<p>Planning to major in physics/astronomy...</p>
<p>about astrophysics at Amherst, but it is a really fantastic department at Williams, I'd be surprised if Amherst could compete. Astronomy, for example, provides amazing research opportunities -- including a great observatory (being in the Berkshires, where there is not a ton of competing light sources at night) and amazing travel opportunies (see, e.g., <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/30/science/30eclipse.html?8hpib)%5B/url%5D">http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/30/science/30eclipse.html?8hpib)</a>. Williams also has a second planetarium, which houses the oldest working observatory in the country, kind of a cool fact. </p>
<p>Physics is a fairly small department, but has some really great professors and has produced some outstanding grads in recent years. See:</p>
<p>Math (obviously integral to those areas) is one of the best departments at Williams and the math dept. at Williams has a clear edge over its Amherst counterpart. </p>
<p>Personally, I'd put astrophysics right there with art history, math, biology/chemistry, and political economy/econ as departments in which Williams provides a real competitive advantage over most if not all of its peers. Most of the other top departments at Williams, like English for example, are equally strong at Amherst, et. al.</p>