Is Amherst 'preppy'?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
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<p>Thanks again–My D agreed to apply! It sounds like a wonderful school and perfect for her… provided she gets in… and we can afford it! I’m sort of getting a stomach ache worrying about that part. My S goes to NYU on a very generous scholarship, but we still have to pay around $10K/year, which I realize is not a lot, but for me is a great deal. So I’m praying that my D gets a scholarship that allows her to attend a wonderful college with the opportunities some of you describe, without massive debt, which, in this economy especially, is just not an option for us.</p>

<p>We had thought of Reed, but she wants to stay within a 5 or 6 hours drive max (we live in NJ). Lucky that there are many schools within that radius.</p>

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<p>I must chime in. My daughter is in her third year at Amherst and LOVES it. Amherst is the most diverse in terms of SES as well as race, and having students from all over the globe. There are many, many students there who are not financial well off or from “preppy” backgrounds. My sense is that students of all kinds fit in there. I’m certainly not saying this because my daughter is a student there. If she didn’t like it, I would certainly point that out. I recall when my daughter was looking at Amherst, I asked students what they liked and disliked about the college (I asked students at all the colleges we visited this questions). To a person, the most a student would say in the way of criticism was about the food in Val. Other than that, they all loved Amherst. It has an extremely low (almost non-existent transfer rate which speaks volumes about how well the students like the place). I think your daughter’s counselor is totally of the mark. If your daughter loves Amherst, then she would be doing herself a great disservice not to apply based on this counselor. He/she could just be jealous.</p>

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<p>The kids I know who were really attracted to Amherst and dying to go were not preppy. They were creative, brilliant, lovely kids.</p>

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<p>What a relief. I see I am totally off base here. There are, no doubt, no children from prep schools at Amherst. They are all at Williams, and HYP of course.</p>

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<p>OldbatesieDoc: My very public school kid is at Williams, so you can imagine what it cost me to say nice things about Amherst. LOL.</p>

<p>BTW: S much preferred Williams, and did have a choice. He did find the info sessions at Amherst stuffy, but many find those at Williams snobby and stuffy, too, and we didn’t.</p>

<p>He liked Williams quirkiness (the purple cow mascot for example) even though it has the sports/drink/athletic reputation.</p>

<p>For the record for the OP – Williams does have a more vibrant music department than Amherst and a more vibrant art department, so I would say Williams is artier. Amherst is more diverse.</p>

<p>Snobbery and clothes and all that have not been an issue at Williams at all. I bought S a gorgeous messenger bag for high school graduation so he could carry his computer around. I found a really, really inexpensive leather one (leather store going out of business) and although he likes it, he says he’s afraid it looks pretentious, especially when everyone else is just using backpacks.</p>

<p>And I am not blowing Williams’ horn – I am sure Amherst is the same. I don’t think one could find two schools more similar.</p>

<p>I do think Amherst and Tony Marx are more committed to a certain kind of social equity than the folks at Williams, though Williams is trying to attain that, too.</p>

<p>Of course, there are prep school kids at all NESCAC schools.</p>

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<p>I agree, I just think it’s disingenuous to describe any of these schools as not “preppy”.Preppy means prep school graduates attend the school in sufficient numbers to make an impact. Now, South Dakota State is NOT preppy. The school I attended was preppy. I was a public school kid on aid, and at times, felt at a social and financial disadvantage. On the other hand, I loved my alma mater, and feel even now that those 4 years were some of the happiest of my life. So go to a LAC. But there will be preppies…</p>

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<p>I think some don’t like the word “preppy” so they point out that these schools are not as preppy as they once were, though they’re still likely the preppiest of today’s schools.</p>

<p>If not, which schools are preppier today than Amherst and Williams?</p>

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<p>People here who have current experience with the college, either as students or parents of students are just sharing what their practical experience is. Apparently we know less than others here who are not having a practical experience of the college. Okay then.</p>

<p>As to what schools are “preppier” – how could any of us answer that question without making unsupported assumptions? I mean, if the technical definition of “preppiest” is the college with the highest proportion of students from prep schools, how could we even find that out?</p>

<p>But if that kind of stereotyping is more useful than real people with real experience of this college sharing their impressions… then have at it.</p>

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<p>Hey, my question was a question, not a statement! :slight_smile: I asked precisely because I don’t have real experience, hoping someone does. If my assumptions are wrong, I want to know.</p>

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<p>Most people consider Colgate, Hamilton, Davidson, Dartmouth, Wake Forest, and Duke among others to be “preppier” than Williams or Amherst.</p>

<p>And preppy usually means what my generation called “straight” – middle of the road, more conservative, and less quirky or crunchy.</p>

<p>I don’t think it refers to how many people went to private school. Preps schools aren’t as “preppy” as they once were. For example, one of S’s best friends was a working class Latino boy who had been in private school on scholarship.</p>

<p>My kids went to private elementary school and the kids were poorer than the kids from the public they eventually went to. We live in a wealthy school district (we are not), and the school drew from surrounding areas where the schools were not as good. The “prep” school was also more diverse.</p>

<p>I sent my kids there because it fit in better with my work schedule – I didn’t have to worry about a bus dropping a kid off to an empty house.</p>

<p>So, things really aren’t as they were.</p>

<p>Both Williams and Amherst a leftist schools that encourage individual expression. Both have a portion of students who are varsity athletes and both are known for a drinking culture, Williams more so; the later items are “preppy” elements.</p>

