<p>Congratulations. I think a lot depends upon where you would like to study. NYUAD is in the Middle East, and I suspect the majority of its students are from that region. Amherst may have something like 10% internationals but America itself is cosmopolitan with many different races and ethnicities. I also would expect that a significant number of students (perhaps another 10%) may have immigrated to the U.S. when young or are second generation Americans whose parents immigrated to the U.S. I was in the latter category. I personally think you will get a much broader cultural and intellectual experience at Amherst than studying in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, I believe that small colleges necessarily bring students from different backgrounds together through academics, sports, recreational activities, etc. There is not enough critical mass for students of one nationality to hang out only with those from their own country. Thus, international students paradoxically are more likely to interact with and befriend internationals from other countries and Americans because they will interact more with them than at a large university, even though the actual number of students is much larger at the latter. </p>
<p>As one poster observed, internationals may tend to hang out more with other internationals, even at a place like Amherst. It certainly is understandable given that they all are adapting to a new country as well as a new college experience. In some ways, they will have common experiences that transcend their country of origin. Additionally, they also have an international and multicultural perspective that not many of their American classmates will have (at least as freshman). However, unlike large universities where there may be significant numbers of other students who are from there own country and the temptation is great to conveniently stick together, I would argue that attending a LAC may actually encourage more diverse interactions among international and American students. Without the comfort and convenience of a significant group of students from their own country, international students necessarily will make the effort to meet others from outside their own country. I currently work in Asia, and I have met Asians who have studied in the U.S. and essentially hung out within their own ghetto when they attended American universities with significant numbers of their countrymen. Unfortunately, many of them have little understanding of the U.S., marginal English oral and writing skills, and no close American friends. They missed out on the transformational possibilities of their undergraduate education. I guarantee you that will not happen at Amherst.</p>
<p>I also have advised several Pakistani students who have studied in the U.S. Not one has regretted the experience even though they may have decided to work elsewhere or return back in their home country. With all its faults, America still is a place where individual freedom is important. I think it is a special opportunity to attend college where there are no restrictions on your inquiries, the opportunity to discuss your ideas with classmates and professors without fear of repercussions, and at the same time develop respect and tolerance for divergent views. College is a great time to be exposed to ideas that are at odds with what you may have learned and to challenge your previous assumptions. It is the time and place to discover who you really are and to grow as an individual. </p>
<p>I am an Amherst alum and I remember that during my freshman year, Profs. Fink and Craig, two well-liked Chemistry and English professors, came to our dorm one evening in September to chat about “The meaning of Amherst” (I know the title sounds a little pretentious, that honestly that was was it was billed as) and their role as teachers. I still have vivid memories of 15-20 of my classmates and I sitting with them in the oak-paneled library of Pratt dorm (not sure if the library has survived after multiple renovations) to discuss this matter over some wine and cheese in the early evening. Prof. Craig started our “conversation” by saying that his colleague in the English Dept., the poet Robert Frost, was always impressed by the “coltishness” of each entering freshman class. However, his job " was to frisk them of their misconceptions." Profs. Fink, Craig, and us then proceeded to discuss what this meant over the next three hours.</p>
<p>I don’t think you will find many places where faculty and students will have this type of dialog. Even in the U.S. it is relatively rare, given the time constraints of faculty and the busyness of students. And yet I believe that liberal arts colleges offer the size, ethos, and relative seclusion and "protected time " from the outside world, to seriously contemplate such matters, and develop the difficult but necessary skills for introspection and critical thinking. As you can readily discern, I vote for Amherst but ultimately you will be the one to decide where is best place for you.</p>
<p>On a different but somewhat related matter, I have been reading a lot about the June 4 Tian An Men massacre. On this anniversary today, let us never take for granted our privilege to have the freedoms to learn what we want, ask whatever questions we are curious about, be able to explore them to their end, challenge dogma and authority in whatever guise they make take, and act on the basis of our consciences. Unfortunately, students in certain parts of the world still do not have this opportunity.</p>