<p>Hey everyone,
i apologize for the very self-centered nature of this thread, but i have simply NO IDEA what to do and i was wondering if anyone could offer insight.
so, brief story: i applied to several liberal arts schools as well as a couple ivies. williams was tied with carleton and haverford as my #1 choice. i got waitlisted at williams, though. a week ago, i was deciding between carleton and yale, and decided on carleton and was totally happy with my decision.
then today a williams rep called me and said that i am off the waitlist at williams, and i need to make a decision by monday.</p>
<p>basically, i'm just flippin' some serious pancakes trying to decide! they're both so good! some stuff about me:
+ i live in new york (not the city--upstate)
+ i take my work seriously and myself less so. i like people who are intelligent but not ultra-intellectual all the time
+ i am really into friendliness (and uncompetitiveness)! this was a major draw for carleton--i loved all the people i met; they were so nice and casual and fun
+ i think i want to be a linguistics major. foreign languages in general are also of interest to me
+ i play piano and definitely plan to continue in college (not conservatory level or anything, though :P)
+ party-wise, i like to keep it in moderation. i'm not a huge partyer (i had my first drink this year, haha) it's nice to have it available but not dominating the social scene
+ i plan to study abroad and am hoping for interesting study/research opportunities
+ i like to ski (downhill) and also want to try cross-country (i realize minnesota is quite flat, but there are sufficient vacations during which i can go to mountains, i think)
+ i'm a huge joke at sports (well unless skiing counts as a sport) but i like to do outdoorsy things
+ i don't care about being in a city, but going off campus every so often would be nice
oh and i'm really indecisive (have you noticed that? :P)</p>
<p>when i overnighted at carleton, i loved the people and the classes. but williams seems similar in atmosphere, i thought, is more convenient (closer), and has access to skiing... i've already met people at carleton though, been in contact with them, been in contact with professors, etc... gaaah</p>
<p>now that i've given you a self-indulgent autobiography (sorry!), ANY advice would be greatly, greatly, appreciated. if you've read this far, congratulations :P, and thanks so much for helping me decide!</p>
<p>Both are very fine colleges.
Williams is not demostrably better than Carleton in academics, friendliness, study abroad opportunities or social life.
If close access to downhill skiing is important, Williams has an edge.
A week ago, you were very happy to be going to Carleton, and nothing else has changed.</p>
<p>If you are interested in linguistics, here is the link to Carleton’s linguistics major. Carleton is on the trimester system so many students fit in 2 different study abroad terms. Is distance from home an issue for you? You can’t go wrong with either school. If you didn’t hear from Williams, you were happy with Carleton. How about the other way? If you had just heard from Carleton and had already been accepted at Williams?</p>
<p>You mentioned you wanted to major in linguistics (me too! :)) and I remember Williams doesn’t have a linguistics major, because that was one reason I didn’t apply. I don’t know how intent you are on doing linguistics, but if you are, that’s something to consider.</p>
<p>Have you visited both? I know it’s probably hard to judge because your perspective is so different as an applying senior versus accepted senior, but visiting makes SO much difference. The “gut feeling” really comes once you spend some time on campus, or at least that’s the way I felt.</p>
<p>If you really can’t choose, just take comfort in knowing no matter what you pick, it’ll be awesome! :)</p>
<p>thank you all so much for your replies! they are all extremely helpful Mom90, distance from home is most definitely not an issue, haha and that other way around scenario is seriously thought-provoking! honestly, i think in that case i’d stick with williams…likewise, in this case, i’m inclined to stick with carleton.</p>
<p>imbri3 - i have visited both, but i overnighted at carleton so i got a much fuller perspective. if i were able to go to the accepted students days at williams, i’m sure i’d have much less trouble deciding. unfortunately that’s not the case. are you part of the carleton 2014 facebook group? i’m always on the lookout for more prospective linguistics majors :)</p>
<p>My S spent weekends at both-and we have friends who have attended both-</p>
<p>-Williams is of course better known and “more selective”, definitely more skiing access and more East Coast Preppie types, the tutorial program is awesome and the campus in a cute NE small town. Seems like more Etoh linked social life, but of course alternatives, more music and athletics, and somewhat newer athletic facilities(pool, gym, hockey rink)Food is a toss-up.</p>
<p>Carleton is less "jock"oriented, MN is flat, love those ultra-friendly midwesterners, the pool is old, Northfield is a cute tiny little town even smaller than Williamstown, St Olaf does all the music, the Twin Cities are easy to get to and have major league sports, arts etc. </p>
<p>If it were me, I’d do Carleton. I think my S preferred Williams.</p>
<p>Carleton and Williams were my son’s top two choices when he applied. He ended up at Carleton - just felt more comfortable there - liked the friendly people, campus layout, overnight visit, and trimester system. The music program felt stronger at Williams, but he still chose Carleton (and will be a music major). Both schools are excellent - as others have said, you can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>When in doubt, go to a different time zone and expand your horizons. And you know you want to learn how to Nordic ski in the Arb. The trails are groomed for classic and skate.</p>
<p>Sunmachine - I as well didn’t take a spor on the WIlliams WL! I was afraid of a dilemma like this one.</p>
<p>Lorlor - while I second other posters in saying that you can’t go wrong, I also think there’s something to be said for trying a completely new part of the country. I really liked Williams, but I wasn’t devastated when i didn’t get in; it felt (to me) a LOT more isolated than Carleton (which at least has busing to the cities!) and slightly more preppy and competitive - I also got a large “jock” feel. Not necessarily bad (I am a jock; I would have been fine), but the people at Carleton seem to be a little more open and friendly to newcomers.</p>
<p>Also, I second what someone else said about the trimester system - you can study abroad in two different places during your four years, which was a major plus for me when I was applying.</p>
<p>My S had Williams as his top choice for a long time, and did an overnight visit there in the fall. Still liked it a lot but realized he felt more comfortable at Carleton so applied ED to Carleton and will attend. His visit to Carleton was in winter of his junior year in HS, visiting his sister who is now a sophomore. Both S and D liked the fact that the students at Carleton were perfectly comfortable choosing a place with less prestige and that no one at home had heard of.</p>
<p>D is a newly declared linguistics major. I recommend reading everything on the department’s website to get a flavor of how they think about liberal arts education and how linguistics fits in. I found it impressive.</p>
<p>Carleton is similar to Williams in outdoorsiness and dissimilar in predominant student body “type” (the dominant Williams personality is more athletic/preppy, Carleton’s more laid-back/quirky).</p>
<p>But if you want to be a linguistics major, I would wholeheartedly NEVER recommend Williams. Nor would my friend who just turned down Carleton for Williams last week, who is interested in ling but not going to major in it. Williams once had a burgeoning ling program, with a lone professor; however, said professor has been denied tenure and linguistics as a discipline will not exist at Williams starting in Fall 2010. In comparison, Carleton recently hired a new tenure-track linguistics professor; though their program is small, it’s supported by student interest and the college is clearly investing in it for the long-term.</p>
<p>thanks for your help! i called the linguistics professor today, and he confirmed what you’re all saying…there’s no linguistics at williams next year. that’s a pretty important factor.</p>
Mom90, distance from home is most definitely not an issue, haha 
and that other way around scenario is seriously thought-provoking! honestly, i think in that case i’d stick with williams…likewise, in this case, i’m inclined to stick with carleton.</p>