<p>Both have moved away from their former “preppiness” in different ways. Amherst streses diversity; Williams abolished frats in the early 60’s.</p>

<p>For my son, the essence of Williams was the fact that when he was watching HOUSE with some friends everyone got the Shroedinger’s Cat reference. </p>

<p>Neither Williams nor Amherst are filled pre-professional schools with “straight” kids just waiting to take their place in corporate America, although of course there are some students who do fit that profile.</p>

<p>Both are filled with insightful, studious, well-rounded, and yes, fun loving kids. Williams attracts kids who love the outdoors, and Amherst attracts kids who appreciate the consortium and its social possibilities.</p>

<p>On Williams’ website you can find a research study that was done on the varsity athletes. They are a really interesting “quirky” lot themselves.</p>

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<p>Yes, these schools have all made an effort to be less “preppy”. But if you look even at hits per school, parent/student buzz, and the desirability of these schools, I think you have to admit that people are hoping to join the privileged classes, so they will go to rather extreme lengths to get their kids into one.I was very pleased with the change in atmosphere at Williams in 25 years, when I looked at the school (and Dartmouth, I didn’t look at Amherst) as a female in the 70s I was horrified by the frat boy culture. The first women who went to Dartmouth were called “Co-Hogs”. That was in a great part, why I went to Bates-never any organizations that EVERYONE couldn’t belong to, integrated before the Civil War, Coed in the late 1800s as well…All these LACs have made progress towards being more egalitarian. BUT to me, a preppy is still a preppy, and always will be.And if an aspiring bright young student wants to get a great education and rub elbows with the upper classes, more power to them. But I won’t back down. Amherst is PREPPY.</p>

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<p>“Amherst is PREPPY.”</p>

<p>That’s fine, as long as you concede that every top university and college in the United States is preppy, and that a majority of them are more preppy than Amherst.</p>

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<p>No, some of them are “nerdy”. Now I want to hear from the anti-nerd crowd…</p>

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<p>Oldbatsiedoc, it sounds like you’re committed to something, and of course that’s your right. I’m from your generation too and would have considered Bates “preppy.” I went to CalState Sonoma.</p>

<p>So… you know we all carry our own assumptions and then realize things are often not what they seem.</p>

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<p>I feel like some of the members are trying to do some kind of therapy on me…Maybe I need it>>>And doesn’t anyone get SARCASM? But seriously, no one in their right mind would characterize MIT as preppy…</p>

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<p>I went to SUNY Stony Brook. </p>

<p>I do think kids are asking more about the culture than the wealth. Is there long hair? Do people play guitars? Are collars popped? Are there eating clubs? Frats? </p>

<p>S has met some fabulously wealthy kids at Williams – I am talking billionaires kids. </p>

<p>They all sit around in t-shirts, watch TV together, play in the orchestra, act in the plays and go on hikes.</p>

<p>There is not a striking presence of money. Williamstown has nothing to do that requires money.</p>

<p>And with 50% of the kids there on FA, there are as many us’s as there are thems. And many of the full-ride kids are not rich, “preppy” kids either.</p>

<p>So, although I do understand Oldbatesiedoc’s point I don’t agree with it.</p>

<p>S’s second choice, U of Chicago, is known to be “nerdy,” but the dominant culture is not very different from Williams except that its urban, not rural.</p>

<p>In fact, I would say the pedagogy at U of C is a lot more conservative than at Williams. I was very surprised at how not stuffy Williams’ pedagogy is, and as a college prof I have the tools to assess this.</p>

<p>I am sorry 'rent of 2 that I am speaking so much of Williams. I mean my post to refer to Amherst as well, I just know less about it and don’t want to be disingenuous.</p>

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<p>LOL! Mythmom, I think Amherst and Williams were thrown into the same boiling pot about 10 posts ago. </p>

<p>Now… you and I can argue the details later in a different thread! ;)</p>

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<p>Just putting it out there…There is a LOT of Rampant anti-preppy talk on the Carleton threads. Maybe some of the Amherst boosters should wander over and check it out. Some Bowdoin adherents might also be offended. And I haven’t even made any comments on it. And I know it was many posts ago, but for the record, I did NOT think Williams felt preppy…Particularly…Without actually attending Williams in the current time frame. We had 2 underwhelming Amherst visits-visited it a second time to give it another chance. That is how my comments, viewed as negative by many, originated. I didn’t know we were supposed to just post positive content…</p>

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<p>It’s unfortunate you had disappointing visits. On the other hand I suppose you had visits to other schools that excited your kid. That’s just how it works. Kids (and parents) bring a lot of subjectivity to school visits and tours.</p>

<p>Which schools is you son/daughter most interested in?</p>

<p>My daughter (who incidently had higher “stats” than my son at Amherst) just loved our Flagship State U. and is happily thriving there in the honors college.</p>

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<p>Oldbatesiedoc: Peace. I think we’re just having a friendly discussion. From my point of view your ideas are welcome. I thought we were just refining our ideas, and yours are as valid as everyone else’s (except mine, of course, LOL.)</p>

<p>Since people have such different tours and impressions etc. I think they’re part of the karmic package – the kids have the impression they’re meant to have to end up where they’re meant to be.</p>

<p>BTW: My D are Barnard exhibited many more elitist ideas than anyone at Williams. The combination of Columbia (her major was there) and NYC and friends having Marc Jacobs purses, ooh la la.</p>

<p>We couldn’t afford any Marc Jacobs purses, but she did acquire a Coach purse.</p>

<p>And these were largely public school young women who were decidedly middle class, not rich.</p>