Amherst College
Founded 1821. Need-blind pioneer with an open curriculum among America's finest small colleges.
Overview
Founded by Congregationalists to educate indigent young men of piety, Amherst became a national leader in access and curriculum reform. It adopted an open curriculum with no distribution requirements in the 1980s, and need-blind admission for all applicants including internationals. Robert Frost taught and farmed nearby for four decades; Emily Dickinson's family stood in Amherst town. The college enrolls about 2,000 students in the Pioneer Valley's five-college consortium. Its diversity record set US benchmarks. The meadow-art museum holds the nation's strongest teaching collection of its size.
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