College · Private nonprofit · Amherst, MA · City
Amherst College
Amherst, MA
Admit rate9%
6-yr median pay$63k
Net price / yr$23k
Undergrad size1,911
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $23k/yr for a shot at a $63k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 9% means this is a reach for most people, even strong applicants. Admitted students average SAT 1533 · ACT 33.
If you get in
1,911 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $88k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $23k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$351k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$93k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$257k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.5x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $70.5k
- Room & board
- $18.4k
- Books & supplies
- $0
How students pay for it.
Pell grants20%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans8%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$14k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention97%
Very high — students stay.
Graduation · 6 yr94%
Most finish on time.
6-yr median pay$63k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$78k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out3%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 1,911
- Location
- Amherst, MA
- Region
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- New England Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White36%
- Asian16%
- Hispanic14%
- International13%
- Black9%
- Two or more races9%
- Unknown2%
First-gen students21%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$42k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 34
What you can study.