A look at campus
Before reading further, it's worth seeing the place. This is the college's official tour video.
Amherst College official YouTube channel.
The open curriculum
Amherst's defining academic feature is its open curriculum: there are no distribution requirements and no core curriculum. Apart from a first-year seminar and the courses required for your major, you choose everything you take. The college offers the B.A. across roughly 40+ majors.
This freedom is real, and it cuts both ways. Amherst's own admissions office signals that successful applicants embrace it — meaning you're expected to arrive with some sense of what you want to explore. A student who wants more structure may find an open curriculum harder to navigate, not easier.
What to look at
- Whether you actually want curricular freedom, or whether you'd benefit from required breadth. This is the central question with Amherst.
- Double majoring is common — with no core requirements, many students pursue two.
- The Five College Consortium: you can cross-register at Smith, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst, adding thousands of courses.
- Our Open CurriculumOfficial explanation
- Academics at AmherstOverview
- Five College ConsortiumCross-registration
Five colleges, one valley
Amherst belongs to the Five College Consortium alongside Smith, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A free bus connects the campuses, and Amherst students can register for courses at any of them.
For a college of 1,900, this is a meaningful multiplier: it pairs the intimacy of a small school with access to the course breadth of a large university next door. If a department at Amherst is small in an area you care about, the consortium may fill the gap.
One caveat to check
Hampshire College has faced serious financial difficulty and announced plans to wind down. Confirm the current state of the consortium's members on the official Five College site before weighing it heavily.
- Five CollegesHow cross-registration works
What it costs, and what it might actually cost you
Like Williams, Amherst meets 100% of demonstrated financial need and structures aid to avoid loans. A notable difference: Amherst is need-blind for international applicants as well as domestic ones, which is rare even among wealthy colleges and matters if you're applying from abroad with financial need.
Run the Net Price Calculator with your family's real numbers before drawing any conclusion from the sticker price.
- Financial AidOfficial hub
- Net Price CalculatorEstimate your real cost
Where you'll live, and what there is to do
Amherst is residential, with most students living on campus on a 1,000-acre campus near the center of the town of Amherst. The town itself is a small college town in the Pioneer Valley — more of a walkable town setting than Williams's mountain isolation, and lively partly because of the other four colleges nearby.
Athletics and the rivalry
Amherst competes in NCAA Division III in the NESCAC. Its rivalry with Williams is the oldest in the conference; the annual football game is nicknamed the "Biggest Little Game in America." If you're choosing between the two, know that you're choosing a side of a very old rivalry.
Amherst also maintains a wildlife sanctuary with wetlands and woodlands adjoining campus.
- Campus LifeHousing, clubs, dining
- Amherst Athletics (Mammoths)Varsity and club sports
Visiting, virtually or in person
Amherst runs information sessions and student-led campus tours. Admitted students are invited to "Be a Mammoth" days in April. If you can't get to the valley, the official channels below show a lot from a distance.
- Campus VisitsTours and info sessions
- Admission & Financial AidFor prospective students
- Official YouTube channelMore video
What the application looks like
Amherst is among the most selective liberal arts colleges, admitting roughly 7% of applicants to the Class of 2029. It accepts the Common Application and QuestBridge, and is test-optional. It offers binding Early Decision, whose admit rate is meaningfully higher than Regular Decision — but ED is a commitment, so only use it if Amherst is a clear first choice and the Net Price Calculator works for your family.
Amherst no longer gives preference to legacy status. Its supplement rewards applicants who can speak specifically to why the open curriculum suits them.
Before you apply, ask yourself
Do you want to design your own course of study, or would you rather have required breadth? Does the five-college setting appeal more than a self-contained campus? Those are the questions that separate Amherst from its peers.
- Admission & Financial AidDeadlines & requirements
- How to ApplyApplication steps