Amherst vs MIT for computer science: which is better for an undergrad CS major?

For undergraduate computer science, MIT is the stronger and more direct choice if you want the deepest CS curriculum, the widest range of advanced courses, and the most built-in research and recruiting opportunities. Amherst can still be excellent for CS, especially if you want a smaller liberal arts setting with close faculty access, but it is a much smaller department with fewer courses and less breadth. If your main priority is CS itself rather than a broad liberal arts experience, MIT usually comes out ahead.

At MIT, Course 6 gives you a large faculty, many specialized classes, strong systems and theory offerings, major undergraduate research through UROP, and unusually strong internship and job pipelines in software, AI, robotics, and startups. You are surrounded by students doing technical work at a very high level, and that environment can be energizing if you like intensity and fast pacing. The tradeoff is that MIT can feel demanding and competitive even when the culture is collaborative.

Amherst offers a very different kind of undergraduate experience. Classes are smaller, advising is more personal, and the open curriculum makes it easier to combine CS with math, economics, philosophy, or other fields. Through the Five College Consortium, you may also be able to take relevant courses at places like UMass Amherst, which helps somewhat with breadth.

If you are trying to maximize CS training and opportunities after college, MIT is better. If you want strong CS within a more intimate, discussion-oriented liberal arts college where you can stand out more easily across disciplines, Amherst may be the better fit.