Hey everyone, welcome back to the blog! To those of you who also have spring break around this time, I hope that it’s been nice and relaxing. My family and I went to Miami for break, and between the delicious Cuban food and the delightful weather, it’s safe to say that I had a great time. For anyone who may not know, Amherst College released the regular decision results a few days ago. So, for those of you who were very recently accepted to the class of ’29, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! In honor of this super exciting time, I wanted to dedicate this blog post to providing some reasons for why you should choose Amherst. However, since I’m sure many of you have already heard the usual statistics and facts about this lovely college, I wanted my “reasons to choose Amherst” to focus on some of the more underrated (or quite frankly random) things about this school that make it so special. So, without further ado, here are three reasons in no particular order that probably didn’t cross your mind (or maybe they did?) for why you should come to Amherst.
#1 – The outdoor space
Recently, during my training to become a campus tour guide, I found out that Amherst College owns over 1,200 acres of land, meaning that when you look out at the stunning view from Memorial Hill, the majority of what you see is owned by the college. While this fact was initially baffling to me, it honestly does make a fair amount of sense. Between our on-campus farm that supplies produce for the dining hall, the campus wildlife sanctuary, and the impressive number of walking paths through the woods on and around campus, it’s always felt pretty evident to me that as an Amherst College student that there are an abundant number of ways to enjoy the beautiful nature of western Massachusetts. Last year, my roommate would frequently go to the “bagels and birdwatching” events that happened at the wildlife sanctuary, and next week at Book and Plow farm there’s a pancake breakfast with the maple syrup they’ve been tapping from the maple trees. Point being, even if you don’t consider yourself to be a particularly “outdoorsy” person, there are still so many ways to appreciate Amherst’s nature. This photo on the left was actually taken yesterday during my morning walk on the rail trail, which is an 11-mile trail that runs right by our campus. As always, the walk was lovely and beautiful, and it made me really appreciate the access I have to outdoor space here as a way to decompress.
#2 – Sports!
As you probably know, Amherst College is a DIII school in the NESCAC. However, while we don’t have the intense sports culture of a big DI school, I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised by the way that varsity sports are a part of Amherst life here on campus. For one thing, I really appreciate the fact that we are not a place that only has school spirit or interest in a small handful of sports, and instead it’s quite common to support the entire array of teams. And similarly, I am proud to say that Amherst College is a school that supports women’s sports. For example, not only did our women’s hockey team win the conference championship this year (and are on to nationals!), but they also have somewhat of a cult following on campus; the bleachers at games are always full of students coming up with mildly unhinged chants, people in mammoth costumes, and other Amherst sports teams showing their support. I may also be a little bit biased since one of my closest friends is on women’s hockey (hi Nat!), but overall it has just been a lot of fun to cheer on my friends and classmates at various games. Go Mammoths!
#3 – Emotional support animals (yes I’m serious)
When I started my first year as an Amherst College student, something I was not expecting from my college experience was the sheer number of animals that show up on this campus. When the weather is warm enough, there is a farmer’s market in the town of Amherst every Saturday, and during almost every farmer’s market, there is a woman who shows up with baby strollers full of bunnies. Seriously. I can’t figure out whether she runs an animal rescue or just really really loves bunnies, but regardless, holding bunnies is such a lovely way to start your weekend. And, anytime that an exam period is approaching, the college arranges for various animal rescues to come to campus and host stress relief events for us. In this photo I’m holding a bunny, but there have also been various guinea pigs, goats, pigs, and baby ducks. I would assume that these events are not mentioned in the Amherst College information pamphlets you’d find in the admissions center, but they are still such a wonderful form of stress relief, and were a very pleasant surprise as a new student.
Well, I hope that my three “why you should come to Amherst” reasons were convincing. On a more serious note (not that baby ducks aren’t serious), I genuinely do love this college, and I’m grateful everyday that I decided to pick Amherst as my home for these four years. I could go on and on about this place, so if you want to hear more about my experience at Amherst or have any questions at all, my email is eknauer27@amherst.edu. Bye for now!