Part of the /r/PioneerValley reddit community!

Hey y'all I'm a high school senior considering applying to Amherst I want to ask about the cs major, is it guaranteed to be able change your major to computer science ? Because from what I've seen in some LACs it can be really unguaranteed to do so, due the to high number of students wanting to major/ change their major to cs. (e.g: pomona) So how much truth is this?

I'm a prospective student, and was wondering about the dorm quality? Obviously colleges don't publicize if their dorms are terrible.

Hi! How feasible is it to get an engineering degree from amherst? I realize that it is a Liberal arts college but I absolutely fell in love with its vibe. I think I could really fit in the environment and can see myself enjoying there. However, I'm pretty set on getting a degree in chemical engineering, environmental engineering or something at least similar to that.

I saw that amherst has a dual degree program for engineering but realistically, is the program worth 5years? And how do the finances work for that? Will the fin aid I receive from Amherst be carried forward for the institution ex. dartmouth to finish my engineering degree?

And also given that it's part of the Five college consortium, if I get engineering courses at UMass, can I get a bachelor in science degree from Amherst?

TIA

I have a lot of reasons why Amherst is my number one choice for completing my Bachelor’s degree, and I’m well aware that the transfer acceptance rate is insanely low.

I was not an Amherst-competitive high school student in the slightest - I had a 3.66 unweighted GPA, first-attempt-SAT score that I’m certainly not going to submit (or retake), was part of (but not a leader in) a few random clubs, and had all Bs and Cs during my Sophomore year (which was peak covid time if that’s worth mentioning). I took several honors courses, and only 3 college level courses (all during my senior year). I had nearly straight As in my freshman, junior, and senior years, with the exception of a few B+s here and there. I received one school level award in my senior year for English. I was certainly capable of doing much better in hs, but I regretfully did not put my best foot forward.

I started to find academia truly rewarding at some point in the middle of my jr year, and started to genuinely think about what I wanted out of my education during my first semester of college, but it has taken me several years to break out of my poor habits. In community college, I anticipate maintaining at least a 3.93 GPA by the time I submit my application (all As and one B+ in a cursèd public speaking class which won’t transfer anyway). I’m in the honors program, I’m taking advantage of all the research/ capstone opportunities, I’ve received a few more English awards from my community college, I’m trying to participate in some national and international essay competitions (so far I was shortlisted for the 2024 John Locke Essay Competition, awaiting information about further awards). Suffice to say, my performance has gradually been improving over the past few years.

So my question is for those who have successfully transferred here, as well as those who have insight into the admissions process. Is it possible to transfer to Amherst with an unimpressive high school record, but a potentially competitive community college record? This isn’t a “chance me” post, just trying to see if anyone has been in a similar situation.

(I currently major in English and plan on adding a secondary major in philosophy).

I'm looking to apply to Amherst as an ED applicant, but I've seen a lot of speculation online from people saying that there's no point in applying early unless you're an athlete. Others say is a slight ED boost (like 2%?) or that it's about the same.

I also saw smth about being a "hooked" vs "unhooked" applicant? My only thing that might contribute to that was being kicked out for a few months (twice) bc of parents' homophobia

I really want to go to Amherst and I wouldn't use my ED on any other school. But if ED hurts my chance of acceptance bc I'm not an athlete, I would like to avoid that :)

For context:

White/Asian, mid class from ca

Academics: 3.98/4.00 UW, 4.7/5.0 W
SAT: 1580
13 AP Classes, 5s on all (7) so far

When I was a kid in the early 2000s, I came across a recording of a bizarre and hilarious piece of classical music: someone had taken the text of a couple spam emails and set them to music as a choral symphony called 'A Symphony of Spam', which was then performed live by a full orchestra and chorus. I've been kind-of obsessed with it ever since and would love to get the music's score.

It turns out it was the thesis of an Amherst College music student. I got in touch with him (to his great surprise) but he doesn't have any copies. The college library does, consisting of "1 score (47 pages) ; 29 cm + 1 sound disc (digital ; 4 3/4 in.)".

