<p>I have heard that minorities at Amherst college are unhappy there and that most choose to transfer to other schools. I am an international student from Jamaica that was accepted to the school (class of 2011) and this disturbs me. Is it really true and if it is, why is that so?
I am really excited to be going there but don’t want to find out on my arrival that i made the wrong decision.</p>
<p>I haven't heard anything about a general trend of minority students being unhappy at Amherst and transferring. Where did you hear this? Amherst is more diverse than most Liberal Arts Colleges, which is one of it's selling points when compared to it's peer institutions. You should be excited, and I'm sure you made the right decision.</p>
<p>When D was accepted, I was concerned because she, although white, was poor economically, and came from an are not well-represented. I posted on this forum, and a URM told me that she was well accepted, and not to worry. Her first RA was black. D has done fine, and has made many friends, URMs, white, foreign, rich and poor. In fact, one of the most popular kids in this last grad class is black, very poor, (family borrowed a van to come to graduation) and he is staying on to work for Amherst. The advice I received was sound, and believe it still remains so.</p>
<p>OK, thanks. You guys make me feel a whole lot better. I read reviews of the school on some website...i forget which one...and some people (well one really) wrote that most minorities absolutely hate the school. Its good to have other opinions to combat hers.</p>
<p>sounds like it's one disgruntled URM venting personal frustrations.</p>
<p>Maybe it's because she came from a very diverse area, or an area very very different than Amherst, MA (no denying that Amherst is a bit too rural for some peoples' tastes). There are student groups on campus that cater to practically every race, nation and creed. And if there isn't one, apply to the AAS or some organization like that (I forget which) and create it yourself. And as far as non-club activity is concerned, I'm sure you'll be able to find a nice niche for yourself. Don't worry about it so much, see for yourself in a few months (!)</p>
<p>Amherst has the second highest graduation rate of Black students (96%) second only to Harvard. Black students do not transfer and virtually every Black student I've met who has attended Amherst has raved about the college.</p>
<p>Here is the correct data from Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (2006):</p>
<p>For many years Harvard University, traditionally one of the nation's strongest supporters of affirmative action, has produced the highest black student graduation rate of any college or university in the nation. But for some unexplained and possibly immaterial reason, Harvard slipped to second place in 2004. But now Harvard's black student graduation rate has increased to 95 percent, once again the highest among U.S. colleges and universities. </p>
<p>Amherst College, a small liberal arts college in western Massachusetts, now has a black student graduation rate of 94 percent, the second highest in the nation. Last year Amherst had bested Harvard by two percentage points. Princeton University ranks third in the nation with a black student graduation rate of 93 percent. Six other highly ranked colleges and universities in the United States posted a black student graduation rate of 90 percent or above. They are Wellesley College, Brown University, Northwestern University, Washington University, Wesleyan University, and Williams College. </p>
<p>Eleven other high-ranking institutions have a black student graduation above 85 percent. They are Stanford University, Yale University, Dartmouth College, Davidson College, Columbia University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Smith College, Swarthmore College, the University of Virginia, and Wake Forest University</p>
<p>and join the zumbyes. Hi greg.</p>
<p>The zumbyes...the acappella group? Why would i, I am a girl and they are all male aren't they? besides, i have been told repeatedly that i can't and shouldn't sing, to my chagrin.</p>
<p>To my chagrin, I was simply self-promoting out of mischief.</p>
<p>My other purpose was to say hi to Greg, our director, who previously appeared in this thread. At any rate, I also agree with previous posters
that it may be a single disgruntled URM rambling about his misfortunes.</p>
<p>Minorities aren't so unhappy-- but there IS a tendency of segregation.
This means lunch tables with ethnic cliques(but this happens just about
everywhere, and there always are exceptions). But this isn't necessarily
a sign of unhappiness: after all, where else would you see something different? As a minority myself I can safely tell you that it's not what you
originally expected. Granted, this isn't a college for everyone, but surely
you'll find many people you can get along with. </p>
<p>That said, come to our show, it'll be a blast!</p>
<p>while i was visiting amherst during the freshman orientation, my advisor told me that amherst was very racially integegrated, but he also mentioned that there were glaring class divisions within the school...</p>
<p>Divisions are to be expected...i mean, not everyone will have the same things in common so people gravitate to their own "types" of people, at least initially. I guess it is a comfort thing and I expect that, i just didn't want to go to the college and find out that all the minorities absolutely hate it. But the posts have allayed my fears a bit and convinced me that this one girl or URM as you guys say (whatever that is) maybe just wasn't the Amherst type.</p>