Amherst College vs. Williams College
Amherst hands you a blank schedule; Williams hands you a map. Pick Amherst and the open curriculum puts the shape of your degree in your hands: no core, no distribution boxes to tick, and a spot in the Five College Consortium that opens thousands more courses at UMass Amherst and Smith down the road. Williams keeps the distribution requirements and runs its own engine instead. You'd sit in Oxford-style tutorials, two students across the table from one professor every week, and spend January on a single odd course during Winter Study. Then there's where you wake up. Williams drops you deep in the rural Berkshires, hills on every side, the nearest real town a drive away. Amherst sets you in a livelier valley thick with other students. So you're really choosing how much structure you want around you: at Amherst you build the four years yourself, and at Williams you follow a marked path through a tighter, more isolated place.
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Acceptance rate
Total applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students for the most recent admission cycle.
Early decision
Amherst offers binding Early Decision. Applying early can meaningfully change your odds — but ED commits you to enroll if admitted.
Admit rate by application plan
% admitted~3.3× higher admit rate applying early.
Standardized tests
Amherst is currently test-optional — you may apply without submitting scores.
SAT Accepted?
ACT Accepted?
Test Optional?
SAT Scores
ACT Scores
Class rank
Where Amherst's enrolled first-years placed in their high school graduating class.
Based on the 28% of enrolled students who reported a class rank. Amherst does not publish an average GPA.
Admissions factors
How Amherst weighs each part of your application.
Rigor of High School Record
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Application Essay
Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
Character / Personal Qualities
Talent / Ability
First Generation
Level of Applicant's Interest
Class Rank
Volunteer Work
Work Experience
Geographical Residence
State Residency
Alumni Relation
Racial / Ethnic Status
Religious Affiliation
Cost of attendance
Estimated full-time annual cost from Amherst's Common Data Set.
Private universities charge the same tuition regardless of state residency.
What families actually pay
Average net price — what was left to pay after grant aid — for students receiving federal financial aid.
Source: College Scorecard (2026)
Financial aid
Need-based aid statistics for full-time first-year students.
Popular majors
Bachelor's degrees awarded in the past year by academic major.
Student-faculty ratio
The number of students for every one faculty member, indicating the average level of access students have to instructional staff.
Student outcomes
Median yearly income of former students who received federal aid, across every major, measured four years after graduating (2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, earnings measured 2022–2023). Debt covers federal loans of students who completed.
Source: College Scorecard (2026)
Programs
Amherst’s most popular programs and median pay after graduation. Income data from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard.
- Economics
78 degrees (2023-24)
~$142kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$17k median debt - Computer Science
48 degrees (2023-24)
~$143kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$17k median debt - Mathematics
35 degrees (2023-24)
~$124kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$14k median debt - Biology
33 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - English
26 degrees (2023-24)
~$65kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation
Show all 17 programsShow fewer
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
24 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Neuroscience
20 degrees (2023-24)
~$38kmedian pay, 1 yr after graduation - Chemistry
20 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Political Science
16 degrees (2023-24)
~$64kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation - Fine & Studio Arts
16 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - History
14 degrees (2023-24)
~$104kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation - Environmental Science & Natural Resources
11 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Area Studies
11 degrees (2023-24)
~$69kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation - Physics
6 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Philosophy
5 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Earth & Geological Sciences
5 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Music
1 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation
Median pay data is measured from graduates who received federal student aid.
Source: College Scorecard (2026) · IPEDS (2023-24)
Campus life
On-campus housing and Greek life participation rates.
Place
How the federal government classifies the area around the campus, and what a normal year of weather looks like there.
Average temperature
Monthly high and low, °FThirty-year averages, measured at the nearest weather station rather than on campus — they describe the area, not the campus.
Source: IPEDS (HD2024) · NOAA 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, AMHERST, MA US station, 1.4 mi from campus
Enrollment by gender
Student diversity
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduate students.
Acceptance rate
Total applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students for the most recent admission cycle.
Early decision
Williams offers binding Early Decision. Applying early can meaningfully change your odds — but ED commits you to enroll if admitted.
Admit rate by application plan
% admitted~3.6× higher admit rate applying early.
Standardized tests
Williams is currently test-optional — you may apply without submitting scores.
SAT Accepted?
ACT Accepted?
Test Optional?
SAT Scores
ACT Scores
Class rank
Where Williams's enrolled first-years placed in their high school graduating class.
Based on the 17% of enrolled students who reported a class rank. Williams does not publish an average GPA.
Admissions factors
How Williams weighs each part of your application.
Rigor of High School Record
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Application Essay
Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
Character / Personal Qualities
Talent / Ability
First Generation
Level of Applicant's Interest
Class Rank
Volunteer Work
Work Experience
Geographical Residence
State Residency
Alumni Relation
Racial / Ethnic Status
Religious Affiliation
Cost of attendance
Estimated full-time annual cost from Williams's Common Data Set.
