Admission & Financial Aid Min Ji Kim '25

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Hi, y’all! My name is Min Ji and I am a sophomore at Amherst College. I was born in South Korea but I was raised in the blistering hot Texas heat for most of my life (so I freeze every winter here and thaw during the spring). I use she/her pronouns and am a prospective Political Science and Economics major here at Amherst, with interests in international relations, banking, and East Asia.

At Amherst, I am a part of the Asian Student Association, Korean Student Association, and our Mock Trial team! During my freshman year, I was also a part of the Association of Amherst Students, which is the student government we have here at Amherst. Besides outside activities, you’ll find me either in my dorm curled up in bed, in Frost Library or the Science Center sitting in a green cubicle with a crazy appearance, or happily watching Netflix in the far corner of Val. On the weekends, rain or shine, you’ll find me in line for the food trucks because nothing will get in the way between me and food!

I am absolutely always open to answering questions on why I choose Amherst and any other questions you might have so always ask! No questions are bad questions! (I personally always asked questions about the weather because I am terrified of the Amherst cold ). I’m so excited to be working for the Office of Admission this summer and sharing my Amherst experience with y’all!

Here I am, back again for more helpful Amherst College tips and tricks! This time, I will be going straight into traveling tips to and from Amherst College for those people wondering how in the world students travel back home from Amherst College; or wonder if there is any way to go out of Amherst College into Amherst town or Northampton!

First and foremost, we have our lovely bike share program here at Amherst. All bikes are available for usage for free and super helpful in discovering our amazing bike trails we have on campus! Amherst has about three different bike trails, each one unique in its own way and absolutely a joy to explore!

For those that have cars or are driving in, it is a bit sad to say that first-years are not allowed to have cars on campus. However, as upperclassmen are allowed to have cars on campus, if you have a close upperclassmen friend I would recommend to hitch a ride with them sometimes. Still, fear not, as there are many ways to get around campus and town without a car. For those that want to drive but do not have a car on campus, we have both AAS vans available to rent out and rideshare cars! While you will have to pay for the rideshare cars, the AAS vans are free and as a plus, you will also be reimbursed for gas. Another helpful way to go around campus is through the PVTA bus system. This system goes all throughout Hadley and Northampton and is free for Amherst students. Small tip though, make sure to download the transit app to know the exact times that the bus will arrive.

In regards to airports for my fellow students flying in, the closest and most utilized airport from Amherst is Bradley International Airport in Hartford Connecticut. The next two closest and most utilized airports are Boston Logan International Airport and JFK Airport. Students usually take an Uber, Lyft or Peter Pan bus to go to these airports. Usually, for Logan and JFK, students usually take the Peter Pan bus as it is cheaper and more convenient. For Bradley, students usually take an Uber or Lyft with a friend as it takes a bit more time and effort to try to make your way to Bradley by train or bus. Also, because of the small community aspect of the college, we have a school-wide groupme called Amherst ride and share. This groupme is not regulated by the school and is used by students to find other people to catch rides to and from airports. Through this groupme, I have been able to find around 2-3 students to go to and from Bradley with and saved tons of money!

Lastly, not a travel tip but an incredibly helpful everyday tip, you will be doing a lot of walking at Amherst so please bring nice sneakers for everyday wear! These sneakers will have to be comfortable and most importantly, fast to dry. The weather at Amherst is extremely unpredictable so there will be days that your shoes will be soaked from the sudden rain or snow. I recommend fast drying black sneakers for everyday wear! I hope you enjoyed this blog!

Hi! Welcome to my second post. I truly hope you enjoyed my first post in this lovely blog series. This blog might be more helpful for those first coming to Amherst than current students. Today, I will write about specific dos and don’ts when packing up for Amherst College. As a fellow overthinker and over-packer, I admit I went overboard packing for my first year of college, leading my room to be consistently full with no place to put anything new. Furthermore, as I bought more and more stuff, it became consistently harder to organize all my belongings. Therefore, to prevent overpacking on your part, here are my top 3 must haves and top 3 do not brings!

Starting with number three on the must-haves list is... A ramen pot. I cannot count how often my friends and I have used my ramen pot during the freezing winters at Amherst. There will be times when you cannot physically trudge your body to Val, our dining hall; those will be the days when a ramen pot will be necessary. I bought a ramen pot that can also work as just a pot to be able to cook food as well!

Number two, and perhaps as equally important as the ramen pot, is a power strip. A power strip is a must-have at Amherst. The ability to have a place to charge multiple devices is truly needed here. But, there is a catch… bring only ONE power strip. I, as an over-packer, brought two power strips my first year and used only one throughout the year, leaving my other power strip useless.

