<p>hi, i am an international and while I am happy about having been accepted, </p>
<p>I still lack information about Amherst in general. Answers will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<li><p>What are the dorms like? Specifically, are they single? double? suites? Which room are you most likely to get? </p></li>
<li><p>My family is moving to the US next year and our financial situation will completely change. Will the FA office accept new applications for aid after freshman year?</p></li>
<li><p>Study abroad programs at Amherst, what are they like? What range of options do you have? (I am esp. interested in China)</p></li>
<li><p>What’s the workload like? in terms of how much reading assignments a week?</p></li>
<li><p>What’s the religious/political atmosphere like? I KNOW it would be diverse and accepting and all that, but still is there a specific “lean” towards one denomination (I guess a lean towards Christianity is unavoidable) or a specific party? I am liberal and an atheist, and while I don’t mind religious/conservative people, it would bother me if I was alone in the dorms every Sunday morning. </p></li>
<li><p>What’s the social scene like? Campus safety? Do students visit Boston/NYC often? Where exactly do they have fun? </p></li>
<li><p>DO THEY HAVE A BOXING CLUB??? Or at least a gym with equipments (ring, sandbag, etc)?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I know I got lots of questions, but I can’t visit, and I don’t know any alumni.
Answers to any one of these questions will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I'm not actually an Amherst student, but I visited last week so I can offer my thoughts on a couple of your questions at least.</p>
<p>The dorm rooms I saw were fantastic. The ones in Morrow were doubles and literally twice the size of dorm rooms in other colleges I've visited. I saw James and Stearns on the tour. Those rooms are 2 room singles which are also very nice and very large.</p>
<p>For financial aid, I believe you have to reapply every year no matter what. I'm not sure what other hoops you might have to jump through because of the international issue, whether you'd then be considered domestic or international, etc. I would contact the financial aid office and ask them.</p>
<p>There are many different types of dorm rooms, but the freshman dorms are mostly doubles. I can't help you with the financial aid question unfortunately. Study abroad is very popular, and there are a wide variety of programs available (both through amherst and other schools). Workload really varies depending on what you take. It could be a problem set, reading, writing, or any kind of homework depending on the professor and the department. In terms of religion, most of the campus seems pretty un-observant. The campus is definitely very liberal. While people do go to church, it is not a large portion, and there is a mix of religions on campus. I can't really explain the social scene, but it is typical of a college: parties, movies, music and other activities are all avaliable. It depends on what you make of it and who you are friends with. Most "fun" happens on campus, and there is usually little reason to go off campus frequently (or at all). I don't think we have a boxing club, although we might.</p>
<p>I hope this helps. If you or anyone else has any questions, feel free to pm me or post them here (probably better so other people can see my responses).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The dorms at Amherst are of high quality (and several of them are relatively new particularly for freshmen). For your freshman and most likely sophomore year, you will have a double, but the doubles are spacious. But then after that you’re prospects are mainly singles. Not all of them have kitchens though.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, you have to reapply for aid each year.</p></li>
<li><p>You have all the options available that you want. If the school does not sponsor a specific program that you are interested in, you can just petition for them to sponsor it and they will. So it’s really up to you to discover the program you want, although the school has extensive guidebooks/evaluations/counselors that will help you search through established programs.</p></li>
<li><p>Students take four courses per semester normally. For humanities classes, the reading load is definitely significant – you may be reading 150-200 page books in a week per class. But then again, it varies per class.</p></li>
<li><p>I was surprised to discover how heathen this campus was! Just kidding! Seriously though, you will NEVER be alone on a Sunday morning. Personally, most of my friends are not religious. Don’t worry about it; it’s a very diverse campus in terms of religious beliefs. As for political beliefs, the broad trend is that students are relatively liberal but our political science department does have professors who have a very conservative bent. So you can still be exposed to a diversity of views.</p></li>
<li><p>The social scene is mainly centered on campus. You have a wide range of activities on weekend nights – concerts, plays, movies, parties, etc. Students do not visit Boston and NYC often just for entertainment unless you are on campus during break (or unless you have a car). But seriously, the on-campus entertainment is usually sufficient, and the other four colleges in the area also hold events of interest.</p></li>
<li><p>The school has no boxing club, I believe, nor the equipment :(. But ask the athletic department because I’m not 100% sure.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>What are the dorms like? Specifically, are they single? double? suites? Which room are you most likely to get?
