A Full Fall Day

Fall Colors at Amherst! 

Yesterday, if someone asked me if I would ever attended a college with less than five thousand people, my answer would be no. After today, my answer is completely different. Today we toured Amherst, a beautiful college located in Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

We woke up early this morning and met downstairs in the hotel lobby at 6:45 AM. During the ride to Amherst, I looked out the car window and noticed how much the landscape had changed. The lush, green summer grass had turned brown and the green leafy trees had either lost their leaves or just had a few left. Despite this change in color, the landscape is equally beautiful as during the summer.

Once we arrived at Amherst, I was immediately drawn to the beauty of the campus.  Inside the admissions building, we sat down in the waiting room and flipped through a lovely information pamphlet describing the school. Inside this pamphlet I read that Emily Dickinson’s house is located in Amherst, we then decided to visit after the tour and information session.

The information session was incredibly informative.  Tyler, our admissions officer described to us a few very unique aspects of Amherst. Its open curriculum allows students to explore many areas of study, but in a supportive and balanced environment. Amherst collaborates with five other schools, allowing students to take classes, burrow materials, and engage socially with students from the four other colleges. This five college collaborative adds about twenty thousand college students to the eighteen hundred at Amherst, enhancing both academics social life.

After the information session we set out with our tour guide, Tito. She guided us through the incredibly beautiful Amherst campus. I loved walking through the fallen leaves in the cool, brisk air. One particularly notable part of the tour was the dorm we went inside. It was absolutely beautiful with a large common room, open ceilings, and wood floors. The dorms at Amherst were definitely the nicest dorms I have ever seen. After the tour, we were fortunate enough to talk to the admissions officer for our region of California. She was very kind and it was great to have the opportunity talk to her in a casual environment.

After our wonderful visit to Amherst, we drove a short distance the Emily Dickinson’s house. Lucky we arrived right as a tour began. The house was very large with large windows and a fireplace on the wall rather than in the middle of the room, which was unusual for the time period. Like many, before the tour, I was under the impression that Emily Dickinson was a strange hermit who lived all alone, yet somehow produced wonderful and mysterious poetry. Our tour guide explained that this actually was not the case and that Emily Dickinson was much more normal than many believe.

Once the tour was over, we headed back to Brown to check in to the Symposium. When we arrived at the Hotel Providence we checked in and received a schedule for the weekend. According to this schedule, it looks like our time will be filled with productive activities. I cannot wait to embark on tomorrow’s fifteen-hour day!

After we settled in our hotel rooms, we went downstairs to meet and mingle with other summer students. I recognized a lot of people and it was amazing to have the opportunity to talk to them about their life since our summer together. I also meet several new people, including my roommate, and it was equally exciting to have the opportunity to speak to these new people. I’m so excited finally be back at Brown and I know that the Symposium will be an incredibly valuable experience!