Social atmosphere at amherst?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
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I’m worried about the parties and drinking at Amherst. I don’t really drink - I don’t have any strong moral opinions against it, it just isn’t something that really happened to me during high school - so I don’t really know if I like partying. And Amherst College is in the middle of nowhere, so I kinda feel like that’s all there is to do, which worries me.

I’m also trying to figure out if I should be in a substance free dorm. Like I said before, I don’t have anything against drinking, but I wouldn’t really want it happening in my dorm room (although I’d be totally fine with it happening down the hall). Also, I have a heart condition, so I shouldn’t be around smoke (cigarettes, weed, anything like that). I think it would be fine if it was like, down the hall, but it can’t be all the time. Normally if the fan is on, I’m fine, but if it’s for prolonged periods of time, that could be an issue. But I also don’t really want the stigma of being in a sub free dorm.

Alsooooo I am planning on majoring in English and Dance/Theater, if that makes a difference. I’m normally super close with other dancers, so that might help me find my niche, socially. I’ve heard that if you’re not an athlete you can feel left out, would joining clubs help?

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Also, forgot to include this, how accepted is the LGBT community?

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I’ve lived in the Pioneer Valley in both Amherst and Northampton. Trust me. It’s not in the middle of nowhere. Amherst, in a recent survey, was rated the best college town in America.

Want middle of nowhere? Try the superior school located in Williamstown. :smiley:

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OP, A is very open and accepting of all, you should have no issues or concerns. To your concern on drinking, yes there is a party aspect, but students are very accepting and if you don’t partake, no-one will be bothered, there are substance free dorms and they are lovely, you again have no concerns there. Amherst is a wonderful town with lots going on, great access to shops, movies and both Boston and NYC, my DS is a freshman and has no concerns there, yeah try Williamstown or Dartmouth, there is a great vibe to Amherst and Northampton is equally great and a bigger town, lots of shops and restaurants. I agree its one of the best college towns in the US. English dept is especially good and regarding cliques, all schools have them Athletes do tend to eat with other athletes, but again there are so many groups to hang with you really should have no concerns, you will love it, just be admitted!

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I am a current freshman.

There is a party scene/nightlight/drinking at Amherst. However you will not encounter it too extensively within the Freshman dorms - it mostly occurs in the Socials, a set of dorms essentially dedicated to partying. In fact - all the freshman dorms are officially substance free, however that rule is very loosely enforced. The sub-free dorms are for people looking for a quieter environment in which they don’t live with people who may be coming back at 3am drunk or storing alcohol in their rooms.

The LGBT community is very much accepted. Amherst has a strong progressive culture and discussions are race, ethnicity, sex, and gender occur often.

Our Theater sucks. Not the program necessary, but the physical space. Just an FYI.

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Yeah, I think that you’re gonna find a party scene at any college. It’s good to know it’s not in freshman dorms, I don’t think I’ll need to live in a substance free dorm then. I kinda see myself as sometimes going out and partying and drinking, but definitely not every weekend, and sometimes doing other things. Are there a lot of people like that?

Ugh, that’s kinda disappointing. Do you know the quality of the dance studios?

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I wouldn’t say Amherst is the middle of nowhere. There are things happening there, and in the other nearby towns.

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Amherst may have less than 1800 students, but there are 30,000 college students within 5 miles of Amherst, along with all everything that would go along with that (good and bad).

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Socially it’s marginally different from hs

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@herst17‌ :confused: Like how similar is it? Are there the “popular” kids and that stuff?

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@ibcr98‌ There’s an extremely large athlete-nonathlete divide and the school is segregated based on the ‘popular’ athletes and nonathletes. Also, it’s very small and there’s even more gossip than I experienced in high school. If you didn’t like high school, as I didn’t, I’d definitely recommend reconsidering this place. The only way really I’ve witnessed a nonathlete circumvent the divide is to be an extremely attractive girl.

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@herst17‌ Are you a current student? Alum? Just trying to get some context.

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YOOO don’t be listening to what all the downers have to say about Amherst being like high school, b/c it’s not.
It IS true that there is a very large gap between the varsity athletes and the other students - however, I would not necessarily say that they are the “popular” group. Nobody will bash or you judge you for hanging out with whoever you want, and there is no pecking order, like there was in high school. I don’t know about what herst17 is talking about, but as a non varsity male at Amherst, I don’t really know how much “gossip” there is outside of the athlete community. What herst17 makes it sound like is that it sucks if you’re not an athlete and that everyone wants to be “in” the athlete circle. I beg to differ. Being an athlete is just SOO much time commitment, I couldn’t deal with having a good social life and coursework with all the lifts and workouts I see my athlete friends having to go to during and off season. There are plenty of non-varsity athletes who are AMAZING individuals, and it definitely is not the culture here to idolize the sports teams.

