If I had to describe my past few weeks in one word, it’d be “busy.” In fact, it’s one of the first things I learned when I came to Amherst — everyone is busy here. I remember the day Fall classes started, many people I was talking to during Orientation just… disappeared! Everyone started having things to do and places to go to, and all of a sudden, it was difficult to catch hold of others during the week.
I know this is not surprising. Many of us got to Amherst because we were active in high school, and given that Amherst offers so many opportunities, it can be hard not to fill one’s schedule with events and club meetings. However, before getting to Amherst, I thought it’d be exactly the same as high school. I mean, I took AP classes and did lots of activities back then too. Isn’t college life the same? I even remember the summer before Amherst, I asked one of my friends about her first-year experience, and she warned me in advance that “Amherst has a very workaholic culture.” I didn’t pay much attention to it back then, but now I get it. So I just want to write a bit about what it means to be busy at Amherst and how that has shaped my college experience.
First, I want to clarify that Amherst is not competitive. I think it’s easy to see “busy” and “competitive” as the same thing, but it’s not. Based on my personal experiences, everyone here is passionate about what they’re doing, and we can all succeed together. My Math Office Hours are incredibly collaborative. I love swapping essay drafts with my classmates so we can learn from each other. We don’t have formal applications for most school clubs. And so many more things that make learning at Amherst more of a curiosity-driven process than a competitive one.
However, Amherst students tend to hold themselves to extremely high standards, and we’re busy achieving these goals and becoming the best versions of ourselves. Therefore, while one can put minimum work in, say, assignments to simply finish what they’re supposed to do, many people I know devote lots of quality work to what matters to them. For example, two of my friends went above and beyond in the final project for their Artificial Intelligence course and ended up publishing it on arXiv. While it’s true college can be busy due to higher expectations, I think at Amherst, people are busy more because they are not just satisfied with simply meeting expectations, but surpassing them.
Also, four college courses are actually A LOT. It’s comparable to completing all the materials of four AP courses (or more) in one semester, and I definitely underestimated how heavy such a workload would be. Being an Amherst student is a full-time thing after all. I learned from my first semester that any four classes I take at a time should be the main thing I focus on. If I’ll be busy regardless, I’d better pick classes where I’ll be busy doing meaningful work.
Last, being busy does not mean you have to be in your room by yourself doing work 24/7. My friend reminded me the other day that Amherst has lots of group study spaces, and we can always study together! For many people, I think this is a different experience from high school because it’s not like your bestie lives 5 minutes away from you and you two can meet up anytime you want to do work. But that’s the case at Amherst! Attending a residential college has taught me so much about intentionally reaching out to those around me and making time for one another even when our schedules are packed.
In short, I’m pretty busy right now, but it’s not a bad thing. I’m busy doing things that I enjoy, and I’m stressed about things that matter. While I still have a lot to figure out, I’m very grateful for where I am right now and hope I can keep being busy in a good way!