<p>I’ve heard (on this site and others, and from some Amherst students themselves) that students at Amherst are somewhat disinterested, and that students don’t participate in class discussions. Can anyone clarify this?</p>
<p>I'd say it is completely false by and large, but sometimes in discussion based courses there will be people dominating the conversation, and some shy people may not talk at all. You'll find this everywhere.</p>
<p>D is a Jr this year, and she doesn't see this. However, she agrees with unregistered depending on the course. She says her profs seem to draw the kids out, and may pose questions directly to the shy kids to get them to open up. This was harder in some of her larger classes (Econ with around 100), but other classes, where they are smaller, (and by that I mean really small)it is hard to hide and not talk. She finds the discussions engaging and meaningful.</p>
<p>I agree with the previous two posters. Most students are very engaged in the class. They have to be, since most classes are too small to hide in. I'll also add that when I was visiting schools, the best discussion I saw was at Amherst at 8:30 on a Monday morning.</p>