<p>As we waited in the admissions office for the Amherst tour to start, the admissions officer went over to a family standing next to us and informed them that the president of the college would meet them in his office right after the tour. I think your impression that it was political was spot on.</p>
<p>Amherst (especially compared to the many other LACs we saw) struck me as too snobby, too country-clubbish and the food was the worst of anywhere we ate. Plus, everyone we spoke to spontaneously told us they really hadnât wanted to go to Amherst, they had wanted to go Ivy but hadnât been accepted. My kid who really wanted a LAC, not an Ivy, LOVED Amherst and applied ED. Neither the coach nor the diversity lady in admissions would answer calls (even before they knew much about dd). It was the only lac where kid was denied. For a year, I thought it was one SAT section⊠and then a girl (white, rich) with substantially lower SATs from kidâs public school alma mater was accepted this year. I still donât know what it was-- but I do think thereâs a lot of politics in the decision.</p>
<p>Well since it seems to be open season on Amherst here, let me add that D and I recently toured the campus and, like others here, we were quite disappointed. It was smaller than expected and not very interesting. By contrast, Swarthmore has a much more attractive and interesting campus.</p>
<p>When we took a look at Amherst my husband said âthis looks like a nice little prep schoolâ which fired me up as its bigger than my alma mater. I reminded him that thatâs kind of what LACs look like, often, not always.</p>
<p>Amherst: S didnât like the info session because it was held in a fancy room with a deep, red shag carpet and we sat on swivel level chairs, and there was not enough seating for everyone. He felt that it was more of a board room than a school info session.</p>
<p>The info session was fine (in my estimation) but not in his. And the adcom person, asst. head of admissions, was a Williams grad and kept mentioning Williams. I thought it was all in good fun, but S found it annoying.</p>
<p>But thenâŠhe went to Williams. We went to their info session right afterwards and it was the opposite. Held on folding chair in the Jewish Studies Center on a wooden floor. He liked that it was less pretentious.</p>
<p>I also kept looking for the rest of Amherst.</p>
<p>I did find their passionate commitment to their pedagogy a plus as well as their commitment to diversity.</p>
<p>My daughter and I did not like Amherst either. It was the only school where we tried to sit in the cafeteria and talk to students and did not feel welcome. We moved a few times and finally sat down next to two lovely girls. Turned out that they were both visiting students for the semester, and the only friends they had made were each other.</p>
<p>We found the school to be cold (not in degrees) and very much like our visions of a prep school. The info session did seem pretentious. The admissions officer went around the room and had students introduce themselves. One girl was a HS senior on the wait list as this was April. The admissions officer made a comment about how much she must be really hoping sheâd get in. </p>
<p>DS detested Columbia U because every conversation he overheard while on campus was about playing video games. He plays video games but he seemed to expect college students would have moved beyond that. We went to a gigantic admissions session in an auditorium but he didnât want to go on the campus tour and I didnât press it. We had also just come from an NYU tour and there just wasnât the same level of vibrancy on the Columbia campus as around NYU even though NYU is so spread out. Strangely weâre still getting junk mail from Columbia even though DS graduated high school last spring.</p>
<p>These recent comments about Amherst bring to mind that although my son did not cross it off his list after visiting, he nearly <em>forgot</em> to put it on his list primarily because other campuses were more memorable or became more compelling.</p>
<p>It wasnât that the visit was negative. Because of scheduling we only went on the tour, nothing out of the ordinary, & did not sit through the info session. </p>
<p>The best part for him was how welcoming & helpful the physics department was. He throroughly enjoyed sitting in on 2 physics courses, making arrangements for these courses, which included being provided with a reading list, & talking with one of the profs after class. As a family, we happened to be wandering around the science facility on our own when another physics professor invited all of us to the deptâs âsherry hour,â which now a days is basically a weekly afternoon snack break for faculty & students.</p>
<p>I believe in the end Amherstâs science facilities could not compare to other LACs, like Williams, where he is now.</p>
