<p>I'm a Chinese students interested in Arts & Art History and literature, I also want to sip a bit cognitive science in my undergraduate study. I think the LAC direction is quite clear for me, but-- which one is the ideal ED target? I know Williams has a good art history major, but I didn't see any literature major information on its website. Also, Swarthmore seems best fits bookish nerds like me-- I'm not at all sportive, which both Amherst and Williams are famous for. </p>
<p>Anyone has any detailed advices? THANKS a lot for all your guys !</p>
<p>Williams has a great literature dept and as is probably #1 in the world in art history (though i dont know anything about the performing arts at Williams. check out the williams art mafia btw)</p>
<p>In terms of sports focus, the rankings are: Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore. However, in terms of sports, you are going to have your nerds everywhere, swarthmore is just going to have more. The williams campus is very much of a personal choice as it is so isolated.</p>
<p>In terms of intellectual focus, i much more subjectivley put them at: Swartmore, Williams, Amherst. Williams math and science are significantly the best of the group. People have a love hate feeling about swarthmore. However, when people fit in at swarthmore, it really creates a thriving culture and they would not be nearly as happy someplace else.</p>
<p>I don’t know that much about the art/art history and literature programs at Swarthmore. You should visit Swarthmore if you’re thinking of applying ED. As ccclay said, students do kind of have a love/hate relationship with Swarthmore. It’s not enough to just read about Swarthmore.</p>
<p>I think you overestimate the difference in quality of departments at these excellent LACs and may also not be aware that literature is generally listed in English department courses even when not English in origin but being read in English. Comparative literature is something else again. I am not a great fan of stereotypes but I would say there are considerable style similarities between W and A, with Swarthmore being rather different in mood. </p>
<p>While some schools are indeed more sports-oriented than others, people should avoid thinking, in my opinion naively, that just because students at a given school seem to enjoy being out of doors and/or attending football games that they are not also very bright and intellectually active. Nor should the converse be assumed–a school with a less sports-oriented stereotyped reputation is still likely to be a place where students have very wide and varied interests.</p>
<p>it is also important to be aware that the US is full of very, very good schools and that particularly if you are looking at LACs there is no single one that will have international name recognition, or frankly, even massive name recognition among nonacademic or otherwise sophisticated Americans. You have singled out the top three but may have overlooked others whose style may suit you and whose faculty and students are excellent. There are dozens of fine and highly respected LACs but you go to them for what they offer in terms of both education and life experience, not based a strict numerical or objective judgment of whether Amherst or Williams (or Wesleyan or Kenyon) has a better English department (though it is true that because of its graduate program in art history and long-standing tradition of excellence in the field, Williams probably does trump most other schools in that subject).</p>
<p>For your academic interests, Williams is perfect. As stated above it has arguably the best undergraduate art history program in the nation (benefiting from close collaborations with three area museums, two of which are world class – the Clark, MassMoca, and the WCMA), and without a doubt the most impressive group of art history alums of any college in the US (just check Wikipedia). Williams is also very strong in Psych / Biology / Neuroscience, and strong in English / literature / creative writing as well (the major you’d look at would be English by the way). Williams has plenty of bookish nerd types, Amherst is pretty similar in terms of student body make-up (Amherst has really stressed athletics in recent years to the point where it is just about even with Williams when it comes to athletic success) though as others have noted, Swarthmore has more per capita and is certainly less sporty / outdoorsy overall. </p>
<p>One thing to consider is that Williams is by largest of the three: 2100-2200 students vs. 1700-1800 at Amherst and fewer at Swat, but is the most geographically isolated, and that combination affects social life – more options for events, organizations, and meeting other students on campus (more vibrant campus life) at Williams, but far less opportunities to engage in activities and meet young people off campus.</p>
<p>I agree that Willliams has the top art history program of the three. Disagree about science. Swarthmore, with its engineering major, is quite science oriented and, for example, significantly leads the other two in percentage of students getting math/science/engineering PhDs.</p>
<p>If you have questions about literature at Swarthmore, I would suggest e-mailing Professor Mani:</p>
<p>She has a unique perspective, having been born in India, raised and schooled in Tokyo, attended Georgtown SFS (Swarthmore waitlisted her), got her Masters in India, and her PhD at Stanford. She could answer questions about literature at Swarthmore and about the challenges facing an Asian international student in general. She is hugely popular as an advisor to the very large Asian student population at Swarthmore.</p>
<p>BTW, a minor (but important) issue you should consider is transportation – not only getting to college from China, but your ability to travel around in the United States from college without a car. Some international students also enjoy community service opportunies in their own ethnic communities (i.e. Chinatown) in large cities as it gives them a little sense of home in the markets and restaurants and language and religion. I know this is the case with Chinatown service projects at both Swarthmore and Harvard that I’m familiar with.</p>
<p>As others have pointed out Williams has a great art history program; it’s in another league altogether from Amherst and Swarthmore. What information are are seeking? My son was an art history/art studio major at Williams (graduated 07). Maybe I can answer your questions.</p>
<p>I would give all three very high marks for cognitive sciences and English literature. Sure there are nuances but the academics are comparable.</p>
<p>The atmosphere and physical environment of each is notably different. Williams is in a mountain village, Amherst a lively small town, Swarthmore a leafy suburb of large city.</p>
<p>It’s true that many Williams and Amherst students participate in sports – formally and informally. They are also serious students, however. Swarthmore doesn’t have a football team, but it does have 20 or so varsity teams, so it’s somewhat misleading to say that sports are not a factor on campus.</p>