Amherst College is a small, private, liberal arts school in…you guessed it…Amherst, MA. It’s an extremely academically competitive school to gain admittance, with a this past application year. There are about 1,800 undergraduates and it’s a part of a five-college consortium, which includes UMass Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith.
Amherst’s supplements this year are (the same as last year, and) one of three options, but unless you’re applying to their A2A (Access to Amherst) program, we feel there’s only one choice. Read on for more info.
Option A: Please respond to one of the following quotations in an essay of not more than 300 words. It is not necessary to research, read, or refer to the texts from which these quotations are taken; we are looking for original, personal responses to these short excerpts. Remember that your essay should be personal in nature and not simply an argumentative essay.
As with your entire application, each component should indicate that you can read. More than that, though, it should be evident that you are able to read AND apply what you read. We say this because we want you to really engage with the final sentence of this introduction to the quotes. It should be *personal* and not an essay you’d write for school. They want more than what you’re doing for your English class. So, whichever quote you choose, make sure to connect it to something real, genuine, and personal in your life. You’re going to have to tell a story here. OK, onto the prompts:
Prompt 1: "Rigorous reasoning is crucial in mathematics, and insight plays an important secondary role these days. In the natural sciences, I would say that the order of these two virtues is reversed. Rigor is, of course, very important. But the most important value is insight—insight into the workings of the world. It may be because there is another guarantor of correctness in the sciences, namely, the empirical evidence from observation and experiments." -Kannan Jagannathan, Professor of Physics, Amherst College
Please don’t skim and skip this one if you’re more of a humanities person; we encourage you to take another look and really read what it’s asking you to reflect on. At its core, it’s about the critical interplay of two ways of assessing the world that are often pitted against each other: emotion + instinct and logic + data. That’s deep! So, tell Amherst about a time when you experienced this tension or witnessed an artful symphony of these approaches to solving a problem or challenge. Maybe you really truly *felt* something to be true, but the data said otherwise. Or, the data suggested one outcome, but your gut told you to dig deeper to get the full story. That’s what this prompt is really asking - how do you get to the core of a question? Through a combination of these two approaches, and they want to understand how you have experienced this to be true.
Prompt 2: "Translation is the art of bridging cultures. It's about interpreting the essence of a text, transporting its rhythms and becoming intimate with its meaning… Translation, however, doesn't only occur across languages: mentally putting any idea into words is an act of translation; so is composing a symphony, doing business in the global market, understanding the roots of terrorism. No citizen, especially today, can exist in isolation—that is, untranslated." -Ilan Stavans, Professor of Latin American and Latino Culture, Amherst College, Robert Croll '16 and Cedric Duquene '15, from "Interpreting Terras Irradient," Amherst Magazine, Spring 2015.
We personally love this choice because it’s so incredibly versatile. This prompt is about communication and understanding, which are extremely broad themes. Here’s a great place to tell a story about a time when you witnessed a gap being bridged through language, emotion, or community. The key here is this last sentence, “no citizen…can exist in isolation,” because our existence, the prompt argues, is wrapped up in evolving interactions and communications. Experiencing, witnessing, or reading something, translating or interpreting what it means, and applying it. Growing as a result of that process. Tell a story about a time when your understanding of something was shifted by an experience that imbued it with new meaning.
Prompt 3: "Creating an environment that allows students to build lasting friendships, including those that cut across seemingly entrenched societal and political boundaries… requires candor about the inevitable tensions, as well as about the wonderful opportunities, that diversity and inclusiveness create." -Carolyn "Biddy" Martin, 19th President of Amherst College, from Letter to Amherst College Alumni and Families, December 28, 2015.
Amherst checking the EDI box with their supplements section. Not that we don’t like it, it’s just not for everyone. If you read this and your mind goes blank, skip-a-dee-doo-da to another prompt. It’s not the time to get on your soapbox and talk about your role as a white ally. Nor is it the time to wax poetic about your perceptions of racism in America. We love that for you, but this is not the prompt to get theoretical. It’s the time to tell a personal story.
So, if that applies, tell a story about a challenge or great disagreement on cultural or political grounds that ended with a resolution that was meaningful.
Prompt 4: "Difficulty need not foreshadow despair or defeat. Rather achievement can be all the more satisfying because of obstacles surmounted." -Attributed to William Hastie, Amherst Class of 1925, the first African-American to serve as a judge for the United States Court of Appeals
This one is honestly kind of boring, but if you have a dope story that is simply about you overcoming massive obstacles to achieve something that you feel proud of, this is your chance to tell that story. There should be a clear beginning (presentation of challenge/goal), middle (obstacles! What were they and how did you tackle them?), and end (resolution! victory!), that leaves the reader feeling wowed and interested. Again, remember, this needs to be personal. It’s not the time to talk about when you studied suuuuppppppeeeerrrr hard for your APUSH test after failing 2 practice tests and then got a 5. The reader should feel like they really got to know a little part of you through this story.
Option B: Please submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should NOT submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay. If you have submitted an analytical essay in response to the "essay topic of your choice" prompt in the Common Application writing section, you should NOT select Option B. Instead, you should respond to one of the four quotation prompts in Option A.
Please don’t do this. Amherst gave you four great opportunities to tell a PERSONAL story, and your choosing this option means, A) you’re not in the mood to put in the work, or B) you’re not trying to get personal. Amherst wants you to get personal, so get personal. Do the extra work; that’s why you’re in the middle of this process. And if you’re not willing to do a bit more to get in the game, you probably shouldn’t be applying to Amherst (way harsh, Ty? Sorry, but it’s true).
Option C: If you are/were an applicant to Amherst's Access to Amherst (A2A) program, you may use your A2A application essay in satisfaction of our Writing Supplement requirement. If you would like to do so, please select Option C. However, if you would prefer not to use your A2A essay for this purpose and you want to submit a different writing supplement, select either Option A or Option B. [Please note that Option C is available only to applicants to Amherst's A2A program. Non-A2A applicants must choose either Option A or Option B.]
If you’re applying to A2A you have to do this one! Goodbye, guesswork!
If this seems a little overwhelming, we get it. It’s a big choice! We’re so happy to act as a sounding board or to inspire some brainstorming sessions with you. Give us a and we’ll set something up.