Admit rate has ranged 7%–12% over the last 5 years. Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute.
Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.
Amherst College is a fiercely selective liberal arts powerhouse in Western Massachusetts, where intellectual intensity meets an open curriculum that lets students design their own academic paths. With a 9% acceptance rate and median SAT scores in the 1500s, it attracts brainy, self-directed students who thrive in small seminars and a culture of rigorous debate. The college's $2.3 billion endowment fuels exceptional financial aid (average net price: $19,328) and a stunning 93% graduation rate, sending graduates into careers with median earnings of $79,243—well above national averages.
Admission requirements
Test-optional — scores considered if submitted
Required
High school transcript
Letters of recommendation
TOEFL (non-native English)
Considered (not required)
Grade point average
Class rank
Test scores (SAT/ACT)
College-prep program
Demonstrated competencies
Source: IPEDS Admissions survey (2022) via Urban Institute. Covers formal factors only — it does not reflect essays, extracurriculars, or other holistic criteria.
More details
Undergrad enrollment
1,911
In-state tuition
$70,480
Out-of-state tuition
$70,480
Endowment
$2.3 billion
Acceptance Rate
9%
Graduation Rate
93%
Student-Faculty Ratio
8:1
Median Alumni Earnings
$79,243
Outcomes & value
Outcomes & value
Median earnings (10 yr)
$77,644
Value (earnings ÷ net price)
3.3×
Median debt at graduation
$13,740
Graduation rate
94%
First-year retention
97%
Reducing loan balance (3 yr)
80%
Pell (lower-income) share
66%
First-generation share
21%
Endowment / student
$1,857,444
Financial health
2.8 / 3.0Meets the federal financial-responsibility standard
U.S. Dept. of Education Financial Responsibility Composite Score (FY2022-23). Scale −1.0 to 3.0; ≥1.5 meets the standard. Reported for private nonprofit & for-profit institutions only — public universities are state-backed and not scored, so this is a stability signal, not a ranking.
Top-earning majors
Median earnings by field of study (highest credential), ~2 years after completion.
Economics$74,576
History$74,576
Mathematics$67,660
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics$67,101
Political Science and Government$48,432
Research and Experimental Psychology$46,087
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies
Campus & location
Campus safety
On-campus violent crimes (2024)
10
Per 1,000 students
5.23
On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.
Climate
Pleasant days / yr
88
Summer high
81°F
Winter low
22°F
Annual rain
51.6"
Annual snow
40"
Natural-hazard risk
Relatively Low
Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023). Natural-hazard risk is the county’s composite rating from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Deep dive — research, future-scholar output & economic mobility▾
Research output
Institutional h-index
266
Scholarly works
15,310
Institutional research volume and impact from OpenAlex. The h-index reflects large research universities and will be low for teaching-focused liberal-arts colleges — not a measure of undergraduate quality.
Share of this school’s graduates who go on to earn research doctorates (2010–20), by national rank and per-capita yield (NSF institutional-yield ratio). A signal of a research-oriented student culture — not a causal promise, since it partly reflects who enrolls. Only top producers appear. Source: NSF NCSES, Baccalaureate Origins of U.S. Research Doctorate Recipients.
Economic mobility
Quick answers
What is the acceptance rate at Amherst College?
Amherst College's acceptance rate is approximately 9% (Amherst, MA), based on the most recent figures we compiled from public and primary sources.
What SAT score do you need for Amherst College?
Admitted students at Amherst College typically score 1490–1580 on the SAT (the middle-50% range). Scores outside this band are still admitted, especially with strong applications.
How much does Amherst College cost?
At Amherst College, the average net price (after aid) is about $23,367 per year. Actual cost varies with financial aid and residency.
How many undergraduates attend Amherst College?
Amherst College enrolls approximately 1,911 undergraduate students.
Where is Amherst College located?
Amherst College is located in Amherst, MA.