Lastly, and in number one is…A water bottle. Although you might have been slightly disappointed by this number one pick of mine, you HAVE to bring a water bottle to campus. There are plenty of water filters on this campus, but you will have an extremely difficult time finding plastic water bottles. To prevent all future troubles, BRING A WATER BOTTLE. I promise you will regret not bringing a water bottle to campus. I recommend buying water bottles right before you arrive on campus as it is the cheapest then. Or, sometimes Amherst will give students free water bottles, so keep an eye out for that too!

Now onto the do not brings! Firstly, do not bring refrigerators or microwaves. They will be provided for you. All they will be is a waste of space in the end.

Secondly, do not bring a clothes steamer. You will not use it unless you are an incredibly organized person. Instead, bring clothes that you don’t have to steam. I promise you it will be much more comfortable in the long run.

Finally, the last do not bring is…TOO many clothes. I am an avid clothes shopper and often buy new clothes instead of going to therapy. However, I noticed that the more I bought, the more I only wore new clothes and didn’t even touch my old clothes. Furthermore, you only wear the clothes you have always been wearing. Therefore, my tip is to have a realistic sit down with all your clothes and only bring what you WILL wear, not MIGHT wear.

By ending this blog, I will also list a few more must-haves that did not make the top three but are very close. This list includes a strong umbrella, a clothes hamper, and a good winter jacket. All in all, it is entirely up to you to decide what to bring or not, but I hope you will not make the same mistake as I did and shorten your list of things to bring to college!

As an avid sleeper and someone who can sleep anywhere at any time, I feel that it is my utmost duty as an Amherst student to showcase the best places to sleep on campus. With this blog, there will be no more need to consistently look for the best places on campus to sleep, if you, like me, have no energy after classes to physically drag yourself back up countless hills or walk for more than 10 minutes back to your dorm (when classes already take enough of your energy, what better way to regain that energy than sleep?). In this blog, I will be talking about the best places to sleep, whether during the night or during the day, their pros and cons, and rating them from my least favorite to my favorite!

Third Place - Science Center Basement Couches

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For my third/last place on my list, I have to rate the Science Center basement couches. A little backstory about my encounter with these lovely couches. During my terrible all-nighters before final exams in my spring semester of freshman year, I was stumped with a dilemma of either napping for an hour in my dorm before my morning Econ final, or staying in the Science Center and napping there. With 75 percent of my energy already gone, due to staying up all night, I knew that going back to my dorm was out of the question. I would not be able to physically make the walk to my dorm and have the confidence to get out of bed in an hour. So, my only choice was the Science Center. But where would I sleep? During my last all-nighter at the Science Center, I slept on the round tables in one of the study rooms, and trust me, that is a bad place to sleep. As I was scouring the Science Center, there it was. The couches that would save me. In the end, I was able to have a decent hour of sleep on those couches and went into my Econ final with a good amount of clarity that only sleep can bring. So to the Science Center basement couches, thank you! To recap, some pros and cons of the Science Center basement couches:

Pros: one of the only decent places to sleep inside the Science Center; perfect for a nap you desperately need after an all-nighter or if you don’t want to go back to your dorm.
Cons: cannot sleep during the morning or afternoon due to the number of people that will pass by you; only recommend you sleep in these couches from 3-6 pm.

All in all, I would recommend this place only for those all-nighters in the Science Center!

Second Place - Women and Gender Center Couches

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For my second place on the list, but definitely, a close second, are the couches in the Women and Gender Center (WGC). I first discovered this amazing center by complete accident during my fall semester at Amherst. I had coincidentally run out of sanitary napkins one day and had to find some fast. After a friend's recommendation, I went into the WGC to get some sanitary napkins. It was there I saw it, the most perfect sofas I have seen, along with countless blankets and pillows. It was a nap lover's paradise. Since then, when I need a nap and cannot go back to my dorm to sleep, the WGC has been the place to go for me! Also, since the WGC has the least amount of people coming in, the embarrassment of other strangers seeing you sleep decreases considerably compared to the Science Center.

Pros: The WGC sofas make it one of the most comfortable places to nap on campus; the vibes and the atmosphere of the WGC are also super accommodating!
Cons: only open until 5 so you can only take afternoon naps here.

All in all, if you need a place to sleep in the afternoon, the WGC is the place for you!

First Place - North 2nd Floor Common Room
For my first place on this list, I have to choose the North 2nd floor common room. I will agree, however, that I am a bit biased for this place, as I am a former North 2nd floor resident and loved my floor. Still, unlike some common rooms I know that other first-year dorms had, this particular common room has the most amazing and comfortable giant blue couch ever. Not only was this place perfect for sleeping when you could not get into your room for some reason, but it was also perfect for just chilling and studying with people. Lastly, some pros and cons of the North 2nd floor common room: 

Pros: Good place to sleep whenever, whether it is during the morning or during the night; no one truly bothers you and the people that do see you sleep are more likely your friends, making it less awkward. 
Cons: if you are already in the North 2nd floor common room…. You should just go to your dorm to sleep. 

I hope you enjoyed my little blog on the best places to sleep on campus and write again next time!