<p>Outside of educated circles, how prestigious is Amherst?</p>
<p>Do you mean, how well known? It's esteemed by everyone who knows of it. I live in the Amherst area, so I can't speak for what people in small town Nebraska think.</p>
<p>From a midwestern point of view: I've never met anyone who's heard of it, but I don't traditionally mingle with the older, educated types. My piano teacher has, but she's put three sons through college. </p>
<p>Basically, it's not on the map of your average high school student.</p>
<p>I'd guess it's probably the most well known LAC, though. Maybe I just think that because I'm a local?</p>
<p>Most people in Northern Virginia have HEARD of it, but VERY FEW actually know how great it is.</p>
<p>I mean only the really educated people know. For an average person here, I think they believe UVA is more prestigious than Amherst</p>
<p>This just shows how much weight you can give to the whole "prestige factor"</p>
<p>a cheesy hallmark remark (that goes with everything else in life, too)</p>
<p>those who care don't matter, and those who matter don't care. but with a different twist. those who matter know, and those who don't know, don't matter.</p>
<p>but, if you can... prestige makes life easier. i know this by having attended dartmouth (unknown) and hanging out with friends from cornell (crap school, but better known)</p>
<p>cornell is definitely not a "crap" school.</p>
<p>Ummmmmmmmmm. I'm not going to say anything.</p>
<p>does anyone here even go to cornell? how can you make judgements about a school you know nothing about...</p>
<p>Heck, I only care about prestige when it comes to grad school apps. And it so happens that Jeffs have a huge advantage there;)
Btw, sologigolos (are you Greek?) made a couple of marvelous epigrams;)</p>
<p>A similar question came up on the Williams board. With perhaps the exception of New England, New York, and New Jersey, probably all the Ivies are better known than Amherst among the general population. Certainly, the Ivies have better name recognition internationally. However, among those who are highly-educated in the U.S., i.e. college graduates, Amherst has an extremely high reputation. With respect to graduate school applications, it is considered equivalent or even more highly ranked than some of the Ivies (I have served on the medical school admissions committee of one of the top medical schools in the U.S.). </p>
<p>A number of years ago, I had a similar issue when I was accepted by one of the big three Ivies and Amherst. I opted for the latter as I felt that the type of education I wanted in college-seminars, close interaction with faculty and students, sense of community, easier opportunities for leadership, and college town atmosphere outweighed the incremental increase in prestige or name recognition. I believe that my intellectual development and love of learning owe much to my college experience, and for me, I made the right decision and would certainly do it again.</p>
<p>Someone suggested on the Williams board, that perhaps the best combination would be to get a top LAC undergraduate and an Ivy graduate degree. You get the benefits of an individualized education plus the prestige of the latter as well as professional/graduate resources and training. I certainly wouldn't argue with that. Having said that, IMO, after serving in various professional and educational capacities, where you get your degree may help in find your first job or graduate degree, success hinges on what you do afterwards. Often perseverance, hard work, plus intelligence and talent, and perhaps a little bit of luck, determine career success.</p>
<p>In SoCal, Amherst might as well be Community College of Timbuktu for all anybody knows about it. It's a darn shame. If you ask any of the doctors, lawyers etc., they will be in awe of the power that is the Jeffrey, but otherwise it's very convenient because you don't sound pompous or imposing for saying "I'm going to Amherst."</p>
<p>very prestigious. my bro went there and hes doin great.</p>
<p>Wharton Study: Revealed preference 2004: Page 26 rankings</p>
<p>That's so true tkm, living in socal all I get is blank stares when I tell people the colleges I've applied to. Granted, there's really no reason they would of heard of the schools because I'm one of a few people applying out of state and they have not yet gone to college. Now I just tell people the state a college is in and then they seem understand and tell me I'm going to freeze. I didn't choose where to apply because of name recognition, but it still gets annoying.</p>
<p>It's not THAT cold in Massachusetts. It's not Maine or Vermont. I can't wait to see the out-of-state kids dressed in parkas when the temperature drops to fifty.</p>
<p>^^^ That'd be me :D</p>
<p>In my school when I tell people I got into UVA they are all like "oooooh"</p>
<p>and when I tell them Amherst, they are like "where is that at?"</p>
<p>well some kids know Amherst, but most don't</p>
<p>and I would expect people in Northern Virginia to be at least really familiar with it, but apparently most people here think UVA is better. That is such tragedy</p>
<p>I cannot agree with you more. I got to a high school in New York and many of the kids don't know what Amherst is. I can only imagine the reaction you'd get beyond the Northeast; I've had a taste of it.</p>
<p>Given the choice between Cornell and Amherst, many (though not all, of course) wonder why I'm even considering anything NOT Cornell.</p>