Admissions
Amherst's admissions process is among the most selective in the nation, with a 9% Acceptance rateThe share of applicants a college admits in a given year. A 10% acceptance rate means it admits about 1 in 10 applicants. for the Class of 2029 from a record 15,818 applications. The middle 50% of admitted students scored between 1500-1560 on the SAT or equivalent ACT scores, with 90% ranking in the top 10% of their high school class. Notably, only 48% of applicants submitted test scores for consideration in 2025—a reflection of Amherst's Test-optionalA policy where you choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores. If you don't, the rest of your application carries more weight. policy. The college practices need-blind admissions and meets 100% of demonstrated financial need, creating a socioeconomically diverse student body where 22% are Pell Grant recipients.
Earnings = median of students working ~10 years after entry; debt = median of graduates. Value divides 10-yr earnings by one year’s net price — read it as earnings per dollar of annual cost, not a full lifetime ROI; it favors lower-cost schools. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~2 years and reflect all students, not your intended major.
$37,208
English Language and Literature, General$33,993
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (field-of-study earnings). Figures cover graduates who received federal aid and lag ~2 years; not all programs report data.
Mobility rate
2.0%
Bottom → top quintile
46%
From bottom quintile
4%
Mobility rate = the share of students who both start in the bottom household-income quintile and reach the top quintile; bottom → top is that chance conditional on starting at the bottom. Source: Opportunity Insights Mobility Report Cards (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner & Yagan). Reflects 1980–82 birth cohorts, so it’s directional, not current.
Academics
Amherst's open curriculum—with no core requirements—gives students unusual freedom to craft their intellectual journey across 43 majors. The most popular departments are economics (with 14 faculty covering major areas of modern economics), mathematics, and computer science. With an 8:1 student-faculty ratio and no graduate students to dilute attention, Amherst fosters intense mentorship; professors regularly co-author papers with undergraduates. The 850-course catalog encourages interdisciplinary work, and about 40% of students double major. A Reddit poster captures the ethos: 'The academic rigor and emphasis on respectful dialog at Amherst turn smart kids into formidable thinkers.'
Life on Amherst's hilly, 1,000-acre campus balances New England charm with intellectual energy. Students describe the vibe as 'work hard, play hard'—weekdays filled with heated seminar debates, weekends with improv comedy shows and spikeball tournaments on the Quad. Despite its small size (1,900 students), the college feels expansive thanks to the Five College Consortium, which grants access to 6,300 additional courses at nearby schools. Dorms are mixed-year, creating tight-knit communities; one TikTok tour highlights Northeast Hall's prime location for STEM students. Safety isn't a concern—100% of students report feeling secure on campus—but some critique the career-focused culture, with one student newspaper op-ed lamenting that 'all you learn is in service of making you a well-rounded employee.'
Amherst's outcomes are elite by any measure: a 93% graduation rate (vs. 59% national average for 4-year colleges) and median alumni earnings of $79,243 within a decade—nearly double the national median. The Loeb Center for Career Exploration tracks first destinations with a 91% knowledge rate; recent grads flock to finance (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan), tech (Google, Microsoft), and top PhD programs. Notably, Amherst graduates out-earn peers with similar majors by $13,000 on average, a testament to the college's powerful alumni network and reputation for producing razor-sharp critical thinkers.
Despite a sticker price north of $80,000, Amherst's average net cost is just $19,328 thanks to one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country. The college meets 100% of demonstrated need without loans, using grants and work-study instead. Families earning under $75,000 typically pay nothing, while those earning up to $150,000 contribute no more than 10% of their income. About 56% of students receive aid, with average grants covering 90% of demonstrated need. The MyinTuition calculator provides instant estimates—a transparency move that reflects Amherst's commitment to socioeconomic diversity.
Amherst distinguishes itself through three unparalleled strengths: 1) Academic freedom—the open curriculum means no student ever takes a class just to check a box; 2) Intellectual density—with a $2.3 billion endowment funding 850 courses for just 1,900 students, resources per capita rival Ivy League levels; and 3) Life-changing access—its no-loans aid policy ensures brilliant minds from all backgrounds can thrive. Add the Five College Consortium (access to 30,000 additional students) and a alumni network that punches far above its size, and you get why Amherst consistently ranks among the top three liberal arts colleges nationally. This is a place where future senators, Nobel laureates, and Fortune 500 CEOs get their start—without ever being required to take Calculus.
