<p>Welcome to Amherst! (if you come anyway hehe)</p>
<p>If you like to ask a current Amherst student ('09, male) anything about considering the college or just want to know some stuff the admin office doesn’t tell you, good OR bad, feel free to post, or IM me or whatever.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are also some other 09ers (Allure comes to mind) who would be happy to field questions.</p>
<p>Congrats on getting in.</p>
<p>This is just a concerned Dad that is elated that his son is headed to Amherst. I think the Liberal Arts student focused approach is just what he needs to grow and excel. He is varied in his interests and has received letters from the Physics, Chemistry, and Biology departments. However, I have the same old question regarding research. Is he at any disadvantage at Amherst because it is not quote" a research school " ? Thank You.</p>
<p>How much freedom does Amherst offer in terms of course selection? Is some level of math and science required? </p>
<p>Would you by chance be able to answer the same question for Williams?</p>
<p>Amherst has no core requirements. Williams does.</p>
<p>::stupid:: what's a jeff?</p>
<p>Lord Jeffs. mascot?
am i right?</p>
<p>bobo:</p>
<p>Here is an article comparing and contrasting undergrad science education at liberal arts colleges and research universities:</p>
<p>It is written by Thomas R. Cech. He is a Chemistry/Biochemistry Professor at the University of Colorado, President of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.</p>
<p>You may find his views enlightening.</p>
<p>How is the gay life in Amherst: both in terms of acceptance and finding a potential mate, and how about social life in general?</p>
<p>I can't speak so much for the school...but the neighboring town of Northampton is a major lesbian mecca, and both Northampton and Amherst are extremely liberal, gay-friendly towns.</p>
<p>"The school's sports teams are known as the Lord Jeffs; women's teams are sometimes referred to as "Lady Jeffs", though the official title covers all teams. "</p>
<p>i found this on wikipedia. i'm guessing Amherst students are known as Jeffs.</p>
<p>so... what's a jeff? Is that a bird or something?</p>
<p>Sorry, I sound like i have an IQ of about 2.</p>
<p>Lord Jeffrey Amherst founded the town. I had to look this up last year, as well.</p>
<p>interesteddad:
Thanks for the comprehensive article comparing the top LAC's with Research U's! It is particularly applicable in my son's case since he is probably going to major in one or more of the sciences. I am sure that Amherst is going to more than fit the bill for a superior education. Others concerned about the differences would be well advised to read this article.</p>
<p>Bobo:</p>
<p>You are welcome. It's a terrific article, written by a research scientist with experience at all types of schools.</p>
<p>I think the real key point in favor of small undergrad colleges is the interactive nature of the learning experience. Higher education research has increasingly shown that passive learning in lecture classes simply doesn't work very well. It is the interactive relationship between professor and student (and between student and student) that is key. </p>
<p>At liberal arts colleges, any reasonably motivated student experiences that kind of interactive learning as a steady diet. At research universities, only a fraction of the student body has interactive relationships with professors -- you have to be aggressive enough to seek it out. It's partially a numbers thing; partially the result of tenure criteria discouraging professors from "wasting" time on undergrad teaching.</p>
<p>Of course, the downside of interactive learning is that it places a burden on an unmotivated student. Quite literally, there is nowhere to hide if you haven't prepared for the class by doing the reading or, even worse, if you don't go to class! It's not like big universities where you can skip the classes and download the lecture notes from the course website.</p>
<p>Bobo,
I have a senior friend who is completing a senior thesis in Physics, and has been accepted into Grad School at U-Colorado Boulder and Yale, 2 of the best in the field. Yes, our facilities may not be as expansive as a huge university, but apparently (I haven't taken science classes) you can still forge a successful career at Amherst in the sciences. You should contact a professor in the department you're interested in if you feel like pursuing this question much further. Sorry I can't be of too much help, sciences aren't for me.</p>
<p>College06,
Lately there's been talk around campus of developing an applied skills requirement (kind of like math... but not exactly, it's difficult to explain) You'd have to take a course in some class that involves computational skills, NOT necessarily math. However, I don't think that applies to the class of 2010, so I wouldn't worry about it.
There are no cores at Amherst, as previously mentioned. All that is required is a first year seminar fall of your freshman year. Which is barely any requirement at all.</p>
<p>I don't know much about the gay life at Amherst. One of my friends on campus is gay, he has a boyfriend here, he is generally loved and accepted on campus. I haven't heard him complain a bit about his life on campus. Also, for females, there are two all-girl schools in the area, both of which sport a respectable lesbian community. I don't say that to be stereotypical of an all-girls school, they are open and accepting of lesbianism there.</p>
<p>And yes, the Jeff is our mascot, the Lord Jeffs. The school/town was founded by Jeffrey Amherst, hence the school name. Kind of... silly, but hey you learn to love it. Beats being a stupid generic Tiger, or worse, an Eph (hah... love the slight Williams stab)</p>
<p>one thing that surprised me was that the amherst college does not seem to have a school store which sells its campus gears. I serached for a while and arrived at this local non-affiliate named AJ Hastings Inc. which offered some t-shirts and others, but none with really good designs. Why is Amherst lacking an affiliate vendor of campus apparel?</p>
<p>Blazianazn,
The above is a question that my better half has requested. If so, are there any recommendations or advice? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>A.J. Hastings is our unofficial supplier and everything on campus. I guess the only way to explain that is we're a small college... and Hastings is just a satisfactory way of getting everything. It's a local store with both UMass and Amherst stuff, and I mean it's not all that bad. Not as big or all encompassing as a normal campus store, but hey we make due.</p>
<p>A laptop is EXTREMELY helpful on campus. That being said, you don't particular NEED one. There are computer centers scattered across campus, including the library, Seelye Mudd computer center, and many of the departments also have small computer centers, such as the economics department in Converse Hall. Printers are available for 5 cents a page, although if you search really hard you can find free printers on campus, and we have both Mac and PC labs, for whichever your preference.</p>
<p>However, I'd recommend a laptop. I wouldn't be too happy with dragging my lazy butt to the computer center at 2AM to write a paper, and on that note, the computer centers do close late night. Although, if you talk to a computer center manager, they are OK with keeping the place open later for you, if you do in fact need to go at 2AM to type something.</p>
<p>I guess not having a laptop would keep you on your toes!</p>
<p>Do you need to bring a printer as well? Do people do that normally?</p>
<p>Got in yesterday. Definetly going (got in because of a sport). Lord Jeff was a British General though...actually the father of biological warfare.</p>