by our College Data Analytics TeamAmherst College is a private not-for-profit institution in Amherst, Massachusetts enrolling 1,911 undergraduates. It accepts 9% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 94%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #71 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Amherst College ranks #71 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Amherst College was awarded 275 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked Amherst as #71 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, Amherst holds the #7 spot on the Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.
See all of the rankings for Amherst College.
Amherst College has a very low acceptance rate of 9%, making it one of the most selective out of all the colleges and universities in the nation. It’s probably a good idea to apply to other schools in addition to Amherst just in case you don’t make the cut.
About 39% of students accepted to Amherst submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 740 and 780. Math scores were between 750 and 800.
Amherst received ACT scores from 22% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 33 and 35.
Learn more about Amherst College admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Amherst is an impressive 6 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Amherst College is 97%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Amherst College has a freshmen retention rate of 97%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Amherst for first-time, full-time students is 94%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Amherst College.
The current enrollment includes 1,911 undergraduates at Amherst.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Amherst College.
The average net price of Amherst is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,086 | $1,570 | $17,478 | $23,639 | $47,521 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Amherst, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Amherst, approximately 8% of students took out student loans averaging $5,397 a year. That adds up to $21,588 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.0%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Amherst College.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College make about $77,644 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Amherst College graduates since it is 58% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Amherst College make the most money.
Amherst College is an private not-for-profit institution located in Amherst, Massachusetts. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Amherst College.
Get in touch with Amherst College can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | Boltwood Avenue, Amherst, MA 01002-5000 |
| Phone: | 4135422000 |
| Website: | www.amherst.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amherst_College |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/pages/Amherst-MA/Amherst-College/6099747981 |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/amherstcollege |
In the latest year of available data, students from 18 majors graduated from Amherst College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 830 | NA |
| Mathematics | 92 | $64,970 |
| Economics | 89 | $78,775 |
| Child Development & Psychology | 78 | $41,688 |
| Computer Science | 65 | $96,310 |
| General English Literature | 45 | $27,744 |
| Political Science & Government | 43 | $51,419 |
| History | 37 | $43,271 |
| Romance Languages | 30 | NA |
| Legal Research | 29 | NA |
Want to see how other colleges compare to Amherst? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References