Private universities charge the same tuition regardless of state residency.
What families actually pay
Average net price — what was left to pay after grant aid — for students receiving federal financial aid.
Source: College Scorecard (2026)
Financial aid
Need-based aid statistics for full-time first-year students.
Popular majors
Bachelor's degrees awarded in the past year by academic major.
Student-faculty ratio
The number of students for every one faculty member, indicating the average level of access students have to instructional staff.
Student outcomes
Median yearly income of former students who received federal aid, across every major, measured four years after graduating (2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, earnings measured 2022–2023). Debt covers federal loans of students who completed.
Source: College Scorecard (2026)
Programs
Williams’s most popular programs and median pay after graduation. Income data from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard.
- Economics
76 degrees (2023-24)
~$167kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$13k median debt - Computer Science
56 degrees (2023-24)
~$210kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$12k median debt - Biology
50 degrees (2023-24)
~$65kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$13k median debt - English
37 degrees (2023-24)
~$69kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$13k median debt - Mathematics
29 degrees (2023-24)
~$134kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$14k median debt
Show all 17 programsShow fewer
- Fine & Studio Arts
28 degrees (2023-24)
~$55kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$12k median debt - History
26 degrees (2023-24)
~$60kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation - Chemistry
21 degrees (2023-24)
~$51kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$12k median debt - Area Studies
17 degrees (2023-24)
~$44kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation - Environmental Science & Natural Resources
16 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Political Science
12 degrees (2023-24)
~$88kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$11k median debt - Earth & Geological Sciences
7 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Physics
7 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Linguistics & Language Studies
6 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Philosophy
6 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Music
3 degrees (2023-24)
Not publishedmedian pay after graduation - Psychology
Degrees conferred not published (2023-24)
~$73kmedian pay, 4 yrs after graduation~$13k median debt
Median pay data is measured from graduates who received federal student aid.
Source: College Scorecard (2026) · IPEDS (2023-24)
Campus life
On-campus housing and Greek life participation rates.
Place
How the federal government classifies the area around the campus, and what a normal year of weather looks like there.
Average temperature
Monthly high and low, °FThirty-year averages, measured at the nearest weather station rather than on campus — they describe the area, not the campus.
Source: IPEDS (HD2024) · NOAA 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NORTH ADAMS HARRIMAN AP, MA US station, 2.0 mi from campus
Enrollment by gender
Student diversity
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduate students.
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Amherst vs. Williams: frequently asked questions
Amherst edges it out, admitting about 7.7% of applicants against 8.6% at Williams in the most recent cycle. The admitted profiles barely differ: Williams posts a middle-50% SAT of 1490–1550 to Amherst's 1470–1540, and both report a 33–35 ACT range. Both go test-optional, so a strong application without scores works at either.
Amherst drops requirements entirely (no distribution, no core), letting you design your own course of study, while Williams keeps distribution requirements and centers its tutorial system, where two students meet weekly with a professor in an Oxford-style format. Williams also runs a January Winter Study term built around one intensive project, which Amherst does not offer. Both stay small and discussion-driven, with student-faculty ratios near 6.6-to-1 at Amherst and 7-to-1 at Williams.
Affordability comes out effectively even for families with need. Both schools meet 100% of demonstrated financial need and have stripped loans from their aid packages, and about 57% of first-years receive need-based aid at each. Average first-year packages run roughly $77,414 at Amherst and $80,302 at Williams, with sticker tuition and fees close behind at about $73,830 and $76,640 before aid.
Williams leans harder into the social sciences, which account for about 23% of its degrees against 18% at Amherst, the most-conferred field at both. After that, Amherst spreads across mathematics and statistics (13%) and psychology (10%), while Williams stacks math and statistics (9.9%), computer science (8.1%), and psychology (8.1%). A student set on a social-sciences-heavy slate finds more concentration at Williams; Amherst keeps a flatter spread across fields.
Williams runs a bit larger, enrolling about 2,101 undergraduates to Amherst's 1,907, though both stay tiny and house nearly all students on campus. Setting marks the sharper split. Williams sits in remote Williamstown out in the rural Berkshires, while Amherst plants itself in the Pioneer Valley inside the Five College Consortium, surrounded by neighboring schools and a livelier college town.
Source: Amherst College Common Data Set 2025-2026. Figures transcribed 2026-06-07. Esslo aggregates publicly reported data and is not affiliated with Amherst. Banner photo by David Emmerman, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).
Source: Williams College Common Data Set 2025-2026. Figures transcribed 2026-06-07. Esslo aggregates publicly reported data and is not affiliated with Williams. Banner photo by Carol M. Highsmith, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0).