I'd love it if someone could check out the thesis from the library, scan the score onto a computer (doesn't have to be fancy), and then email it to me (or put it on Google Drive/Dropbox, whatever). I'd do it myself but I'm far away from Massachusetts. Would be happy to Venmo you $20 for it. Any takers?

Here's the library link: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=cat09203a&AN=acf.oai.edge.fivecolleges.folio.ebsco.com.fs00001006.b9922e61.ff2a.5ee2.a2c3.583e4d98632c&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=s8897430

Thanks! :)

I'm planning to apply to Amherst College Early Decision with the goal of pursuing a career in academia, specifically in Artificial Intelligence.

I’m curious about a few things:

1. How well does Amherst prepare students for a career in AI, especially for those aiming to enter academia?
2. Are there opportunities on campus related to AI, like research projects, clubs, or collaborations with other institutions?

I'm finalizing my university list and Amherst college is one of my top few. I'd appreciate it if students or alumni could give a review of the CS program, any drawbacks it has, and compare it to that of similar LACs. Secondly, how is campus life for Muslim students?

I'm applying to transfer to Amherst in the fall of 2025 from a community college in Connecticut. I know it's nearly impossible to transfer here, I'm applying to other places as well, but I want to give Amherst my best shot because so much of what the school offers aligns with how I learn and what I want to do. The Common App for transfer says that Amherst has rolling admissions, and an ultimate due date of 3/3/2025. I want to give myself enough time to perfect my application, but I don't want to submit it after they've essentially made all of their decisions. For those who have successfully transferred before: when would you say is the best time for me to submit my application?

(Also, if you have any tips on how to write a great transfer essay, or make any part of my application stand out, please let me know).

Hi everyone! I'm applying to Amherst for the class of 2029 and while I am set on applying I want to be very sure that applying Early Decision is the best choice for me. As much as I might not even be admitted in the end I think applying ED is a big decision so I want to hear from you guys if you have any regrets and what your advice is. Thanks!

Does anyone have a recommendation for an easy English course at Amherst college for first semester? Are writing intensive classes usually easy?

He called himself, Crandon carret.

file.a.police.report.on. a guy who broke.in and caused sexual harassment at.work he also. stole things from my home and gave a charm back to me and acted like it was a gift but it was the coach charm to my ariana grande bag and a pink clothings pin from my familys laundry room. my family didnt care and blamed me for him leaving but i know hes a creep and he was spying on me, and put malwaare on my laptop now that js broke. he called me dumb for gling to community college ans being blonde and i just realized today that he was having that provate joke with himself the entire time about the coach charm, then, his mom even lied and sajd jt was hers. his mom and family were awful to me too. i didnt trust the job after

Who is your favorite professor and the best class you’ve taken at Amherst?

Hello all,

With move-in day approaching, my family and I are planning to take our private jet and are wondering where the closest landing strip to campus might be.

Input from fellow students accustomed to private jet travel would be especially appreciated.

so chat i got my 504 plan (for generals anxiety disorder and i will be tested for ADHD soon) like literally in the middle of junior year. so my transcript before that was not great (mostly 80s) but since then ive improved. should i include this stuff in additional information section? do you think admissions will be understanding or like would mentioning i have anxiety hurt my chances of admissions

Hi! I am interested if anyone form Russia or Belarus was accepted to Amherst for the past few years.

Hi! I am currently going into year 12, so I will be graduating in 2026, and I REALLY REALLY hope to get into Amherst, so I'm hoping you guys will be able to help me, could you guys please share what grades I should get in my A levels and what EC's etc?! anything and everything will be much MUCH appreciated.

Just so you guys know, I come from a poor background, my dad makes around 70k USD per year, and we live in Dubai, I've looked at your financial aid program and it would really help me in everything.

So please tell me what got you guys into this amazing university!! and what should I need as the minimum to even consider getting in !! thanks in advance !!!

