Amherst College: A Comprehensive Overview
Amherst College is a highly selective private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in Massachusetts. The college is situated in the town of Amherst, a vibrant community of approximately 38,000 residents in Hampshire County, in the western part of the state. Its location is conveniently accessible, being a 90-minute drive from Boston and a three-hour drive from New York City.
Contacting Amherst College: Official Address and Phone Number
For official correspondence, the address for Amherst College is:
Box 5000Amherst, MA 01002-5000
It is advisable to include an individual's name or department name on the envelope to ensure prompt delivery.
The general Amherst College phone number is (413) 542-2000. A list of departmental phone numbers is also available. All Amherst College phone numbers are in the 413 area code, with the prefix for on-campus numbers being 542-.
Read also: Impact of Amherst's Endowment
A Brief History of Amherst College
Amherst College was established in 1821 by Congregational clergy and citizens of the Town of Amherst, including Noah Webster and Samuel Fowler Dickinson (grandfather of poet Emily Dickinson). The initial goal was to create a nonsectarian institution to educate young men, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds, for the ministry and other professions. Today, Amherst is an independent liberal arts college with no religious affiliation.
From Academy to College
The college's origins can be traced back to Amherst Academy, a secondary school founded in 1814. The establishment of Amherst College was partly motivated by concerns about the location of Williams College, with some believing Williamstown to be unsuitable for a college. Zephaniah Swift Moore, then President of Williams College, was elected as the first president of Amherst College on May 8, 1821. At its opening, Amherst had forty-seven students, fifteen of whom had followed Moore from Williams College.
Early Years and Growth
Amherst grew quickly, and for two years in the mid-1830s, it was the second-largest college in the United States, behind Yale. In 1835, Amherst attempted to create a course of study parallel to the classical liberal arts education. This parallel course focused less on Greek and Latin, instead emphasizing contemporary English, French, and Spanish languages, chemistry, economics, etc.
Transition to Secularism and Coeducation
Initially founded as a non-sectarian institution for the classical education of young men for the Christian ministry, Amherst faced considerable debate in the Massachusetts government over whether it should receive an official charter. A charter was eventually granted on February 21, 1825. While religious conservatism was prevalent in the early years, the college transitioned toward secularism in the late nineteenth century.
The question of coeducation at Amherst College dates back to the 19th century, but the College officially became coeducational in the 1970s. In November 1974, the Board of Trustees determined that Amherst would become a college for men and women. In the fall of 1975, 94 women students began classes at Amherst, with 79 being transfer students and 15 participating in the Twelve College Exchange program.
Read also: Getting into Amherst: Scores
Academics at Amherst College
Amherst College offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in 41 majors. It provides an unusually open curriculum. Students are not required to study a core curriculum or fulfill any distribution requirements and may even design their own unique interdisciplinary major. Freshmen may take advanced courses, and seniors may take introductory ones.
Fields of Study
Amherst College offers 41 fields of study (with 850+ courses) in the sciences, arts, humanities, mathematics and computer sciences, social sciences, foreign languages, classics, and several interdisciplinary fields (including premedical studies)
The Five College Consortium
Amherst is a member of the Five Colleges consortium, which allows its students to attend classes at four other Pioneer Valley institutions: Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In addition to the 850 courses available on campus, Amherst students have an additional 5,300 classes to consider through the Consortium (without paying additional tuition) and access to 8 million library volumes. The Five Colleges share resources and develop common academic programs. Museums10 is a consortium of local art, history and science museums.
Rankings and Selectivity
U.S. News & World Report classifies Amherst as being "most selective" of liberal arts colleges in the United States. For the class first enrolled in fall 2021, Amherst received 13,999 applications and accepted 1,224 (an 8.7% acceptance rate). 514 students ultimately enrolled; 91% were in the top 10% of their high school classes, and the middle 50% scored between 1440 and 1540 on the SAT and between 32 and 35 on the ACT.
Campus Life
Amherst College is located in the town of Amherst in Western Massachusetts. Amherst College has a total of 34 residence halls, seven of which are strictly for first year students.
Read also: Amherst College Culture
Sustainability
Amherst College is reducing its energy consumption through a computerized monitoring system for lighting and the use of an efficient cogeneration facility.
Student Life and Traditions
Amherst's resources, faculty, and academic life allow the college to enroll students with a range of talents, interests, and commitments. Students pursue their interests through student-led organizations funded by a student fee and distributed by the student government, including a variety of cultural and religious groups, publications, fine and performing arts and political advocacy and service groups. One of the longstanding traditions at the college involves the Sabrina statue.
Athletics
Amherst participates in the NCAA's Division III, the Eastern College Athletic Conference, and the New England Small College Athletic Conference, which includes Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Williams College. Amherst is also one of the "Little Three", along with Williams and Wesleyan. Amherst fields several club athletic teams, including ultimate, soccer, crew, rugby union, water polo, equestrian, mountain biking, fencing, sailing and skiing.
Admission Information
Applying to Amherst College
Those interested in applying to Amherst can find more information on the Admission pages. An information packet, including a viewbook and an “Affording Amherst” brochure, can be requested, along with announcements about Amherst events and other news.
Campus Visits
Prospective students are encouraged to visit the Amherst community. The Admission Office offers campus tours, admission information sessions, and financial aid information sessions. Visitors are also welcome to explore the campus independently, utilizing the online campus map and virtual tours.
International Students
Amherst College welcomes applications from international students. About 10 percent of students enrolled at Amherst are international students, who receive support services through the International Students Office. Amherst is one of the few colleges to offer need-blind financial aid for international students.
Financial Aid
In July 2007, Amherst announced that grants would replace loans in all financial aid packages beginning in the 2008-09 academic year. Amherst had already been the first school to eliminate loans for low-income students, and with this announcement it joined Princeton University, Cornell University and Davidson College, then the only colleges to eliminate loans from need-based financial aid packages.
Notable Alumni and Faculty
Among its alumni, faculty and affiliates are six Nobel Prize laureates and twenty Rhodes Scholars. Prominent figures associated with Amherst include President Calvin Coolidge and Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone.
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