unsure about the type of high school you went to, but I graduated high school with a 4.6 GPA, top 5% of my class, and the first Chem exam I took here I got a 30%. The academic rigor of my high school was nothing compared to Amherst. The professors here don’t just test you on content you know. They test you on how well you can apply that content to situations and problems you’ve never even seen before. I know about 5 Neuroscience/Theater and Dance double majors here, and 3 Neuroscience/Music double majors here, so it is very common! Amherst has one of the best neuroscience departments, so you can count on that to help challenge you! Hope to see you next fall.
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My twins got accepted to BC and it is down to two colleges now. We went to BC this past Sun. and I went with science son to a Chemistry presentation with a funny but likely intense Chem professor. A senior student also spoke and highlighted the professor helping her navigate and apply to medical school. I got the sense that even with AP Chem high school class, the work will be challenging. That said, my son wasn’t at all discouraged. The professor also took us to the lab, I believe he said three or four years since update?
Thank you so much!! Do you like the small size of the school?
Amherst is going to be more intimate and more academically challenging, and is extremely strong in neuroscience.
Amherst, seriously. The name is better, you will be seriously mentored, and the new Science building needs majors, so lots of institutional focus and $$$$$. Socially, both will be fun.
Also the power of the premed committee there is no joke, if that is your long-term goal.
Both are great! Different sizes and BC has big time sports, but Amherst does not if you are a sports fan. Both have great reputations, and BC has an excellent track record with med school acceptances. Ambers is probably a little bit more academically intense.
What did you decide? It would BC for me all day long and I love Amherst. But for lifestyle and an alumni network that actually helps you - not just achieved their own success. Trust me on this one. If you want to impress Thurston Howell III at Newport C C. It’s Amherst. Top students from both will be equally well received at grad school law and med school. Amherst is currently a small but high end finance recruiting hub
@privatebanker I could not agree less. The Amherst alumni network is amazing.
And a far higher percentage of students at Amherst will get into med school and top law schools than will students at Boston College. For example, the top ranked law school is Yale. Right now there are 18 Amherst grads at Yale Law, but only two Boston College grads, even though Boston College graduates five times as many students as Amherst does. You will find that the same thing is true for medical school admittances.
Amherst is a great school. Period.
Are you comparing overall student population to results? If so, that ignores that BC has some pre-professional schools like Business, Nursing and Education whose students are probably not applying to go to Law or medical school.
Why I Chose Amherst College: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGIWuyDe88I&t=19s
Go visit. Both schools are going to give you opportunities at a great education. Pick the one where you feel the most freedom to be unabashedly yourself. You are going to spend at least four years there. Where will you pass those years most happily?
Both are great schools. So, If you can afford them both, where you will be able to develop and become the best version of your self should be the driving factor.
Boston College is also religiously affiliated, if you are comfortable with that.If I got into both, I would choose Amherst but Boston College does have a great location and easy access to the city.
Hard to compare a school so small with a major private institution. Half the kids at Amherst play a collegiate sport. At BC you watch near pro level students play at the highest level. Finding your tribe at one versus the other is big deal. I went to school in Amherst and have a daughter going to bc. Amherst is super elite and super small. Bc is elite and larger and more going on. Different strokes for different folks.