Amherst, Chicago, or Williams

Colleges and Universities A-Z Williams College
1

<p>Hey guys!!</p>

<p>I’ve posted this on a few other forums, but wanted to get you all’s opinion. I know this topic has been gone over hundreds of times, but I, of course, had to make yet another one of these threads. I apologize.</p>

<p>Imagine you’re really, really hungry. Super hungry. Haven’t-eaten-in-days hungry. Then imagine you’re given three whole meals. All delicious, all tasty, all yummy. Your stomach growls. Your three favorite foods, right there, staring you in the face? Awesome.</p>

<p>But hold up. The catch? You can only eat one of them.</p>

<p>Not so awesome.</p>

<p>That’s how I feel right now. How do I decide where to apply early decision/early action? How can I choose from these three wonderful foods?</p>

<p>I know each is extremely different. The equivalent of comparing apples to oranges. From Williamstown to Chicago, Open Curriculum to structured Core, these three have it all. But that’s what I have to do. I’ve visited all three, am going on second trips to all three, and need help.</p>

<p>A little background on me. </p>

<p>I’m an athlete.</p>

<p>That means I’ll be competing for one of these colleges. It also means I have to choose between them in a few months (October 31st.) I come to you guys asking for your opinion. I want to make sure I choose the right place. This is four years of my life—I just want to be happy for them.</p>

<p>I love nature.</p>

<p>I’m a backpacker. </p>

<p>Nature soothes me, centers me, makes me a better person. I know some kids at Williams who hike up Mount Greylock every weekend. I can’t picture anything on Earth making me happier, or making me more content.</p>

<p>I love to write.</p>

<p>Amherst seems like the best bet here. I mean, if I want to major in philosophy or English, what better place to do it than Amherst? I know both of the other schools have incredible humanities programs, but for some reason I peg them as more science and math focused. Is this true, or am I simply reinforcing stereotypes? Is Amherst truly my best option?</p>

<p>But… Fundamentals.</p>

<p>I love Chicago’s Fundamental’s program. It FITS me, somehow. It’s one of those gut feelings—I can’t explain it. All I can say is that Fundamentals makes this though decision even tougher. Or is this type of option available at Amherst and Williams? Some kind of create your own major?</p>

<p>I love tight-knit communities. </p>

<p>While Williamstown isn’t appealing to everyone, it’s a dream come true for me. I go to a private school with around a hundred kids in my class. So Isolation? Cool. Trees? Even cooler. Being stuck with the same people for 4 years? Coolest thing imaginable. That’s how true, lasting friendships are formed.</p>

<p>I love to learn.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, I’ll learn at any of these three. They’re all incredible, difficult, and rigorous institutions. All of them love learning, all of them have nerds, and all of them would suit me perfectly. Just… the life of the mind? That’s pretty epic. My vision of a perfect evening is sitting with friends, talking about the meaning of life. From visiting Chicago, I felt like my nerdy side would not only be embraced, but cherished. It’d be allowed to grow. My love of learning would turn into an unbridled passion. </p>

<p>But I’m also laid back.</p>

<p>I’m not the kind of person who’s uptight, studies all night, and wears fancy clothes. I drink coffee. I don’t think about what I wear to school. I like having a good time. I got that ‘vibe’ from Amherst—that relaxed, calm, soothing atmosphere I love so much. I didn’t get that from Williams or Chicago.</p>

<p>I want to go to Grad School. </p>

<p>Isn’t Williams amazing at grad school placement? One of the top feeder schools in the country? I could be wrong. Or maybe Amherst’s better for my interests, with their strong humanities. It just seems like Amherst and Williams have the edge here, with the amazing relationships students develop with teachers and all. Also, Chicago has a reputation for being kick-your-ass hard. Destroy-your-GPA hard. And while the idealist in me doesn’t care about grades, if I’m looking at grad school, suddenly that meaningless number becomes a lot more important. </p>

<p>Thank you guys for reading my rambling (Probably not the most engaging thing in the world.) Any thoughts, advice, comments, or clarifications are more than welcome. Thank you.</p>

<p>Oh, and before I forget! To make matters worse, I look damn good in both purple and maroon.</p>

2

<p>Where do you stand as a recruit at each school? It sounds like you could be happy at any of them. </p>

