<p>I understand that stereotypes are oftentimes over exxagerated. I was just curious if some current Williams students could give some insight into how I could ever possibly fit in at Williams, given my personality, or if anyone is in a similar situation and could provide some insight. I'm most likely to attend Williams, for many reasons, but am just curious about how my social life will be:</p>
<p>I'm a non-athlete, although I'm not exactly "artsy," either. I'd get into outdoorsy things and will make use of the gym, etc. Only to remain fit, however. I'm not into competitive sports much at all. I passively do things like ice skate, hike (I quite enjoy nature trails), camp, but don't do things like snowboard or ski. I would say I participate in outdoor activities, although not to a competitive or "devoted" level.</p>
<p>I don't intend to drink much at college. I enjoy dances and parties, although such activities which revolve purely around alcohol don't exactly hold my interest.</p>
<p>I'm gay, and don't want to go somewhere where I'm the only homosexual on campus. </p>
<p>I'm modestly quiet, not painfully so, but I'm more introverted than extroverted. Most of my friends are similar, and also, most of my friends are girls. Boys, excluding gay or less-than-masculine ones, aren't usually people with whom I become friends.</p>
<p>Those are pretty much the only things about with which I'm concerned. I've posted things like this before, but, now that I've been accepted and am actually likely to go to Williams, it's become a little more important. Thanks so much for all your help!</p>
<p>Hmmph.. My suggestion would be to go to campus, and actually talk to students who go there. Williams hold a niche for everyone, but is certainly not for everyone. You live 10 minutes away from the school. Why are you asking anonymous internet posters??</p>
<p>I'm another local acceptee whose likely to enroll. I have questions about diversity as well, but the more I see the student body up close and personal, the more at ease I feel about it overall. The school is working hard to distance itself from the traditional Eph image, and in particular, the prospective class of '11 is a pretty mixed bunch, from what I've seen on these threads.
I think there's space for everyone at Williams, and you're likely to find people who you gel with somewhere on campus, probably in crowds that you wouldn't expect. This happened to me at my high school.
If all else fails, come to the Preview on April 16-17, and we'll all get to see each other.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance, nautilus! It seems like there are quite a few of us local kids.</p>
<p>I do agree with you on diversity at Williams. The more I see the student body and hear from students in the area who have, the less I see Williams as a place of partiers and jocks.</p>
<p>I will definately be going to the previews, hope to see you there! BTW, what high school are you from? I'm at Hoosac.</p>
<p>This is something that bothered me when I was applying. And, speaking very honestly, Williams emphasizes sports a huge amount. I'm not into sports, not into random hook ups, not into drinking myself sick every weekend and playing beer pong...and I'm not sure how well I fit in. I have friends who are like me, but they're the exception, not the norm. Not being an athlete and not being crazy about sport is a definite social disadvantage here.</p>
<p>On the gay side - Williams is VERY gay friendly. We have events all the year round, the co ordinator for Queer Life is amazing...so don't worry on that front! You'll <em>certainly</em> not be the only gay person on campus.</p>
<p>And I don't want to be overly negative, because I <em>do</em> like being at Williams...but Previews can sometimes be misleading. Williams is not exclusively a "jock school" but the prevailing culture is most certainly sports-friendly. The Williams Outing Club is great if you're into hiking and things like that. Your question seems very important. A lot of what the viewbook and the website says about "diversity" can be misleading. But I really don't want to scare you off! It's different for everyone I guess, but being a not so social, not into heavy drinking, non sporty person, fitting in was much harder. Do let me know if you have any specific concerns or need any info...</p>
<p>Previews can definitely be misleading, if only because you only get paired with one random host, so your experience really depends on who you get. Some hosts will answer all of your questions and show you around the campus. Some hosts will hang out with you and their friends, and watch TV, play games, etc. Some will take you to their practice/rehearsal/club meeting/etc. Some will be really busy studying and writing a paper and basically ignore you. Someone, probably, will go out and get drunk on a weekday night and then sleep with a female prefrosh (consensually, probably). Depending on who you get, you end up with a completely different picture of college life. Still, I think it's probably a good experience on average.</p>
<p>Also, another perspective on gay life at Williams: I consider myself bi and I'm not involved with the queer student union. It turns me off a little bit that they're so focused on "queer"-ness more than just promoting acceptance. But yeah, Kareem (the coordinator) is a good guy. The problem with being gay at a school as small as Williams is that, since gays are a pretty small segment of the population, you're choosing from a much smaller potential pool than are straight people. Still, the gay kids I know seem to be pretty happy here.</p>