<p>I am not going to ID this school because it just seems too mean and itâs not a school on the radar for most CCers, but after pointing out a building that had recently been redone, tour guide at first could not think of (âwhatâs that word?â) and then couldnât pronounce the word ârenovate.â D2 had to help her.<br>
D2 still tells this story.</p>
[quote]
I believe in the end Amherstâs science facilities could not compare to other LACs, like Williams, where he is now.{/quote]</p>
<p>While my son was admittedly waitlisted at Amherst, he had applied before they publically announced they were putting the science bldg improvements on hold and then he choose not to stay on the list as he had better fits to choose from, including Colgate, Middlebury and Tufts who were not in need in improved facilities⊠yet.</p>
<p>Williams and Amherst were always my top choices, and I thought that when I went to visit Iâd be completely stuck between the two.</p>
<p>But after the disheartening and unenthusiastic day in Amherst, we went to Williams the next dayâŠand it felt so different, everyone was warm and welcoming and enthusiastic. I left loving Williams and was ready to apply ED</p>
<p>Which I guess just shows you how much of an impact visits can have on your decision, for better or for worse, since Iâm sure that in actuality the student body isnât much more welcoming at either school.</p>
<p>Since the visit Iâve had time to think it over and give Amherst another chance, though</p>
<p>While weâre in the town of AmherstâŠI think I told this story in an earlier thread, but when we went to the info session at UMass, my wife and I left a few seats between ourselves and our son, not really thinking about it, probably just instinctively giving him a little space of his own. When the rep running the session was asking people to introduce themselves, she got around to our son, looked at the three of us, and said to him, âso, whatâs with the big divide there? Are you smelly today or something?â </p>
<p>Our son is no more self-conscious or easily embarrassed than the average 17-year-old; in other words, he looked like he wished he could become one with the carpet. </p>
<p>UMass is our academic and financial safety, which is the only reason why it didnât come off our list then and there. Even so, ever since that day (which continued as it had begunâthe tour was a mess, and we peeled off early), our son has begun hinting at the possibility of a gap year if UMass turns out to be his only choice. And before that day he was very open to it.</p>
<p>One personâs heaven is another personâs hell. Its all very subjective. Which is fine. The point is to visit and make your best guess whether you will be happy there for four years or not, whether you will thrive or drown, whether you will fit in or not. </p>
<p>We had PLENTY of surprises both thumbs up and down. The final selection for D1 was very surprising and in hindsight was a perfect choice. </p>
<p>No school is perfect. They all have problems, issues and warts. You will find weird people, obsessed people and flaky people everywhere. Its part of life and the college experience.</p>
<p>I donât do school bashing on any account (though I certainly have my own strong opinions.) I wish everyone the best of luck in this college selection/admissions process.</p>
<p>And may you find the âright college for YOU.â</p>
<p>Yale and U Penn were the two college we wrote off for our daughter last year after visiting as we didnât like the locations. Both these elite institutions are in horrible crime infested area.</p>
<p>mythmom - I didnât attend a formal tour or info session at Amherst, but did both at Williams. The info session there was in a lecture hall-style room with graduated swivel chairs, and I felt like the (enthusiastic black female) student assistant to the adcom was uniformly positive in a not-real way. Yes, your minority students are perfectly happy at Williams; I get it and donât need to be bashed over the head with it.</p>
<p>I loved the campus (except the library) and the Oxford tutorial classes, but I couldnât get over the students or the sports/alcohol influence with NO substance-free housing available. Subconscious reaction to admissions probably also played a role.</p>
<p>I hope at least some of the posters are filling out CCâs visit reportsâthose will be much more helpful to future students and parents at the individual schools</p>
<p>Keilexandra: Well, good that you visited and found that Williams isnât for you.</p>
<p>S hasnât found a predominant alcohol/sports influence, and heâs a junior. </p>
<p>I hear you, but from my side of the street we liked that there wasnât any themed housing of any kind. The entry system brings everyone together, which S liked, and I liked for him. In fact, the entry system was probably the thing that supported his freshman year the most.</p>
<p>That said, my own D turned green at the thought of attending Williams. I would certainly agree that itâs not for everyone.</p>