<p>Congrats to those of you finding those fantastic purple acceptance folders in your mailboxes this week!</p>
<p>I'm a current senior ('11) at Williams and thought I'd offer a forum if anyone has any particular questions about Williams--post them here or PM me and I'll try to get back to you ASAP!</p>
<p>hi! do you know when the housing information would be available? is it after the may 1st date?</p>
<p>and approximately what date can freshmen request singles or doubles in terms of housing?</p>
<p>THanks :)</p>
<p>Where were you accepted and how did you impose some order on your decision process in order to make proper comparisons. Assume visits to the alternatives colleges happened. I am trying to work with Williams vs. Brown vs. Duke vs. UChicago vs. Pomona</p>
<p>Thanks Williams2011! My S was accepted last night. (Yayyy!!!) We are trying to figure out which freshman dorms have singles and how one goes about requesting one. The floorplans on the college web site aren’t very clear about this. Thanks!</p>
<p>To answer the housing questions: Sometime in the summer, you’ll fill out a housing form. Then you can request a single or a double. Both Frosh Quad and Mission have singles, though Mission is predominately singles and Frosh Quad is predominately doubles.</p>
<p>Another housing question…do you request specific dorms? If so, which are the nicest/most convenient locations?</p>
<p>And…did the size of the school/surrounding town feel claustrophobic to you? What is there to do on weekends?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>is requesting a single dorm a first-come-first-serve basis?</p>
<p>b/c what if too many people want singles and there aren’t enough?</p>
<p>Requesting a single is not first-come, first-served. They assign rooms after the deadline for completing the housing forms. Some people who want singles won’t get them, but it always works out so they appreciate their roommate. </p>
<p>Also, you don’t request a specific dorm (at least not on last year’s questionnaire). There is a place to put additional comments, where you could state your preference.</p>
<p>Frosh Quad is more centrally located, but Mission has its own dining hall, so both have their perks. </p>
<p>To me the size of the school only seems intimate, not claustrophobic. And the only time when the surrounding town seems claustrophobic is when I go home and realize how remote Williamstown actually is. But the point is that I never feel that when I’m there since there are so many concerts, performances, parties, movies, etc…</p>
<p>Also responding to housing questions:</p>
<p>Frosh Quad is about half singles, half doubles (probably more doubles) whereas Mission is almost entirely singles with the exception of about 3 doubles in the entire building. So, generally, if you want Mission, requesting a single is a safe bet, and if you want Frosh Quad, you’re more likely to get it requesting a double. That being said, I have a friend who requested a double freshman year specifically because he wanted Frosh Quad only to wind up in a Mission double.</p>
<p>In general, though, the entry system and amazing common room spaces make the “double experience” a pretty unnecessary part of freshman life–Williams isn’t like other colleges where having a single might be isolating, and having your own space is really nice. Though, so many people still go into freshman year thinking they need to request a double that if you request a single, you’ll probably get one; I’ve only heard of people requesting doubles and getting singles, not the other way around.</p>
<p>In terms of other Mission v. Frosh Quad Pros & Cons…
Frosh Quad wins for convenience (right next to Paresky, avoiding Mission Hill) but Mission has a dining hall in the basement, which is particularly nice in the winter. I think the most important difference is in terms of what your entry experience will be like; I’ve generally observed that Mission entries are more cohesive and self-contained, since they all share one common room, whereas in Frosh Quad you may very well see more of the people living in the entry next to you on your floor than on other floors in your own entry. (Of course, I’m a Mission person, so maybe I’m biased in this regard, and I’m sure some people would disagree with this assessment)</p>
<p>On the “claustrophobic” point:</p>
<p>I think you’ll find that the people who are happiest at Williams are the people who know what they’re getting themselves into when they come here (so to speak). If you’re expecting a city lifestyle and looking to jet off to NYC on the weekends, don’t come here. If you want more of a residential, community atmosphere, Williams does that extremely well. I never feel like I’ve run out of things to do on the weekends–if anything, there’s too much going on–and I hate leaving here because I always feel like I’ll miss something. Williams puts an extraordinary amount of resources towards programming for students and making sure that there are about a hundred events each week that are in most cases free, and if not highly subsidized. Which, I think, is also extremely important–it means that you spend very little money here to keep up with people socially. In a lot of ways, not being in a city just means taking away all the expenses that a city-school lifestyle adds; at Williams, everyone spends next to no money, which definitely levels the playing field between financial aid and non-financial aid students.</p>
<p>Specific examples of “highly subsidized” at Williams: The New York City ballet comes every year and student tickets are $3, and our Kid Cudi concert this year sold tickets for $20–which was probably the most money I’ve ever paid for an event at Williams (and so worth it).</p>
<p>are there a lot of “prep school cliques” at Williams? I’m worried that I’m going to feel isolated as someone from the South.</p>
