Which is better for small class sizes, Notre Dame or Amherst?

Amherst is the clearer choice if small, discussion-based classes are your top priority. Amherst is a liberal arts college with a much smaller undergraduate population, and that usually translates into more seminar-style courses, fewer large lectures, and more direct interaction with professors from the start. Notre Dame does offer strong faculty access and plenty of smaller upper-level classes, but as a larger university, it is more likely to include some bigger introductory courses.

A student who wants the classic liberal arts classroom experience, where discussion is central and professors often know students well across multiple courses, will usually find Amherst closer to that ideal. The scale of the school shapes everyday academics in a noticeable way. At Amherst, the smaller campus and undergraduate focus make it easier for classes to feel personal rather than anonymous.

Notre Dame can still work well for someone who wants professor relationships but also likes the resources and energy of a national university. You would probably see more variation there: some classes may feel intimate, especially in humanities seminars or advanced major courses, while others, particularly intros, can be larger. The residential community is strong, and many students do still build close connections with faculty.

If the specific question is which school generally offers smaller class sizes overall, Amherst has the edge. Notre Dame is not a place where you will be stuck in huge lectures all the time, but Amherst is more consistently built around the small-class model.