<p>I was just accepted last week to several of the NESCAC schools, including Bowdoin, Middlebury, Amherst, and Williams. I love all four of the schools, but am struggling to differentiate the four of them. I am a swimmer, and would also love the opportunity to play intramural or club lacrosse. I do not know what I want to major in yet, but all four of these schools have a wide range of wonderful opportunities. I would like to continue learning Chinese, and hopefully begin another language (I am interested in Italian but am open to other things. I love athletic culture and am hoping to find an extremely happy and welcoming student body. I would love to hear opinions on the campuses, athletics, academics, student body, and just student life. I am very torn, so any insight on the schools would be great!</p>
<p>Williams…</p>
<p>If you’re interested in languages and want first-rate athletic facilities, you can’t beat Middlebury.</p>
<p>It’s no surprise that you’re struggling to differentiate them. They are all very selective, rich, rural (or small town), preppy New England LACs. Back in the day, Amherst and Williams may have been significantly more desirable schools. I don’t think that’s true anymore. They still are wealthier schools than Bowdoin and Middlebury, but all 4 of them have larger endowments per capita than half the Ivy League. </p>
<p>If you’re thinking of majoring or minoring in Chinese (or another language), Middlebury is the rather clear choice. Their language programs are superb. So are their campus facilities (with one of the nicest small college libraries around.) </p>
<p>If for some reason you are more strongly attracted to one of the others … and if money is no object … you could go there but study at Middlebury’s summer language school prior to a semester (or year) abroad. An immersion program like this adds cost, but is a better way to build a language foundation than by using your regular college semesters to do it (even at Middlebury). That way, too, you can focus your college time on other subjects.</p>
<p>Middlebury is definitely strongest overall in the languages, but among the various languages at Williams, I’ve heard Chinese tends to be the strongest (and my friend who majored in that Asian Studies with a Chinese focus had a great experience, and actually also attended the Midd summer program in Chinese after college), so I wouldn’t cross Williams off on that basis. But if you are interested in Italian or other language flexibility, Midd’s advantage in that regard becomes more pronounced. </p>
<p>Amherst and Williams are substantially more racially and economically diverse than either Midd or Bowdoin, if that is a factor. Midd is by far the biggest, Bowdoin the smallest, of the four, Midd/Williams in the middle, if that is a factor. Each has unique academic attributes: Williams has Winter Study and tutorials, Midd a huge emphasis on study abroad, Feb admits, and winter term, Amherst the five-college consortium, etc., that may be of particular interest. But in general, the four are very, very VERY similar in terms of the type of students they attract, and the vast majority of students are very happy at all four, so you really can’t go wrong. </p>
<p>All have great swimming programs, Williams is particularly strong (the coach was recently named the national coach of the year, I believe for the third or fourth time), but Amherst and Midd are right there as well in terms of nationally-ranked swimming programs. Williams has JV lacrosse which might be what you are looking for, but so far as I am aware, does not have a club or IM lacrosse program, no idea about the other schools. Lacrosse is much stronger, as a varsity sport, at either Midd or Amherst than at Williams/Bowdoin. </p>
<p>Basically, the four schools are a virtual toss-up. Midd does sound like a great fit for you, but if one of the four is a great fit, all four are. I would try to visit all four (you could hit all four easily in five-six days) and meet with the coaches and other swimmers to get a feel for where you fit in best in terms of the team dynamics, see which campus has an atmosphere that makes you feel most at home, learn about each school’s special academic programs, etc., then go with your gut. You can’t go wrong, truly.</p>
<p>^^^Excellent, well-balanced response.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with 4 great choices.</p>
<p>Also at Amherst you can study at Umass:</p>
<p>[Asian</a> Languages & Literatures - LLC - UMass Amherst](<a href=“http://www.umass.edu/asianlan/]Asian”>http://www.umass.edu/asianlan/)
[Italian</a> Studies - LLC - UMass Amherst](<a href=“http://www.umass.edu/italian/]Italian”>http://www.umass.edu/italian/)
The coaches at Williams and Amherst are among the best in the nation - I don’t much about the coaches at Bowdoin or Middlebury, but it is a great league. Check the results from NESCAC championships and see how you would fit in. If swimming is central to your decision, ask the coaches how relevant you would be to the team when the returning swimmers and incoming swimmers are taken into account.</p>
<p>Just want to offer that Midd has no Club team for lax and only the women have a JV team.</p>
<p>^^^also want to point out that, going into the spring season, Middlebury is the second-ranked program in Division III, ahead of Amherst (3rd), Williams (6th), and Bowdoin (21). Of course Williams will probably come back and win the whole thing (as they’ve done in each of the past dozen or so years), but it’s great to see these NESCAC teams dominating Division III sports while maintaining amazing academic programs.</p>
<p><a href=“http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/mar29d3.pdf[/url]”>http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/mar29d3.pdf</a></p>
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<p>Which is great, but I’m not sure why someone would enroll in an expensive private school with the intention of taking the classes that most interest them at the local state flagship.</p>
<p>It would be a toss-up if you hadn’t said you were interested in languages. Midd is the clear choice for foreign language study.</p>
<p>on paper, middlebury sounds like the best fit. all these schools are extremely similar on paper, but i will concede the campuses have different feels. if you can visit them all, you should go with the one that feels most like home to you. they’re all extremely good schools that will provide a great education. middlebury’s storied language program should not, in my opinion, outweigh fit, although it would be serendipitous if you felt most at home at middlebury. nevertheless, for me, amherst seemed to be the best fit on paper, but i felt most comfortable at bowdoin and have never regretted my decision to go there, instead.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for everyone’s help! Apart from Middlebury’s distinguished language program, do you think there are other key differences about the schools or their student bodies? Any differences in the campus feels?</p>
<p>Size is one of the distinguishing factors. </p>
<p>Bowdoin:1,780
Amherst: 1,800
Williams: 2,190
Middlebury: 2,500</p>
<p>All have beautiful campuses and nice facilities.</p>
<p>senior, my son attended Williams. We visited Amherst, but not the other two. He chose Williams primarily because of its strength in his area of interest – art – but there was also a discernable difference between the two colleges in environment and physical setting.</p>
<p>Amherst is a lively small town at any given time full of college students. Williamstown is a what I would call a mountain village surrounded by superb natural beauty. For my son, who likes outdoorsy activities, this was a big positive.</p>
<p>The Amherst consortium was more of a negative for him; he liked the insularity of the Williams community. </p>
<p>He also liked the idea of Winter Study and entry system, and in fact these turned out to be two of his favorite aspects of Williams.</p>
<p>PS, With all those art historians, you’d think Italian would be a major focus at Williams but it’s not. Chinese language, history and culture are good though.</p>
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<p>Could be someone who either:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Chose a major where the expensive private school’s offerings were thin, but the cheap public school’s offerings were greater (perhaps due to not checking the course offerings before deciding on the school, or had no idea s/he would choose that major when deciding on the school).</p></li>
<li><p>Got a generous enough financial aid package to make the expensive private school less expensive than the normally cheaper public school.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>bowdoin is distinct from the other three in that it’s on the coast. if you like the ocean, rocky islands, and seagulls I can’t recommend a better place. if, conversely, you like the mountains, middlebury and williams are both beautiful examples of that geography (as is amherst, but, like momrath said, it’s a little less secluded than middlebury and williams). one of my best friends from law school went to amherst as an undergrad and we found ourselves there recently for some reason and i really loved the town and the environment. i’d probably still choose bowdoin, but it’s just because i like the coast and the atmosphere up there in maine. amherst was a close second.</p>