<p>another question, does anyone have any insight to majors/ classes at Williams? I am interested in Economics, but have heard that it is very challenging and I’m worried about struggling academically. Should this be a concern of mine if I decide to go into Economics? Also, do I need to take a language at Williams?</p>
<p>aw7722:</p>
<p>I’d heard that Williams had a reputation as a “preppy” or “jock” school before I came here, but I definitely haven’t felt that way. I mean, I think you’ll find certain cliques of that sort of people at any place in New England (I have friends at Yale who find it even worse) but Williams is such a diverse community that it never feels overwhelming, and I really don’t notice much of a presence of that. There are people here not only from all over the country, but all over the world–while 10% international students sounds a little small, the international presence on campus feels much larger than that, and there are many US/dual citizens who have lived their entire lives abroad that aren’t factored into that number.</p>
<p>You’ll also find that it’s very hard to fit any Williams student into any particular stereotype; perhaps some of the athletes mostly stick together, but I know plenty of people who play a sport, sing a capella and also do intense science research, etc etc. I’ve also been very surprised at how few of my friends have ended up being from MA, NY and CA (the three most-represented states here). Definitely plenty of people from the South, Midwest–all over, really.</p>
<p>efo2143:</p>
<p>All departments are challenging at Williams (some might argue a few are pretty easy, but I disagree) but if you got in, it’s because they know you can do the work. I also wouldn’t write anything off just because it’s challenging until you give it a try. Econ is definitely a really strong department here, particularly if you’re considering a career in business after Williams: the recruiters we get on campus are pretty phenomenal when it comes to top companies.</p>
<p>Most importantly, though, it’s extremely easy to change majors at Williams and you don’t even have to declare a major officially until the second semester of sophomore year, so even if you find econ too challenging or not a good fit in your first few classes, you can easily change your interests entirely and not worry about having to catch up or anything.</p>
<p>kind of a random question: where do people go for shopping?–in case i realize i need a heavier coat or something. are there any malls or outlets within half an hour of williamstown?</p>
<p>Berkshire Mall, 25-ish minutes away, and Williams has a shuttle (that runs daily, I believe) if you don’t have a car or a friend who has one.</p>
<p>Thanks, Williams2011, for your help on the other thread. Here’s a separate question: How does Williams feel about students taking a gap year before starting? How does one arrange this gap year/get approval?</p>
<p>My son is a 3-year high school graduate, who been cramming in between 10-13 classes at a time these last two years, and he could use some downtime to recharge his batteries and to explore some interests at a more leisurely pace.</p>
<p>Gap years are not uncommon at Williams. I’m sure admissions can give you the necessary paperwork to fill out.</p>
<p>The Williams Record recently was full of discussion about how hard it is to get courses you want at Williams. This surprised me. That is the sort of problem one expects from a State school, not a LAC.</p>
<p>Also, how does one get chosen to do the year at Oxford, and when does that happen (Sophomore year, Junior year?)</p>
<p>@LoremIpsum: Regarding the gap year, I’d say go for it. A number of my friends at Williams have taken gap years before entering school and all of them found it a wonderful experience. Williams is generally quite fine with that. I also know a number of students who have taken time off in between years at Williams - you are allowed a one-time leave of absence for up to three years (they must be contiguous) for any reason. Subsequent LOAs are prohibited, except of course in the case of medical/personal emergencies.</p>
<p>@placido240: It depends on the course. IIRC, that article was in particular about the intro drawing/painting course, and these are an exception due to the size of the studio art faculty compared with how many students are demanding the course. Our studio art program is not as large as our art history program, and far more students per semester sign up for the intro drawing/painting courses than can be allowed to take the course and have it remain a small class typical of Williams. It’s an unfortunate fact of the matter, but the professors are too occupied providing for the needs of studio art majors (who take precedence over non-majors) to offer another section, and given the recent economic turn hiring another studio art professor seems out of reach for the time being. </p>
<p>All that said, I have found this difficulty to be very much the exception. I have only ever been turned away from one class due to over enrollment, and that was because I signed up for the course quite late (towards the end of add-drop). I was also promised a place in the course the following year, though so was the author of that article so that does not necessarily speak to everything. Though again, exception rather than the rule. I’ve had absolutely no trouble getting into any class I’ve had or wanted to take for either of my majors, and most of the upper level courses I’ve taken were enrolled at 8 or 9 people (one upper level seminar I’m currently enrolled in consists of four students). And these are not due to caps. Enrollment problems seem limited to courses that are consistently popular/intro courses that give preference to first-years and sophomores, but this will be true at any institution you attend.</p>