Private nonprofit · College
Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts · Small city
- 9.0%
- Admit rate
- $23,367
- Avg net price
- 94%
- Graduation rate
- $77,644
- Median earnings
Amherst College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Amherst, Massachusetts (small city setting), enrolling 1,911 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Amherst College's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 9.0%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1490–1580
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 4.00
Enter a test score to see where you land against Amherst College's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Amherst College's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. The earliest known document of the lands now comprising Amherst is the deed of purchase dated December 1658 between John Pynchon of Springfield and three native inhabitants, referred to as Umpanchla, Quonquont, and Chickwalopp. Major employers in Amherst include University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst College, William D. Mullins Memorial Center, Hampshire College, and Amherst-Pelham Regional School District. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Bachelor's
- Nearest big city
- 19 miles to Springfield, MA
- To the ocean
- 69 miles
- Nearest airport
- 31 miles to Bradley (BDL) · major hub
How Amherst College compares
More selective than 98% · #5 most selective of 63 in Massachusetts
Higher than 98%
Higher than 98% · #4 of 66 in Massachusetts
Higher than 95%
Higher than 90% · #20 of 67 in Massachusetts
Cheaper than 34% · #20 cheapest of 65 in Massachusetts
Lower than 93%
Lower than 94%
Larger than 56%
Percentiles compare Amherst College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Massachusetts.
Amherst College campus
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women1,03954%
- Men87246%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White36%
- Black8.9%
- Hispanic14%
- Asian16%
- Other or multiracial24%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 1,911
- Student–faculty ratio
- 6 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 20%
- First-generation students
- 21%
- Students over 25
- 1%
- Median family income
- $42,053
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $140,454
- Endowment
- $3,549,576,398
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 488 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Massachusetts8.9%
- Other U.S. states78%
- International13%
A national draw — only 9% of first-years come from Massachusetts; 77% arrive from other states.
13% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 9.0%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1490–1580
- SAT average
- 1533
- SAT reading
- 740–780
- SAT math
- 750–800
- ACT composite
- 33–35
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 4.00
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $70,480
- Room & board
- $18,390
- Books & supplies
- $0
- Total cost of attendance
- $87,640
- Average net price
- $23,367
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 94%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 75%
- First-year retention
- 97%
- Transferred to another college
- 3%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $62,537
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $77,644
- Median debt at graduation
- $13,740
- Students with federal loans
- 8%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 81%
About 19% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 1,948
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 100%+
- Housing charge (year)
- $9,490
- Meal plan (year)
- $8,070
- Application fee
- $65
- Athletics
- NCAA Division III with football
- Football conference
- New England Small College Athletic Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 798 (442 men · 356 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (16)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- D
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 10.4 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 45
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 15
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,914 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$17,478/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Amherst College discounts heavily: 58% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $63,167. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 467 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $77,644
- Typical debt at graduation
- $13,740
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 18%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 70%
Typical debt would take roughly 1.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $24,981 (33%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 83°F
- Winter low
- 14°F
- Annual rain
- 46.6″
- Annual snow
- 36.5″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Amherst, MA US station (1.4 mi from campus).
What Amherst College graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Amherst College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Amherst College side by side →
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 11 mi to Philadelphia
- Students
- 1,613
- Admission
- 7%
- Net price
- $23k
- SAT
- 1534
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $80k
Pomona College
Claremont, California · Large suburb · 21 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 1,666
- Admission
- 7%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1534
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $78k
Haverford College
Haverford, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 8 mi to Philadelphia
- Students
- 1,430
- Admission
- 12%
- Net price
- $25k
- SAT
- 1513
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $80k
Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts · Large suburb · 14 mi to Boston
- Students
- 2,300
- Admission
- 14%
- Net price
- $25k
- SAT
- 1520
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $85k
Hamilton College
Clinton, New York · Midsize suburb · 37 mi to Syracuse
- Students
- 2,030
- Admission
- 14%
- Net price
- $29k
- SAT
- 1506
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $78k
Barnard College
New York, New York · Large city · 7 mi to New York
- Students
- 3,264
- Admission
- 9%
- Net price
- $29k
- SAT
- 1520
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $81k
Colleges near Amherst College
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Amherst, MA · Public · Bachelor's · 23,671 students
Hampshire College
Amherst, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 839 students
Smith College
Northampton, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,544 students
Conway School of Landscape Design
Northampton, MA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,169 students
Holyoke Community College
Holyoke, MA · Public · Associate · 3,591 students
College of Our Lady of the Elms
Chicopee, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 949 students
DiGrigoli School of Cosmetology
West Springfield, MA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 21 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.















