<p>Amherst is less than five minutes away from a college town populated by students from Amherst, UMass, and Hampshire, elementary and middle school children, hippies and retirees, and other interesting characters. It’s very often a lively place, and it’s always aesthetically pleasing. It’s 15 minutes by bus away from several major shopping centers. Northhampton, a bourgeois-bohemian paradise, is 20 minutes away by car.</p>
<p>Don’t believe you’ll have time to enjoy urban life if you’re an academic at an LAC. However, you’ll be satisfied at Amherst.</p>
<p>Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore are all great choices as well, all very close (10-20 minutes) to Philly, all very beautiful themselves.</p>
<p>Pomona is also an excellent choice. The schools in the Claremont Consortium are close and intimate enough that you’ll never be short of opportunities, experiences, and social events.</p>