All the freshmen dorms are mostly doubles, with a few singles. There are no freshmen suites. In James and Stearns, they have two room doubles, which are basically two singles connected by a door. Other than that, they're all one-room doubles, and half of them are brand-new and all are fantastic.</p></li>
<li><p>My family is moving to the US next year and our financial situation will completely change. Will the FA office accept new applications for aid after freshman year?
I could be wrong, but I think they do that every year anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>Study abroad programs at Amherst, what are they like? What range of options do you have? (I am esp. interested in China)
If you want China, you can probably get China. I know of a couple of study-abroads in China off the top of my head.</p></li>
<li><p>What's the workload like? in terms of how much reading assignments a week?
I get approximately 2-3 hours of general work a day plus the occasional essay. Then again, some people get more, some get less. I'm pretty heavily concentrated in the humanities, myself.</p></li>
<li><p>What's the religious/political atmosphere like? I KNOW it would be diverse and accepting and all that, but still is there a specific "lean" towards one denomination (I guess a lean towards Christianity is unavoidable) or a specific party? I am liberal and an atheist, and while I don't mind religious/conservative people, it would bother me if I was alone in the dorms every Sunday morning.
I'd like to say that everyone is a social liberal (I honestly don't know anyone here who isn't), and while we do have some financial conservatives here, we definitely lean to the left. I actually know more Jews than Christians, incidentally.</p></li>
<li><p>What's the social scene like? Campus safety? Do students visit Boston/NYC often? Where exactly do they have fun?
There's plenty of stuff to do on campus. Parties, etc., plus UMass is right there. If you can't find something to in all of the Five-College area, you should be off battling natives in the jungle or something for your adrenaline fix.</p></li>
<li><p>DO THEY HAVE A BOXING CLUB??? Or at least a gym with equipments (ring, sandbag, etc)?
I've never seen a ring or a sandbag. We have a couple of martial arts clubs (karate, jujitsu, and fencing) but I don't recall every seeing a boxing club. You could start one.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The great thing about Amherst is that if you want to start a club, there are provisions for doing so. The funds are available for clubs and their equipment, etc., although there are steps that you have to take. D is a sophomore, and last year was in a large double. Nicer than any other dorms we saw anywhere else. This year, she is in a theme house, and has a 2-room suite. Most of the rooms there are singles. D's workload is VERY heavey with lots of reading and papers to write. Her friend is a physics major, and he sleeps in the lab a lot. It really depends on the prof and the course as to how much work you will have. Yes, you have to fill out the financial aid forms every year. (I am doing this as a break from doing those right now.) D says over half the kids are Christian and Jewish. Some practice, others don't. As to political leanings, as with most campuses, there are more liberals, however, D has friends that are conservative.</p>
<p>Actually, I'm also an international student too, and Amherst is one of my top choices...though I'm extremely religious (Christian) though uber liberal in just about every other respect. I can still find somewhere to GO sunday morning, though, right?
Also, do people get along well with those in the town/other colleges, or is it almost no interaction??</p>
<p>There are many churches nearby, and services held on campus on Sundays and holidays (many liberal Christians, too :)) The town/school relationship is good - it's a very educated town, so they dig college students.</p>
<p>I'm not a practicing Catholic (I'm Buddhist) but I enjoyed the Newman club on campus when I was there. The Amherst Christian Fellowship (ACF) is also a very friendly and welcoming club.</p>
<p>Regardless of your background, chances are excellent that you'll find fellowship with kindred spirits nearby, if you choose to seek them out.</p>