<p>Wonderful!!!!</p>
<p>No need to apologize. I really feel like we all need to start presenting more balanced views of Williams- neither overly rosy nor overly ominous.</p>
<p>I absolutely concur with Haon's assessment of Williams, regarding its music department, and musical offerings. We kicked the tires at more than a dozen LACs, and several Ivies as well, and there are very, very few colleges that come anywhere close to Williams' range of offerings, and musical life. (Neither Swarthmore nor Amherst are in the same league; I can only name 3 or 4.) My D., a legacy, was admitted, recruited by the music department, and chose to go elsewhere, but not without careful thought.</p>
<p>I also agree with Haon's point that Williams is likely the best liberal arts college in the country for the student-athlete. Hey, they've (we've!) got Sears trophies to prove it!</p>
<p>There are now about 23% fewer male students at Williams than when I graduated in 1971. It does, on cursory examination, feel very, very much more "athletic" than when I was there, which is perhaps (as Interesteddad suggests) a result of having to field all of those teams, and successfully, with a reduced male population.</p>
<p>As for the admissions department and the advice they gave to jrpar's kid, I think that's sick.</p>
<p>MikeyD--you nailed it.</p>
<p>Jrpar--I'm sorry. I understand that my posts tend to be very positive about Williams, and often come across as a little cotton candy-too sweet. There are a couple of posters who seem dedicated to overemphasizing certain perceived negative characteristics of Williams and I am often in the position of responding in seemingly overly positive manners. I can see how this is frustrating, but believe me--it's more frustrating to me to see so many mischaracterizations of Williams characteristics or exagerations of negatives on this board.</p>
<p>Everyone seems to be pushing the sole importance of SATS here..... how much do the other stats come into play? (gpa, rank) and how does Williams deal with people coming from very good prep schools or poor public schools?</p>
<p>Haon, I think it's great that you love Williams so much. I felt that same way when I was there and my deep affection for the school continues today. I just think it is OK to acknowledge Williams' imperfections. </p>
<p>When I was on campus there was often spirited debate about what the school did well and what it could be better at. Today it is the same - the very spirited debate about cluster housing going on now is a good example. And the debate about athletics on campus and among alums has led to some improvements in that arena. </p>
<p>I was not attacking Williams in any way when I posted the anecdote about my son. I was genuinely surprised by the SAT advice and I thought it was ridiculous. I think MikeyD and ID's analysis is right - there are a lot of factors at play which lead to the school being a bit more score-obsessed than you would expect. It's not something to be defensive or upset about, just an insight.</p>
<p>So OK, let's change this thread: what did you do for Winter Study?!</p>
<p>Cools: I think grades are absolutely the most important factor in admissions (much more than SAT's); Williams will always look at the grades within the context of the grading system of the school the student is coming from.</p>
<p>haha I took a large format photography class which was absolutely amazing. It's the second year running I've taken some form of photography over winter study and I couldn't have made a better decision in courses this year.</p>
<p>Incidentally, I'm one of the student members on the CUL, the committee which is working on cluster housing.</p>
<p>Now haon or someone, please explain to me the concept of cluster housing. I've heard positives and negatives about it. What advantages will it have over the popular entry system in place right now?</p>
<p>That must keep you busy Haon! I've been following the debate and find it interesting. Cluster housing is somewhat similar to what was in effect in my days at Williams, although there were more house-affiliated dining halls then too, so it isn't directly comparable. I'm curious to see how this process turns out.</p>
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<p>While the SAT's are important, I'm pretty sure GPA is waaay more important. Also, if the admissions people know anything about your school they take that in to consideration. At least, that's what I was told when I applied with a lower GPA from a very competitive public high school. I think a great GPA (from a good school/hard schedule) can make up for less-than-awesome SAT scores, but perhaps not vice-versa.</p>
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<p>I took a poli sci class last year about American politics on film. We watched great movies and then talked about them. Good fun, and very laid-back.
This year I took a psych class called "Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the College Context". We read about and discussed general trends in College alcohol and drug use across the country, and talked quite a bit about Williams in particular. The town chief of police came to talk to us, as well as the head of campus security and the psychologist on campus. It was taught by a drug and alcohol counselor.</p>