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Amherst College
With a 9% admission rate, no GPA makes Amherst College a safety. The numbers below tell you what the admitted few look like.
Not sure where you stand? Estimate your GPA →
Amherst College sits in Amherst proper — a private campus woven into the city rather than walled off from it. International students are a visible presence here — 13.1% of undergraduates come from outside the U.S.
Its highest-earning path is Computer Science, where graduates median $142,680 four years out. 19.8% of undergraduates carry Pell grants — a plain read on who the campus actually serves. With 1,911 undergraduates and a residential core, weekends happen on campus — and 97.3% of first-years come back for a second year.
Submitters admitted here typically landed between 1360 and 1550 — above the MA middle for four-year schools. Put your own practice estimate on Amherst College's range with the SAT calculator, or bring a saved GPA from the grade tools.
Admissions
In the Fall 2023 cycle, Amherst College received 12,727 applications and admitted 1,250 (9.8%), with 488 enrolling.
Scores help here but aren't the gate. If your SAT sits inside the 1360–1550 submitter range, sending it likely helps; below it, Amherst College's own policy says you can leave it out.
| Score | 25th | 50th | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT Reading & Writing | 690 | 740 | 770 |
| SAT Math | 670 | 760 | 780 |
| ACT Composite | 31 | 33 | 35 |
Percentiles are among students who submitted scores (Fall 2023 admissions cycle).
How Amherst College compares
| Amherst College | Massachusetts median | National median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance rate | 9% | 70.7% | 77.2% |
| Tuition (in-state) | $70,480 | $46,700 | $19,591 |
| Median earnings (10 yr) | $77,644 | $62,832 | $53,781 |
Earnings data favors Amherst College: $77,644 median at year ten, versus $62,832 across Massachusetts institutions.
Cost, size & completion
Tuition runs $70,480 regardless of where you're from. At Amherst College, that sticker is a starting point for aid talks — not what the median family pays.
Enrollment sits at 1,911 — Amherst College is one of the smaller campuses on this site.
93.9% of Amherst College students finish a bachelor's within six years — 39 points above the national 54.9% — and the single best predictor that the $70,480 price above buys a degree, not just enrollment.
Top majors by earnings at Amherst College
| Bachelor's program | Median earnings, 4 yrs after completion |
|---|---|
| Computer Science | $142,680 |
| Economics | $141,730 |
| Mathematics | $124,324 |
| History | $103,601 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | $69,204 |
| Area Studies | $68,618 |
| English Language and Literature, General | $65,195 |
| Political Science and Government | $63,754 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | $60,212 |
Median earnings for these 9 Amherst College programs come from a different federal cohort than the campus-wide $77,644 above — compare rows to each other, not to that 10-year figure. 25 additional Amherst College programs have earnings withheld under federal privacy rules.
Frequently asked questions
What GPA and test scores do you need for Amherst College?
Among admitted students who submitted scores, the middle 50% scored 1360–1550 on the SAT. There's no published GPA cutoff — pair these ranges with the 9% admission rate to judge your odds.
What is Amherst College's acceptance rate?
9.8% in the Fall 2023 cycle — 1,250 admitted from 12,727 applicants.
How much does Amherst College cost?
At Amherst College, published tuition is $70,480 — net price after aid usually comes in lower. That number is Amherst College's ceiling, not a quote.
What do Amherst College graduates earn?
Federal data puts median earnings at $77,644 ten years after enrolling. The table above breaks this down by major.
Similar colleges in Massachusetts
- Boston University — 11.1% admitted
- Harvard University — 3.6% admitted
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology — 4.5% admitted
- Northeastern University — 5.2% admitted
Run your own numbers
Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Jun 2026), IPEDS ADM2023/HD2024. Retrieved 2026-09-01. Figures reflect the latest federal cohorts, which lag the current admissions cycle.