Spring 2018 Special Visiting Student Program for Students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
In an effort to support college and university students affected by Hurricane Maria, Amherst College is offering a limited number of places to residents of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for enrollment in a fully-funded semester of study at Amherst during Spring 2018.
Program Features
- Participating students will be enrolled as full-time students in residence at Amherst College.
- Amherst College will cover all educational costs associated with enrollment, including tuition and fees, room and board, books, transportation, and health insurance (if needed).
- Amherst College will also cover the student’s normal spring tuition at the home institution. Participating students are responsible for submitting a billing invoice from the home school to initiate this payment process.
- Students will be responsible for ensuring that selected course work undertaken at Amherst College is eligible for transfer credit at their home institutions.
- This is an exclusively one-semester visiting student program. Participating students will not eligible for subsequent transfer to Amherst College.
Applicant Eligibility
Applicants for this program must:
- be currently enrolled at a post-secondary educational institution (college or university) located in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands;
- have already completed at least 32 credit hours of coursework at the home institution;
- be citizens of the United States;
- arrive at Amherst College by January 17, 2018, for New Student Orientation, in preparation for the start of the spring semester on January 22, 2018; and
- remain at Amherst College through the conclusion of the spring semester on May 11, 2018.
Application Requirements
Applicants should submit the following materials by the application deadline of December 1, 2017:
- Completed Amherst College Spring 2018 Special Visiting Students Program Application;
- Copy of college/university transcript;
- Recognizing that obtaining official transcripts may be difficult at this time, we will accept screen shots of transcripts, if you are unable to provide official documents.
- Standardized testing results (optional);
- Students with results from the SAT, ACT or TOEFL may submit official copies of score reports, screen shots of score reports, or copies of secondary school transcripts that include testing scores.
- Academic Recommendation (strongly advised)
- Students are encouraged to submit one letter of recommendation from an academic reference.
Application Submission: The application form will be submitted online; other materials should be submitted via email at admission@amherst.edu . Please use the subject line “Special Visiting Student Program – PR/VI” on all emails.
Application Deadline: All materials must be submitted by December 1, 2017. Applicants will be informed of our decision by mid-December.
Applicant Contact Information: Typically, we communicate with applicants electronically. If you will not have access to electronic technology, please specify in your application the preferred alternate method of communication.
Admitted Students
Students who are notified of admission to this special visiting student program must complete the following steps prior to committing to Amherst College:
- Respond to our offer of admission by December 22 by submitting the Enrollment Response Form that will accompany notification of admission.
- Inform their home institution of their intent to attend Amherst for the Spring 2018 semester.
- Confirm academic course credit conditions and payment plans with their home institutions.
Questions?
- About Amherst College? Visit www.amherst.edu
- About the application requirements? Contact Nancy Ratner, Associate Dean of Admission and Director of Academic Projects, nkratner@amherst.edu, or call the Amherst College Admission Office, 413-542-2328
- About the program? Contact Robyn Rogers rrogers@amherst.edu or call the Office of Student Affairs, 413-542-2337