Hi,

I'm visiting some archives in the Robert Frost library for 2 weeks from the UK, any recommendations for where to get a drink at the weekend, or anything else worth doing beyond the archives and museums? Archives and museums are great but I'll need a break!

Thanks!

Is there a difference between these two classes? I am a transfer student and wanted to start studying some chemistry and was wondering if I take CHEM151 or 155 since they look about the same to me. Is 151 just for first years maybe? Thanks so much :-)

As of August 2024, Boomerang Storage charges $30.00 (no, that is not a typo) to store your dorm items over the summer or between semesters for those studying abroad.

The catch: To get this price, you must arrange the pickup before the schools deadline. If you do not, there is an additional $100.00 charge. They state that off campus pickup will incur an additional charge, but I'm not sure what that is.

I'm posting this because I asked the community a few months ago and never got an answer.

I sent an email to the student newspaper contact email asking to be connected to a writer of a series but haven't heard back, which isn't surprising given that it's summer. I'd like to get a response soon though, when do you guys get back on campus, so I can send an email maybe a week later?

Also what on earth is lighter side chicken slander????

Hi everyone, I am planning on applying to Amherst for this fall possibly ED and so I've been researching to find out the student's opinions. I've seen a lot of complaints about the food served at Val, so I just want to throw out the question. Is the food really that bad or is it just campus culture to insult it? I would rather not starve because I definitely won't have enough money to get takeout daily.

I'm an international student from Egypt. I didn't take the ACT. My GPA is okay, 3.7. I got second place in my school for the first two years. Overall, I'm high average compared to my peers.

Extracurriculars:

I got first place at the Egyptian Math Olympiad (EMO)

Second place at the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO)

Second place at the International Youth Mathematics Challenge (IYMC)

A silver medal at the Arabic Mathematics Olympiad

First place at the American Mathematics Olympiad (AMO), an international competition from Singapore, I think

I also did well at the Purple Comet Math Meet

Placed 18th in the world in the Climate Science Olympiad out of over 50,000 participants (though I don't think it fits my math application, but not sure)

Most of these competitions are not that bad. There are more that I participated in. I also entered some programs: one in quantum computing, two in math and leadership (about math coaching and tutoring). I organized a competition in my country with around 100 students participating. The rest are normal activities at the math club at my school.

I understand Moose retired last year. Does anyone know if Amherst College will continue having a Comfort Dog?

What is it like living in Seligman?

any ideas on the following courses/professors. I really want to dive deep into probability/statistics and build a good intuition.

Math-135 Introduction to Statistics via Modeling (Correia, Donges) Math -220 (Moore) Math -252 Public Key Cryptography (Pflueger) Math - 260 Diff eq (Kraisler) Math - 272 lin alg (Alvarado, Ching, Kuzbary) Math - 280 graph theory (Zureick Brown) Math - 360 Probability (Wagaman)

My Stats: Class 10: 3.75 out of 4 Took science stream with subjects: English, Physics, chemistry, Maths and Computer Science Class 11: 91.4% Class 12: 91% TOEFL: 102 SAT: 1500

ECA: 1.Multiple Internship: (related to Computer Science). Also in the biggest media group of Nepal 2. Volunteer work 3. MUN participant 4. Helped many CS startup by volunteering work related to CS field 5. Worked with many NGOs. 6. Received Academic excellence award in high school for scoring the hight in whole batch 7. Got scholarship for the final year in highl school on academic merit (given to only 2 student in a batch) 8. Computer Club president in high school and executive member of science club too 9. Got gold medal in English Olympiad.

Background: I am from Nepal. Want to purse CS major. Aiming for fall 2025 If any international students are reading this, let's get connected!!

Hi there! Freshman just received room assignments and I’ve been put in a single room triple. Are there bunked beds or are there individual beds that can be raised in forced triples? Does each student have their own desk/dresser/closet?

Any advice on making the best out of the space would be appreciated!

Hey all, I'm an incoming transfer student whose interested in working in a lab during my time here :-). I had a question, do you get paid for this kind of work?

How did you guys get into Amherst College? Do you have any advice?