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College Prowler

Campus Dining

There is one dining hall on campus, Valentine or "Val," which I like because the whole campus eats together, but the limited hours can be extremely annoying at times. The food itself is typical of most colleges, except we have waffle machines and panini presses open at most meals, which I would highly recommend. Since the budget cuts, there have been a lot of complaints about the variety of choices offered, but when students get tired of Val, there are several good and inexpensive places to eat literally five minutes from campus.

Campus Housing

They are very nice, especially freshman dorms. Avoid the social dorms as an upperclassman because they are disgusting. Charles Pratt is the nicest freshman dorm, but it doesn't have a friendly atmosphere. I suggest South.

Campus Strictness

Campus police are very different from state police in that campus police officers do give us humane treatment. They hold a meeting for freshmen every year to outline the rules that they expect us to abide by, and tell us the kinds of things that they will consider as crossing the line. I don’t think they are strict, and if they are, it’s because they feel they really have to be.

Computers

The computer network is very organized. A huge proportion of students have their own computers, so the computer labs are very rarely crowded. There are people managing a help line 18 hours a day, and students can get personalized visits from trained students if necessary. The network managers are also very active in combating spam and viruses.

Diversity

Our campus has a fair amount of diversity. Since financial aid is given to students who need it, we are able to have a wide range of economic backgrounds. We also have a lot of international students. This is the part of the population that is well publicized, but otherwise the majority is white, upper-middle class.

Drug Scene

You can get alcohol at almost every party. A lot of people also pre-game, and so usually every weekend you see many drunken people playing Beirut at every party. I don’t think it’s a big problem, however, because no one ever gets violent or rude because he or she is drunk.

Facilities

The gym is incredibly nice. People compare it to a country club. The student center is tiny, but it gets the job done and is nice inside, so people like to go there. It contains the only place to eat on campus aside from the cafeteria, but that's not so important because town is so close by. The libraries are just basic and ugly but good enough.

Greek Life

There are fraternities that are not recognized by the College, so they are all off campus. They throw a couple of big parties throughout the year but aren't a constant on the social scene. Sports teams take the place of frats as far as throwing parties and dominating the social scene.

Guys & Girls

The average student is intelligent (Amherst is the No. 1 liberal arts school in the country, so the kids are pretty smart), athletic (60 percent of students play varsity sports, and those who don't are usually involved in club or intramural sports), and friendly. Girls are pretty average-looking, but it isn't a huge concern because UMass, Smith, and Mount Holyoke are all in close proximity. That being said, there's nothing better than a cute Amherst College girl.

Local Atmosphere

Amherst College is unique because it is in a relatively rural/suburban area but is also within 10 miles of four other colleges (UMass, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire). The town of Amherst is relatively small, but it offers all the amenities of a college town: great food (try Antonio's, Fresh Side, and Chez Albert), a couple of bars, and various convenience stores. Although the location of Amherst may, at first glance, seem random or unappealing, it is quite nice to be amidst the beautiful hills and fresh air of western Massachusetts, while being also being close enough to Boston and New York City for a weekend trip.

Nightlife

Parties on campus are the most fun freshman year, and the fun decreases as you get older. Bars also get old, but if you don't always go on the same night, you'll meet students from other colleges there. The key to a great night: pre-game with your friends—pre-game hard.

Off-Campus Dining

Off-campus dining is the only reason why people don't starve to death at Amherst. There are tons of options, places are open really late at night, and lots of delivery options. The restaurants in town are tasty and have a variety of cuisines. Also, if you can get to Northampton, there are VERY good restaurants there. Everything in the town of Amherst is within walking distance. Off-campus food is one of the best things about this area.

Off-Campus Housing

The apartments for rent in town are actually nice, but most students just prefer to live on campus. It’s just not worth it, in terms of the longer walks or drives to classes, and especially missing the stuff that goes on on campus.

Overall Experience

I truly believe that Amherst College offers the best undergraduate experience in the country. The open curriculum, excellent faculty, well-rounded student body, and beautiful campus all make this the best place on earth. I have had the opportunity to meet amazing people and do extraordinary things during my time in college so far. I think Amherst gives you the genuine freedom to be who you want to be—there is essentially no limit on what you can do.

Parking

Not too many people have cars here, and the reason why is there is really not much need for one. It'd be nice to have for trips to Northampton or Boston, but everything you need is within very short walking distance, so cars are pretty unnecessary.

Safety & Security

Amherst's campus is extremely safe, aside from the occasional security incident or theft. I'm never afraid to walk around campus alone at night. The campus police are pretty lenient with parties but will shut one down if it gets too loud or out of control.

Transportation

We have buses that run late and go between all the towns and colleges in the area. It takes a long time to get anywhere, but they're reliable. I know some kind of safe ride thing exists, but the campus is so small and so safe that I've never seen a reason to use it.

Weather

Everybody is complaining about the weather, but come on, what did they except? Sunny days and palm trees? This is western Massachusetts, for heaven’s sake. I actually like snow myself. You’ll learn to deal with the cold weather.

Academics

You can’t really say that every professor here is a gifted orator. Some are, so you sit in their classes and time just flies. Some aren’t, and this makes their lectures a little tedious. And some have their good days and bad days. It’s just like any other school in this sense. However, if you take classes that are interesting for you and that you think you will enjoy, you should be fine, regardless of who the professor is. Every professor has a reputation by now because this is such a small school. Some people actually choose their classes based on who is teaching them. However, the material in most of the classes here is very interesting, so looking at the College Web site for reading lists and syllabi would help a lot in choosing the classes you really want to take.

Athletics

From a spectator's point of view, varsity sports here aren't great. People rally for the big games, but it's not nearly at the level of a state school. If you plan to play a sport, though, the teams are usually a great community to get involved with.