Colleges Featured at JCAS: Amherst College


Institution Name: Amherst College

Location: Amherst, Massachusetts (90 miles from Boston)

Institution Type: Private Liberal Arts College

Undergraduate Student Body Population: 1,795 total undergraduate students

Student to Faculty Ratio: 8:1

Average Class Size: 16 students, with 90 percent of classes with less than 30 students

Academic Calendar: Semester


Most Popular Majors: 

● Social Sciences

● Biology

● Law

● Mathematics

● English

Study Abroad: At Amherst, 40 percent of students study abroad. Amherst is a member of
several international relations and study abroad programs including the Institute of
International Education, the Forum on Education Abroad, IES Abroad, and the ISLE
Consortium. This provides more opportunities for students wishing to study abroad. 
Unique Aspects: Amherst is part of the “Five College Consortium”, a group of four liberal
arts colleges and one university less than 10 miles from each other that interact with majors,
classes, and extracurricular activities. These academic centers, Amherst College, Smith
College, Mount Holyoke College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts
Amherst, share their museums, libraries, and certificates. A free bus is available for
students who participate in this program.

Sports: Amherst, which does not have an official mascot, is a part of NCAA Division III and

has 12 men’s and 14 women’s varsity sports.

Campus Housing/Greek Life: At Amherst, freshmen are required to live on campus and are
assigned one of the seven freshmen residence halls. Of all of the students from freshmen to
seniors, 98% live on campus. After freshman year, undergraduates can choose which of the
other residence halls to move into or they can choose to live in theme houses. Examples of
these theme houses include Asian Culture House, Charles Drew Black Cultural House,
German House, Health & Wellness Quarter, Russian House, and Spanish House. There is no
Greek Life at Amherst for women or men.

Acceptance Rate: 14%


Admissions Requirements: 

● Common Application

● Amherst College Supplement

● $60 Application Fee or Fee Waiver

● School Report

● Secondary School Transcript

● Two Teacher Evaluations (English, Math, Science, Social Studies or Foreign

Language)

● SAT with two SAT Subject Tests or ACT with recommended Writing

● First marking period grades from senior year

● Mid-Year School Report Form

● Mid-Year Transcript

Early Decision: November 15th (single-choice)


Tuition (2016-2017):

● Tuition, Room & Board $65,330

● Student Activities/Campus Programs and Residential Governance $856

● Books/Personal Expenses $2,800

● Travel/Transportation $50 - $2,500

● Health Insurance $2,176

● Total $70,807 - $73,257

Financial Aid: Amherst uses a total student expense budget, not just tuition, room and board,
to calculate financial aid. They meet the full demonstrated need of every student with an
average financial aid award of over $50,000. More than $50 million was given to 58 percent
of the student body for the 2014-2015 school year. Amherst has also replaced all loans with
scholarship grants so that students are able to graduate without taking out student loans.

Graduation Rate: 96%

Website: www.amherst.edu

Admissions Representative: Mandy Hart, Associate Dean of Admission, Coordinator of Diversity Outreach

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