Hello College Confidential!
I am a freshman at Williams and I’ve decided to open myself up to questions from prospective students now that I finally have some free time. I’ll answer any questions you have in regards to Williams and/or my personal experience there. So, ask away!
Side note: I don’t plan on watching the thread at all moments. I’ll come back every few hours to answer questions, so don’t be alarmed if I don’t answer your question immediately!
sorry tim for semi-hijacking your post but I wanna volunteer myself as well! I am a sophomore international student at Williams. ask us anything.
@tim322 and @IntEph2019 Thanks for volunteering to answer questions. What do you both see as the best part of Williams (in addition to the outstanding academics, which are a given)? What, if anything, do you see as a drawback to the school – either Williams in particular or schools of that size in general? What other schools did you consider and did you apply ED or RD? Thanks.
@tim322
Sent a PM.
Outside of the superb academics of Williams, I would say the sense of community is Williams’ strongest asset. Perhaps the Mountains force us together, but Williams is a close, intimate environment. Everyone holds the door for everyone else. Everyone greets each other on the way to class. Upperclassmen great underclassmen like myself with open arms and open ears. People want to know who you are. I feel, despite being outside of the stereotypical image of a New England LAC student, that I am welcome.
I think the closeness of Williams can be more concretely seen in a number of the institutions’ organs. Professors want to get to know you and often go out and eat meals with you. If you’re struggling, the Dean’s Office will meet with you as often as necessary to help you. The entry serves as a microcosm of the college to use both in goods times and bad.
The chief drawback of the school is not immediately obvious to me. I would prefer a slightly larger commercial district for practical purposes but, at the same time, I would not risk losing the small town New England charm and productive isolation of Williamstown.
I applied to a number of schools, none through early decision, however. Some schools I was accepted to included Vassar, Swarthmore, Brown, Emory, Yale, University of Michigan, College of Wooster ect. As you can likely see, I didn’t have a strong sense of what I wanted in a college when I was applying. I ultimately decided, however, that I wanted small class sizes, emphasis on writing and critical thinking, and the intimacy of a small liberal arts college with the resources, course offerings, and diversity of a large university. I found all those things and more at Williams. @Sunny66
@tim322
What is the typical Williams student like?
I find it difficult to characterize the “typical” Williams student as, firstly, the typical Williams students is so atypical, and, secondly, Williams is defined by its diversity.
Williams students tend to be very friendly and personable. They’re open to new people and wish to get to know others. I would not say, however, that all student are extroverted. Many students find solace in independence and, at the same time, many others find comfort in a team.
Ephs, whether introverted or extroverted, seek the uncomfortable. The student body, however, doesn’t seem caught up in finding and adopting that which is taboo, yet, they are enthralled by exploring the unfamiliar with an academic and inquisitive distance. Ephs enjoy encountering unfamiliar ideas and using it as a framework for seeking their own identity. @oak2maple
Can a first-year student become a TA or a research assistant?
First year students generally aren’t TA’s as they often don’t have the conceptual background and experience necessary to assistant students (I may be wrong, though).
First years can, however, work and volunteer as research assistants. I know a number, personally, that assist with research or have been offered positions. I have one friend that helps a Professor of developmental economics. I have another friend that assists in a chemistry lab. In addition to helping individual professors, I know people that work for departments as a whole (in the Chemistry stockroom e.g.) You could say I in some respects work as a research assistant with my job in the College Archives and Special Collections.
In addition to extra-curricular opportunities in research, the curriculum supports and develops independent research abilities. During Winter Study, many courses pop up that either serve as introductions to research or offer opportunities in specific research opportunities. The College also has a strong independent study and senior thesis program. @long2181998
I was a TA as a sophomore, but that was in the early 90s.
Sorry for not being as faithful to this post.
@long2181998, YES, freshmen can be TA’s. I know at least 2 people who were full-time TAs and another two who were just graders. It all depends on how much knowledge you have of the subject matter. For example, my entrymate last year was a TA for a Physics class. He had done a lot of physics in HS and so was hired.
RA, yes as well. ditto everything tim322 said. 
@oak2maple
There’s no typical Williams student. There is a large variety of people, backgrounds, experiences, etc etc for such a small school, which I am thankful for. The thing I like most about Williams is that even though it is a small school, whatever type of person you are, you WILL find people who are like you and want to hang out with you or at least people who are ready and willing to accept and tolerate you. Community here is important and strong.
The only way in which many Williams students are alike is in their political views; the average Eph is liberal, although there are a good amount of conservatives and libertarians.
I kind of already answered half your question above.
For downsides, the location of Williams can be a drawback, and it affects different people differently. For me, since I don’t have a car or live anywhere close to campus, getting to major cities or anywhere else outside town for that matter can be a struggle and expensive too. Buses and trains do run, but because not many people live in Williamstown and/or use inter-city bus/train services, there are few times and those times are not always convenient. This is a very minor problem though. I have always found a good solution to this whenever I’ve had to.
As tim322 said above, the location can also be a great advantage, so look at my issue with it as another side to tim322’s post and judge accordingly.
My application list was reach-heavy, so reach-heavy that my safeties were Colgate and Colby(I was young, foolish, and not thinking about the application process in the right way at all). I applied Yale EA and was deferred, and ultimately rejected.
Suggest Amplification of duties for TA or RA positions, as these can be different from positions at a research university, see examples below–
Teaching Assistant: When my son was a Williams students, TAs never had the responsibility of teaching, as one might find on a university campus. They might grade homework, which the professor supervises; tutor; assist in setting up labs. Has this changed?
Research Assistant: As I recall, my Eph spoke of positions in the Computer Lab as tech support, & lit review assistance for professors. With the strong Art Dept, I would guess there are opportunities in both the College’s museum & at the Clark Art Museum, as well as the '62 Center for Theatre & Dance. I know intern-type positions are available during the summer for the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
AND, re: transportation to metro area, e.g. Boston & NYC – Doesn’t the College still provide low cost round-trip bus transport to those cities at the breaks, & a few times during each semester?
Especially in Math and Econ classes, TAs are primarily a “homework help”. Their main job is to hold TA sessions, which are opportunities for students to ask TAs questions about the material being taught in class. However, these TA sessions usually turn into a homework discussion session. Science(esp Chem and Bio) TAs do minor lab work in addition to this. Additionally, TAs grade homework (profs rarely grade homework in SM/Econ classes).
On transportation, yes, Williams does do what @ManhattanBoro said, and I should have mentioned that. On other occasions when you need to get out you’re still limited. Again, this is a minor problem.
@ManhattanBoro - when I was a TA (in the 90’s) TA’s absolutely did not teach at all. I just helped grade, basically.
What is the social life like for a non-athlete?
OP may provide more current answer to @SkioWoosnam, but I am a complete non-athlete and I had a wonderful time at Williams. There also was not really a sense of a social divide… maybe because of the freshman entry system which combines people from all walks of life in an entry and gives them lots of interaction.
Edit for post #17: @SkipWoosnam