Amherst College - Off-Campus Housing

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Amherst students love their dorms. Hardly anyone lives off campus, and there isn’t even an organized bulletin board at the College of available apartments for rent. Although living in your own apartment offers a sense of independence to most college students, Amherst kids seem content with letting the College take care of them, even as they slowly turn into mature men and women. Dorm residents have respect for their neighbors and common dorm property, so hardly any students get the “God, I gotta get out of this hell-hole” feeling that is present at so many other universities. Furthermore, the College, with its dorms and quads, is a magnet for partiers from the five schools in the area. Living off campus would just entail lots of shuffling to and from the dorms on weekends.

Those who do opt to live off campus will find a respectable variety of houses and apartments at reasonable prices. Students do have to seek special permission from the College to live off campus, and freshmen are required to live on campus. College administrators feel that living off campus will damage the liberal arts educational process, an important part of which is the social life. Most students conclude by themselves that it is simply not worth it to miss out on the social events here. This perhaps sums up Amherst housing in a nutshell. It’s always nice to see most of the people you go to school with, not only in class, but also out and about on Friday nights.

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Students Speak Out

AmhLZ says: Amherst College 2016 Undecided

Off-campus housing here is... Off-campus housing here is virtually nonexistent—almost everyone lives on campus all four years. 12345 Off-Campus Housing: February 16, 2009 Report

AmhDJ says: Amherst College 2016 Undecided

Everyone stays on campus at... Everyone stays on campus at Amherst. 12345 Off-Campus Housing: February 16, 2009 Report

Anonymous says:

Hardly anyone lives off campus.... Hardly anyone lives off campus. One actually needs permission to do so. It’s definitely not worth it, because one misses out on most of the benefits of a small college if one does live off campus. 12345 Off-Campus Housing Report

Anonymous says:

The apartments for rent in town... The apartments for rent in town are actually nice, but most students just prefer to live on campus. It’s just not worth it, in terms of the longer walks or drives to classes, and especially missing the stuff that goes on on campus. 12345 Off-Campus Housing Report

Anonymous says:

I don’t know anyone who is... I don’t know anyone who is currently living off campus. It’s funny that the people who live in the worst dorms (freshmen) are not allowed to live off campus. Once you’re an upperclassman, the dorms become much better, so there’s less incentive to move out. 12345 Off-Campus Housing Report

Did You Know?

Most of the restaurants are within 5-to-10-minute walk from campus.

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