<p>I know this may seem harsh, especially on this board, but Amherst is a clone of Williams, and has been since its founding (ask for the Williams library books when you're there) -- heck, it couldn't even bear to stray from the color purple. Williams is secure in (and working to strengthen) its identity, while Amherst is still in search of its own.</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? </p>
<p>Williams students bash Amherst all the time - not a sign of a school where the students are comfortable on their own (I have seen this less at Amherst than I have at Williams). Both schools have changed immensely in the past few hundred years - though I would venture that Amherst has changed quite a bit more. And I say this as an Amherst student with an enormous amount of love and respect for Williams (they were my second choice, after all). Don't be absurd. Amherst is in search of its own identity because it hasn't changed its color to yellow or burned its library?</p>
<p>Students at Williams have a good sense of humor.</p>
<p>hahahaha
the color purple serves as an homage to our origins at williams..however, we are secure in our identity, having parted from williams because we didn't think that northwest mass (read: middle of nowhere) was a suitable place for higher learning. and we were right. better school, better locale, far more secure than silly williams-folk who feel the need to constantly assert their "superiority."
hahahaha</p>
<p>"Students at Williams have a good sense of humor."</p>
<p>Well, you're an extremely mature old woman!</p>
<p>(zspot9, I love Williamstown!)</p>
<p>no, i agree, it's a charming little town..very scenic and everything...but i couldn't possibly be stuck there for 4 years...just not feasible</p>
<p>Well, yeah, I agree. I think I would kill myself if I had to spend January term in Williamstown, rather than receive funding from Amherst to go do something somewhere warm.</p>
<p>"I think I would kill myself"</p>
<p>Thinking too hard, dear? And you mustn't forget the Williams 99s -- in which Ephs regularly apply for and receive funding for off-campus winter term studies.</p>
<p>No, it's hyperbole. Do you enjoy getting into tiffs like this with teenagers on a regular basis? Do your children know that you frequent messageboards and act this way?</p>
<p>I think he was referring to the blistering Berkshire winter cold to which no human should be subjected, especially when you could be paid by your school to intern in, say, sunny South Florida (where I live), and actually do something productive.</p>
<p>(Psssst: she :))</p>
<p>And yes, I think the weather is miserable. To the OP: Forget Amherst and Williams, go to Pomona!!!</p>
<p>Edit: Where in South Florida are you from?</p>
<p>Hollywood...it's just south of Ft. Lauderdale, about 20 minutes north of Miami</p>
<p>Yeah, where Anna Nicole Smith died! ;)</p>
<p>I have good friends in Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation. They were all very excited by last night's basketball game. I told them I would come visit them at UF wearing my "Amherst College Basketball National Champions" shirt. They said I would be greeted by many very confused individuals. :)</p>
<p>D is Amherst 09, S is Williams 11. I and wife are Pomona alumni.</p>
<h1>1. Go visit, preferably overnight. You will know better then.</h1>
<h1>2. Amherst and Williams are sibling schools with a healthy rivalry, but with great mutual respect. They are very similar in almost all respects. Williams has 25% larger student body, and the course offerings are correspondingly a little wider and deeper, particularly in the sciences.</h1>
<h1>3. Williams is very small town/village. One and a half blocks of Spring St. small shops, is all there is within walking distance. If you have a car or a bicycle, there is a Stop & Shop about 2 miles from campus, and North Adams about 5 miles away.</h1>
<p>Amherst the town is a small but very functional college town with several blocks of various shops and restaurants. The town also draws students from U Mass Amherst (16000 students). Hadley, just west of Amherst, is mall city. Northhampton and Smith College are 9 miles from Amherst, but Route 9 can be slow, driving past the Target, Wal Mart, Whole Foods, Best Buy...no cutesy awards there, but D loves being able to go to Trader Joe's and Target on her bicycle. Can't do that from Williams. </p>
<h1>4. You can take courses at Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, U Mass Amherst, but the bus commute can be more time consuming than ideal.</h1>
<h1>5. Pomona shares many of the attributes of Amherst and Williams, but with So Calif weather, a seemingly more low key but no less academically talented student body, and a 5 college system that you can use without thinking about the commute time.</h1>
<p>It would be a great thing to have such a choice!</p>
<p>My S was accepted to all three plus top ivies, how does one decide ? He finds the west coast ie Pomona tempting but if after college he wants to come back east, does it open as many doors for job offers or grad school?</p>
<p>Pomona has a national reputation, I don't think that should be a primary concern.</p>