3

<p>You shouldn’t over-analyze in comparing academics at these three schools. All are academically excellent. All will give you the opportunity to take more intellectually stimulating courses than you could possibly gobble down in four years.</p>

<p>To me, the biggest point of differentiation is in environment and culture. As an athlete who loves the outdoors, you couldn’t do better than land in Williamstown and the Berkshires. For my son it was love on first sight and over the course of 4 years he took full advantage of the mountains both physically and spiritually. 10 years later, he still takes backpacking trips with his former classmates.</p>

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<p>No, Williams’ humanities and social science programs are at least at the equivalent level to Amherst’s, better in some disciplines. English is one of the largest and strongest departments at Williams, and though Philosophy is smaller, it is vibrant. </p>

<p>(Read some stories by Jim Shepard or Andrea Barrett and tell me you wouldn’t love taking their classes.)</p>

<p>Could you replicate Chicago’s Fundamentals program at Williams? Maybe not exactly, but you will find no shortage of attention to classic texts in interdisciplinary contexts. The Tutorial program and Winter Study may also be appealing to you. (Further, At LACs like Williams and Amherst you don’t have to be in a special program to have access to the “most distinguished professors in fields from the humanities and social sciences.” Just take their classes.)</p>

<p>After I wrote this I read the post by @JHS on the Chicago board. I could have just written “What JHS said.” :slight_smile:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1684351-amherst-chicago-or-williams.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1684351-amherst-chicago-or-williams.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>You sound like a Williams student to me. And English at Williams is terrific (it was my major haha).</p>

5

<p>As someone who went to both Williams and UChicago (grad school) and has close family who went to Amherst, I feel well-qualified to give advice on this one! All three are tremendous academically, you can’t really go wrong with your choice. The intellectual caliber of undergrads at all three will be equivalent, and students are generally engaged and work very hard in and out of the classroom at all three, as well. You will get into a top-notch graduate school if you do reasonably well at any of the three. So it comes down to environment and fit.</p>

<p>Based on your self-description, Williams does, indeed, sound like a great fit. While UChicago has some solid athletic teams, keep in mind that athletics there are not well-loved by the majority of the student body. The vast majority of your games will have no student body support or interest, unlike at Williams or Amherst, where students tend to support their classmates on the playing fields, especially in NESCAC, NCAA or rivalry games. If you like the outdoors, Williams is also a no-brainer. UChicago is a dark, dreary, cold, gray play for most of the year, trust me. The campus is only really beautiful in late Spring when you cranking away for finals. There is little attractive nature other than the lake, which is a decent trek from campus. Williams, of course, you are surrounded by nature, and what other school has a Mountain Day!!! If you are a city person, the city of Chicago is an enormous asset, but it sounds like you prioritize natural beauty over urban attractions, in which case, I see zero reason to pick Chicago over either Williams or Amherst.</p>

<p>I TOTALLY disagree with your assumption that Amherst is stronger in the humanities than Williams, or offers better opportunities to improve your writing. Remember, Williams has smaller classes and a lower faculty-student ratio than Amherst, which is the number one factor in getting maximum attention to your writing. In particular, I would read up on the Williams tutorial program – there really is NO better option, at any undergrad institution I’ve heard of, in terms of honing your writing, analytical, and argumentation skills. You take 3-4 tutorials at Williams, trust me, you’ll be in GREAT shape for grad school. Williams is very strong in most humanities departments (as is Amherst), no edge either way, there.</p>

<p>I’d also disagree (and am surprised by) your assessment of the relaxed, chill, soothing vibe. One of the main reasons I chose Williams over Amherst is because I found that vibe more prevalent at Williams – everything from Mountain Day, to the Purple Cow mascot (vs. the “Lord Jeff”), to the goofier prospectus, to the setting and campus design, to the fonts employed by the school spoke to me as more chill and less serious and stuck-up at Williams. Of course, this is very much a feel thing, but at a very minimum, I don’t see Williams suffering as compared to Amherst here, although the difference between the two is likely not dramatic – very similar student bodies, in the aggregate. </p>

<p>And most of all, if you love tight-knit communities, no place on earth, from my experience, can top Billsville and Williams. And trust me, you will find PLENTY of fellow nerds. In sum, you sound like the epitome of a Purple Cow to me. You would fit right in, instantly, at Williams, based on your self-description. </p>