Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 1,911 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 9%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $19,536per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 93%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $95,16110 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Amherst has an open curriculum with no general distribution requirements or core courses outside of an initial first-year seminar and major coursework.
Source: Academics | Amherst College
Through the Five College Consortium, Amherst students have cross-registration access to more than 6,000 courses across Smith, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst.
Source: Academics | Amherst College
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 9%About 1 in 11 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1490–1580Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 33–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Amherst College's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 8%1,222 admitted of 15,819 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 22%216 admitted of 971. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- Off the wait list
- 6%44 admitted of 740 who stayed on the wait list (1,294 were offered a spot)
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1470–154040% of first-years sent SAT scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 33–3516% of first-years sent ACT scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 88%96% were in the top quarter. Based on the 28% whose school ranks.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- A talent or ability
Important
- Class rank
- Character and personal qualities
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Considered
- Where you live
Not considered
- Interview
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Living in the state
- Religious affiliation
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Amherst College's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Amherst College Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $19,536full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $90,670sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $73,830Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 93%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 97%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $95,16110 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $13,250federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 1,911Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 25%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 21%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA — admits 36%
- Clark University Worcester, MA — admits 40%
- Simmons University Boston, MA — admits 70%
- Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Norton, MA — admits 68%
Also worth a look
- Williams College Williamstown, MA — admits 8%
- Wellesley College Wellesley, MA — admits 14%
- Pomona College Claremont, CA — admits 7%
- Colby College Waterville, ME — admits 7%
- Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA — admits 7%
- Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME — admits 7%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Amherst College, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.