Also, my roommate is a choreographer for DASAC, the dance group at Amherst. They are pretty damn good, and yes, if you do like dancing you will have found your niche and a lot of very cool, exciting friends. I do agree that dance space is not the best, but it’ll do.

Nightlife - I used to go out all the time freshman year, but now I only go out to drink 2-3 times a semester. I’d rather chill with friends, go climbing or biking, eat out, explore. Going out does help you get to know more people. I avoid the Socials at all costs - most of my friends who like partying also rarely go there if they can help it. The upperclassmen dorms and theme dorms have pretty cool stuff once in a while.

Town is okay, has what you need, pretty good college town. Not a city, obviously, and it does get boring from time to time but the area is absolutely gorgeous nature-wise. If you’re an outdoorsy person, and don’t wanna go to Williams in the middle of nowhere, it’s perfect here. Also join the outing club for free ski, caving, ziplining, rock climbing, tracking, camping, etc. trips. Most everything here is funded by the school, it’s pretty dope. Me and my buddies got $1500 from student senate for crash pads for our (rejected) acrobatics club LOL.

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@kwarky‌ The fact you say there’s no pecking order (it’s as blatant as high school, not sure if we’re going to the same Amherst) greatly reduces the validity of your post. Sure, if you’re RIDICULOUSLY social, you can have an ok social life here. But the fact is, most nonathletes are behind the 8ball to begin with, and we generally have a slight tendency to not be social butterflies (I don’t mean antisocial at all, just not politicians). So if you come to Amherst expecting to have a better life than high school, you’ll be very disappointed. If you have a great social life in high school, you can probably expect that to continue in college. Overall, the segregated social scene here makes it harder to enjoy life than I would imagine at a place more homogenous with the typical elite-caliber nonathlete student.

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And yes, I’m a current '17

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What I meant by pecking order is that people don’t go around talking shit about other groups on campus as they did in high school. At least, among the non-athletes. And if the athletes do have some criticisms about a certain group I’m a part of… well, why do I care? lol. I meant that most people aren’t going to make you think less of yourself for doing a certain activity, like people do in high school. People here tend not to care too much about people outside their social group, which I think is a fair representation of much of the world. So no, I don’t think there’s a pecking order here. I don’t know if I’ve met a single person actively try to make others feel lower than them, and sure, maybe the acapella groups or sports teams are held on a pedestal to a certain extent but that really shouldn’t have a bearing on your own social life.

And no, I’m not ridiculously social… Just have a few close friends and a bunch more that I share similar interests with and that I can get together with and have fun.
And what do you mean by social life? If you mean parties and whatnot yeah parties here ARE thrown regularly by sports teams, so if you’re not a part of one then yeah your social life won’t be as great as you think it is. But if you just mean “social life” as in having good company and enjoying yourself, you can TOTALLY do that. You join groups, find other people you share interests with, etc.

Anyways, I don’t want to have an argument here, I just meant to answer the poster’s question from my experience. I feel that if she’s going to join in on the dance scene here, she’ll be totally fine. And that personally I don’t feel like I’m lonely or bored most of the time, and that drinking isn’t the only option here - I rarely drink or go out, and I’m enjoying myself pretty well (other than classes, but taking 3 physics classes was my fault in the first place LOL).

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@Kwarky @herst17
Ok, well I’m not a huge partier anyway, so I’m not worried about being left out from the party scene by the athletes. I think as long as I have a good group of friends, I’ll be fine, and it sounds like I’ll get that through dance. I’ve never been super popular in school, but I do fine. I have a group and boys always like me (omg that sounds so conceited). My family has moved a lot though, so it really depends on the school. Are the a cappella groups really put on a pedestal with the athletes? I never thought that a cappella would be the ~cool~ thing to do lol

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I mean, they’re different. But yeah, they’re pretty well-known on campus, some more than others.
It’s weird, in college lots of different things are considered “cool” by different people - even things that weren’t so “cool” in high school. Like playing an instrument, or acting, or being an outdoor nut.
It seems like you’ll be fine here.