<p>How do you guys think Amherst compares, both superficially in prestige, and more conretely in the “acadmeic experience” offered, with the ivies?</p>
<p>What is your opinion of the campus, both architecturally (as in its aesthetics), proximity to other towns/colleges, and as far as its social life goes. When I visited, the campus/buldings just didn’t strike me with a certain awe that I felt at other campuses.</p>
<p>Also, are there any particularly strong or weak departements. To my dismay, when I was rummaging through the course catalogue on amherst.edu’s site (don’t know how extensive/complete it is), there seem to be a dirth of choices, especially in English (which is my primary interest). Rather discouraging was the fact that it seemed to pander to modern pc authors. Also, I have a rather sophmoric interest in linguistics, and I see that the course isn’t offered. Does that mean I’d have to go to Umass to take it?</p>
<p>When compared with the ivies: I'd say that the academic rep is slightly less than HYP but equal to Brown, Columbia, Darmouth, Penn, and Cornell. Although the average person won't have heard of Amherst because of its small size, anyone who is important (grad schools, major employers, etc) will know of Amherst and think the world of it. In terms of academics, the class sizes are much smaller, the professors are more available, there are no TAs teaching classes, and there are more chances for research. The downside is that there are fewer course offerings, and the research that is being conducted is usually not as ground-breaking as the research at major universities. </p>
<p>Social life/location seem pretty good. I agree with you about the campus; other colleges that I visited (Vassar, Bowdoin, Swarthmore, Yale, some others) had more impressive campuses. It's not ugly, though, and the campus isn't that important to me anyway. </p>
<p>I know that Amherst has a great English department. In terms of English/"PC" authors, you will find that at almost any top college in the US except at conservative ones (and there aren't many of them). For me, "PC" isn't a bad thing... but anyway, I don't think Amherst is more PC than the ivies/other top colleges.</p>
<p>I think that Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore are on the same level as HYP. They are just different, so they get less recognition. We should start calling them "SAW"! :)</p>
<p>I'll go one further: I think in terms of actual undergrad experience, you're likely to get a better deal at any of the Ivies except possibly Yale and Brown. If I had a choice between Harvard for undergrad and Harvard for grad, it's not even close. And going to AWS and some of the other top LAC's (and doing well) puts you in extremely good position for grad or professional schools.</p>
<p>I'll go one further: I think in terms of actual undergrad experience, you're likely to get a better deal at any of the Ivies except possibly Yale and Brown. If I had a choice between Harvard for undergrad and Harvard for grad, it's not even close.</p>
<p>Amherst doesn't have TAs - that's a key difference between amherst and HYP. At HYP, there will be larger classes, professors busy with more research/other students, and TAs that interact most with students. Amherst's professors are incredibly accessible, and there are no TAs.</p>
<p>I loved the campus and the architecture... i liked the brick buildings and the trees... the campus felt nice and comfy, unlike some other schools' campuses. Academically, i would say AWS = HYP in reputation, to grad schools and employers... realistically, the academics at AWS are probably better since the professors are more involved.</p>