Dartmouth vs Williams

<p>you must drive slow or not know all the back roads–we make it to stowein february from williamstown in half that amount of time, but then I was driving with ski team members who know the fast way to all the resorts—</p>

<p>Williamstown to Stowe in less than two hours? No way.</p>

<p>It’s well over 150 miles, over half of which is on Rtes 7 and 4.</p>

<p>To get from Williamstown to Stowe in 1 hr 45 min you would have to average 88mph, including large chunks where the speed limit is under 55mph. Mapquest (which I usually find to be ~ 10% too high) estimates 3h 14m. For Hanover to Stowe, it estimates 1h 28m.</p>

<p>I am the father of a daughter who will be going to Williams class of 2013. Even though shw didn’t apply to Darthmouth she did apply and got accepted by Washington University in St. Louis. I am trying to draw an analogy.</p>

<p>St Louis ia a major urgan center. The school is in the city itself. This means that my daughter would have been exposed to the temptations that a urban center has. Transportation is readily available to the various attraction. There will be too distractions.</p>

<p>Williams in contrast is in very isolated area. There isn’t much in the way of clubs, bars, etc. Since 1st year students aren’t allowed to have cars, transportantion is an issue. There will therefore be no distractions.</p>

<p>As a parent who is responsible for paying a major portionn of her tuition/room and board/misc, I want to make sure that not being distracted is important…</p>

<p>I am not a year person. I am 58 years old. In order to pay for this I have to take out loans. In order to pay off the loans I will have to work until I am at least 70. I don’t a pension plan since I can’t afford to contribute.</p>

<p>My daughter going to Williams is a great sacrifice on my part but I feel that it is worth it. For her it is the right school since she will be able to concentrate on studying.</p>

<p>Being in an isolated area isn’t so bad in this context.</p>

<p>commserver,</p>

<p>You must be very proud of your daughter. Williams is a great school and I am sure she’ll do very well there. I hope she appreciates what a great Dad she has.</p>

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<p>I congratulate your daughter on her acceptance to Williams. Williams is a very, very excellent institution. </p>

<p>However, just a note – just because Williams is rural does not mean she will not have distractions. There are always partying and excessive drinking going on at every college. In the end, it will be up to her to decide how much she will allow herself to be “distracted” by these things.</p>

<p>Williams is a remarkable school. My first two ended elsewhere. But there is another coming up in a few years. I’ve got my fingers crossed!
Williams has strong financial aid and I’m sure whatever the cost to you ends up being is reasonable. My son was a Pell Grant recipient at a similar school (Dartmouth) and my daughter is above that cut-off, though not by much, at her school. Mostly I feel grateful.
The major cost is that spouse and I are unable to save for retirement during these years. Our bad.
We often say that our assets are on two legs! The choice we made.</p>

<p>I ended up having to choose between Amherst, Williams, and Dartmouth among others this spring. It really wasn’t too difficult. Dartmouth was on top in nearly every category, and it supports an on-campus Army ROTC program, which is a big plus personally.</p>

<p>If you don’t get into Dartmouth, you would want to consider Amherst and Williams. I personally would prefer Williams.</p>

<p>wait, am I the only one who chose williams over dartmouth?</p>