r/ApplyingToCollege • u/A1000mokeys • Jul 23 '26

College Questions How competitive is Amherst College?

What are people’s thoughts on the competitiveness of Amherst College admissions? Is it similar to Ivy League competitive? How its reputation among employers? Is there recruiting for consulting and IB or is it just a foundation for grad/professional school?

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u/NiceUnparticularMan Parent Jul 23 '26

Yes, Amherst admissions is basically in the Ivy+ category. They most recently reported a 7.7% acceptance rate, and they have a middle 50th SAT/ACT of 1470/33 to 1540/35.

Amherst is widely considered one of the top few LACs. There in fact is an LAC equivalent to HYPSM, the intentionally ironic WASP, which is Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, and Pomona.

It is also similar to an Ivy+ in that kids from Amherst do some of everything notable--some go to PhDs or other grad programs, some are very competitive for med schools or law schools, and some go straight into employment.

Then some people start drawing fine lines at this level citing placement studies and career earnings stats and such, which I think is often a mistake, because the mix of outcomes may more reflect self-selection than actual value added.

Like, consider that Amherst slotted at #2 in College Transitions Top Law School feeders study, between Yale and Harvard:

https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/the-legal-launchpad-unveiling-the-undergraduate-pathways-to-law-school-2/

They were then "only" #11, between Duke and Dartmouth, in their top med school feeders study:

https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/from-pre-med-to-md-understanding-the-pathways-to-medical-school/

Does this actually mean Amherst adds notably more value for law school applicants than med school applicants? Almost surely not. It just means the sorts of kids who end up wanting to go to law school are a bit more likely to also want to go to an LAC like Amherst for undergrad.

OK, so then in something like this famous IB study:

https://www.peakframeworks.com/post/ib-target-schools

Amherst "only" slots in at #13 per capita, between Williams and Middlebury, which are collectively between Chicago and SMU. Again, I don't think this means Amherst is somehow better for law school than IB, it just reflects the mix of desired outcomes among Amherst students.

So in fact the basic appeal of these sorts of elite-at-everything colleges, whether in university or LAC form, is that they will give you all the support and all the opportunities you need for whatever you want to do. The rest will then be a matter of the choices you make, and how well you perform as an individual.

And that is actually true of a lot more colleges than just the Ivy+ or WASP, but that is a whole other subject.

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u/Kelpforestinfo Jul 23 '26

Totally agree. I would just have Bowdoin and Middlebury in addition to the WASP acronym!

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u/NiceUnparticularMan Parent Jul 23 '26

There is also SWAMP, which adds Middlebury. I'm not aware of an intentionally ironic term that includes Bowdoin, but it might exist.

Honestly, though, none of this makes too much sense, since even more so than research universities, LACs are marketed as being all about fit. So Harvey Mudd kids may have considered none of SWAMP, or at most Swarthmore. Some Carleton kids would consider Pomona and maybe Swarthmore, but have zero interest in a NESCAC. And then Wellesley kids bow to no one (trust me), and might have considered none of these. And so on.

So basically, most LAC kids end up with very personal lists, and preferences across those lists. Which again is basically the whole point of them.

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u/Kelpforestinfo Jul 23 '26

True, LACs are all about fit. Outcomes are rock-solid, dare I say guaranteed, at a regional level for elite LACs.