MIT vs Amherst for small classes: which one actually has smaller class sizes?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that Amherst is built around the small-college classroom model, while MIT combines some small, discussion-based classes with a university structure that includes more larger introductory STEM lectures. If your priority is consistently small classes across most of your undergraduate experience, Amherst usually provides that more reliably. MIT absolutely offers close faculty interaction too, but the day-to-day class-size experience is less uniformly small, especially early on in science and math sequences.

Amherst is a liberal arts college with no graduate students and a strong emphasis on seminar-style teaching for undergraduates. That matters because faculty attention is focused almost entirely on undergrads, and many classes are designed for discussion, writing, and direct participation. In practice, students there are more likely to find that small-class atmosphere across a wider share of their schedule.

MIT has many small upper-level classes, labs, and hands-on subjects, and undergrads can build strong relationships with professors through UROPs, office hours, and research groups. But MIT also has core GIR classes and other popular introductory subjects that can be larger, particularly in lecture format. Even when those classes break into recitations or smaller sections, the overall academic environment feels more like a research university than a small liberal arts college.

So on the specific question of which one actually has smaller class sizes overall for undergraduates, Amherst is the clearer answer. MIT can still feel very personal once you move into advanced coursework or research, but Amherst is more consistently aligned with the kind of intimate classroom experience you’re describing.