Coming to Amherst, I was a bit worried about its small size. Well, I only applied to small schools, but it was because I wanted the small class size and low student-to-faculty ratio. In terms of social life, I wasn’t sure. I was worried that because of how small Amherst was (even compared to nearby liberal arts colleges like Smith and Mount Holyoke, which both have at least 200 students more than Amherst), I wouldn’t be socially satisfied.
After more than a semester at Amherst, I can now confidently say that Amherst is NOT that small. Here are a few things I’ve learned:
1. It’s impossible to know everyone!
Many people told me that at a school like Amherst, I’d know everyone. I used to believe it. But hey, that is not true. Every month, just as I thought I had seen everyone here, I’d find myself at a new event (like the English Student Steering Committee last week or the weekly Russian Tea Gathering my friend invited me to come), talking to cool new people I didn’t know exist at Amherst. The truth is, there is such a large number of communities here at Amherst that unless you somehow manage to join all of them, it’s unlikely that you will know everyone. It’s true that at one point, I felt like I kept seeing the same faces at the library or the dining hall. But that doesn’t mean that I have talked to and personally know all these people. This semester, most people in all four of my classes are people I don’t know. And many of them are cool! At Amherst, I’ve never found myself asking “Where can I find more people.” Rather, I only ask “How can I meet more cool people here?”
2. I’ve never complained about the number of events at Amherst.
While Amherst may not have as many events as a school with tens of thousands of students, there are still a good enough number of events that it’s impossible to go to all of them. I used to worry that I’d be bored on the weekends. It turned out that my worry was for nothing because every weekend, there are always way more events I want to go to than those I can make time for. Not to mention, nearby schools offer many cool public events. For example, I went to a student Math conference at Smith last semester, and I loved it! Since Amherst students are generally busy, I sincerely believe that unless you’re still enjoying Orientation or the beginning of the semester when everything is chill, you should never find yourself worrying about not having enough events to go to.
3. Our campus size is 1,000 acres :O
I only realized last semester that Amherst’s campus size is four digits. To put it into perspective, there are roughly 5,000 to 6,000 colleges and universities in the United States, but there are only 150 schools or so with a campus size of at least 1,000 acres like Amherst. And I was surprised. To be fair, our main campus doesn’t feel that big. I can easily walk to every building on campus in less than 30 minutes. The two farthest academic buildings are only 15 minutes away. However, Amherst has hundreds of acres of wildlife sanctuary, which makes it perfect for those who love to wander into the wild. One of my favorite places to go to back in the fall was the Norwottuck Rail Trail. It’s an 11-mile biking and running trail next to Amherst that is incredibly scenic. So, if you love walking around and worry about the “physical” size of Amherst, don’t worry. It’s not that small.
I want to end my post by saying that I didn’t visit that many colleges and universities when I was a high school student, so my perception of how big a school is is biased. What I can confidently say is that during my time at Amherst, I have been incredibly satisfied with every aspect of our small community. I’m extremely grateful for the wide variety of opportunities I get here, not just in terms of social events but also academic offerings.
If you still worry about how small Amherst is (like my past self), feel free to reach out to me. Or visit us! We’re offering many campus tours this Spring — don’t miss them!