<p>I got accepted to both Amherst and UChi as well. I visited it the summer before I applied but hadn't visited Amherst. Actually, I would have gone to UChi if their financial aid people had told us to stop bothering them and to go to Amherst because it's a good school. So the next day I flew to Amherst and loved it. One of the things that I loved about UChi was the unique course offerings and now that I think about it, I would have loved to take one more class per year because of quarters. At Amherst we take 4 classes per semester, and I would love to take more because they're so interesting. However, I don't have any time at all for an extra class. I have hours yet of studying and homework ahead of me, so one more class certainly wouldn't help anything. But at Chicago I would have been stuck with the core, which I would have hated. I know that UChi is famous for grade deflation, etc, but I think that Amherst is just as demanding and intense.</p>
<p>I loved the feel I got at Chicago and I love the feel here at Amherst, which are 2 completely different feelings. Although I loved the Gothic architecture/sarcastic atmosphere, Amherst has more of a welcoming atmosphere and dorms that are about 1 million times better. I was scared by the UChi dorms. At Amherst it seems like there's a niche for everyone, which is not true at UChi (at least to me).</p>
<p>I'd like to add that even in the sciences the availability of cutting-edge research at a large university doesn't make much of a difference from the perspective of an undergrad. You're not participating in a research project to learn about the subfield you eventually plan to specialize in, as you would in grad school. You're participating in research to (a) demonstrate that you're capable of doing research (b) gain experience working in the lab and (c) figure out whether you actually like being in the lab all day (I couldn't stand it, which is one of the reasons I'm in law school). From that perspective, I think it's better to be directly involved in the central aspects of "bread-and-butter" research, under the direct supervision of a professor, than on the fringes of a major, cutting-edge project under the supervision of a grad student.</p>
<p>So I say go LAC over major university any day, even though the researchers at the university are almost certainly more famous and influential.</p>
<p>Thanx a lot for the comment. One more question though: I am planning to go to business school later on after undergrad. I heard, that Amherst is very isolated and there are no internship opportunities. Is this true and if it is, will it hurt me in any way? THanx again</p>
<p>First off, congrats to all you who got in! :)</p>
<p>dendankin - Amherst is in an isolated area (ie not a big city) but I wouldn't say it's isolated since there are the other four colleges in the area, with much interaction and lots of other things going on all the time. As for internship opportunities, rest assured, there are PLENTY, and the Career Center we have will happily help you with all of that. If you meant that there are no opportunities in the Pioneer Valley area, there actually are quite a number. But you don't have to--and not many people do, although I want to--stick in the Amherst area for internships. You can do NYC, Boston, DC, California, whatever floats your boat. </p>
<p>cerulean1297 - The orchestra is pretty cool. I have a couple of friends who are in it. Do you have any specific questions on it? Like number of performances, that kind of thing? I think there are opps to play in small chamber groups--if you can find other people to join you, you can even start your own. You can do orchestra as an extracurricular, no matter what you want to major in. As for music lessons... you can take them through Amherst, and they count as half a course. So if you were taking 4 courses + music lessons, that'd be 4.5 courses... and you're allowed up to 5 courses (if you're really ambitious) so you can take up to two different music lessons. Voice and an instrument, for example. Oh, and there's also this Five College orchestra that does early music.</p>
<p>jegan3 - for choosing an LAC over an Ivy, it's a personal decision. Amherst is prestigious, but HYP are much flashier. Of course, you can always opt for Ivy after college--that's what Ivies are good for. LACs are, IMO, the best for undergraduate education. Profs here are just as good in research, etc. as their Ivy counterparts, but they're passionate about teaching and care about their students. Classes are more intimately structured. You really get the freedom to pursue what you want intellectually and otherwise at a LAC.</p>
<p>thisyearsgirl - yes, it's easy to get involved with sci. research. One of my friends (a future neuro major) does work study in a lab (but that's just helping out and stuff). Another one of my friends, although he's only a freshman, is applying for a fellowship this summer so that he can stay on campus, get housing, and a stipend to fund some research that he wants to do. He's interested in physics. </p>
<p>dittogal88 - we don't have a "pre-med program," if you put it that way. That is, there's no pre-med major. But, the college does give guidance for those who are on the pre-med track. They'll give them assistance as much as they can relating to med school course requirements, tests, that kind of thing. The nice thing about Amherst is that we have a high acceptance rate at med schools. Med schools like us, and they like people that have a well-rounded education that Amherst can offer, being a LAC.</p>
<p>I was in orchestra for a couple of months the first semester (I quit because of time commitments). It's not very hard to get in, especially as a string player, and the auditions are not very hard. I feel like the orchestra plays music that are a little too ambitious considering how much time is actually spent preparing the music, but you should come and listen to them yourself and decide. They usually give a performance during Pre-Frosh weekend.</p>
<p>As for the person asking about Philosophy: I'm currently taking Philosophy 11 (intro) with Smith, and I love it. The prof is very engaging and always available outside of class, five days a week. I've gotten pretty good reviews from other people taking Philosphy classes here too. The only thing is that some of the intro classes tend to be very popular and hard to get in. Over 100 people preregistered for my class of 25. However, there's a variety of classes you can take in the department as a first year, and they're not all like this. For all of you wondering about departments, I'd also recommend writing to the department chair for more information and sitting in on some of the classes when you visit. I did both as pre-frosh and found it very helpful.</p>