Which college should I pick between Dartmouth and Amherst (Not Umass Amherst) if I want to study AI?

[OHMomof2]

There is one AI course at Amherst but it’s not offered every semester and it’s only a 200 level course anyway. Machine Learning also at Amherst and Smith, more regularly at the latter.

@Coloradomama does that mean engineering classes cannot count for the Amherst College degree

Correct. Amherst doesn’t offer engineering thus engineering courses don’t count - neither would nursing courses, or business courses or anything else specific to a vocation/profession. It is possible certain engineering type courses would be accepted as electives (which at Amherst is everything outside the major). But exceptions cn be made. See this older page for info - https://waloinaz.people.amherst.edu/engineering.html

However, there is a certain flexibility of interpretation that makes this rule a bit less restrictive than it sounds.** If an Amherst College academic department will certify to the Registrar that a comparable course could, at least in principle, have been taught in that department, the Registrar will usually award credit for the course even if it’s taught in an engineering department.** The content of a great many undergraduate engineering courses is similar to that of science and math courses (although the emphasis and some of the techniques may differ), it is often the case that an undergraduate engineering course can be certified by some related Amherst College academic department. For example, fluid dynamics has (to my knowledge) never been taught in the physics department at Amherst College but is regularly taught in the UMass mechanical engineering department. However, since fluid dynamics could in principle be taught in the physics department, since it is physics broadly construed, the Amherst College physics department will usually approve it for Amherst credit. On the other hand, the Introduction to Engineering course taught in many UMass engineering departments will not be approved for Amherst College credit (the same it true for most business courses).

Also what about priority in crowded computer science classes at U Mass, is that a problem at U Mass right now? Can OP can get into CS classes at U Mass easily , as a cross registered student?.

That’s a very good question. I am not sure how priority works with 5C students vs UMass students. It’s clear CS majors get first whack, but CS majors from any of the 5 or just UMass? Not sure.