I’d ideally like a college with a nice college town, but I REALLY like Williams’ academics, including its 4-1-4, tutorials, tutoring, etc.
I’m just afraid to go because it’s so rural, and I don’t know if I could live with that for 4 years.
Any city people who went to Williams and loved/regretted it?
You really should visit schools to get a feel and walk around. Williams is pretty rural.
I don’t have a chance to anytime soon 
How rural is it? Like 0 shops or like a little place with 2-3 shops?
A couple dozen shops and restaurants within easy walking distance… It is a nice college town.
So we visited Williams last September just as classes has started. It is in the middle of nowhere–the town is more of a village. (By contrast the town of Middlebury felt quite a bit larger). Williams seems like a tightly knit community. It sponsors a lot of events for its students; students who go there should like to do something outdoors–hike, ski, row–or at least enjoy nature. My kid liked the program a lot and has applied.
It’s rural but beautiful and friendly. You should appreciate mountains to like it there.
@imlikeabird2, where are you in the admissions process? Already applied or thinking about applying next year? I would definitely advise you to visit before you confirm an acceptance or decide to apply early decision. If you’re just waiting for an acceptance or deciding whether to apply RD, then I don’t see a downside at this point. You can always visit once you are accepted.
Williams is decidedly rural. Williamstown is, as zzzmmm said, more like a village. It’s a charming village that has enough going on – shops, restaurants, services – to to be useful and practical, but it’s still a tiny town surrounded by mountains. To many Williams students, the insularity and natural beauty of the area is exactly what attracted them to Williams in the first place. They like the accessibility of nature and outdoorsy activities and the enforced cohesion of the campus community. Most get away to Boston or New York once or twice a semester, so they’re not entirely cut off from “civilization” but whether or not the rural environment is a positive or negative is a highly personal preference.
My son who had only ever lived in mega-cities, greatly enjoyed his time at Williams, so much so he chose a rural setting for graduate school. He’s back in a city again, and probably will live and work in a city for the rest of his life, more the reason to enjoy four years in a profoundly beautiful environment.
I can echo momrath and her son.
Williamstown is not a place an urban person would choose to set roots in. On the other hand, for a city person it IS a lovely place to be and return to.
Until our son attended I had only been there in the summer when the campus is practically non-existent. (Yes, there are students and faculty doing research over the summer; but anyone unaffiliated with the College would not notice.)
I did not fully appreciate the place until a winter’s day after our son became an Eph. I could see and viscerally experience, as the sun was setting, how one could find inspiration from the purple mountains and a respite from the demands of being an undergraduate.
Similar to momrath’s son, our son viewed Williams and being a college student as a special time; although not an extended vacation because of the demands of academic life, it definitely was a break from the world he knew as a child and the one he anticipated as an adult.
Our son embraced being at Williams by seeing the beauty of being in Williamstown.
*** to answer your question directly, yes, Williamstown feels as if it’s in the middle of no-where… however, I believe if you’re affiliated with Williams, then you feel you are somewhere… the College, its faculty, students, and the “locals,” including the merchants, like Images & Tunnel City, provide a lot for each other… if you want to experience being part of a community, then you’ll be fine and most likely thrive.
Loving these posts because we loved Williams. S spent just a week there but enjoyed it. We are not city people so I can’t tell you how a really urban person would feel. But during undergrad you will spend most of your time with classmates, profs etc. If you like sports that also helps. Williams is a “somewhere.”
Hogwarts is in the middle of nowhere, too.
My son will be starting this fall, and my daughter who attends a small lac in a moderate sized city not in the middle of nowhere made an interesting observation I never thought about re Williams location. Her school is a mile from the nearest retail establishment, and she said at least at Williams you can walk to a store or restaurant right off the campus–something she can’t easily do.
So location is a nuanced topic.
My pediatrician’s daughter went there. Loved it. But headed immediately to NYC vowing never to leave.
My son decided on Williams when he began to focus on the quality of education not on some idea of location. That said, one of the reasons he wants to go to Williams is so he can have the opportunity to spend a year in Oxford.
Thanks guys! I’m still a junior, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get a chance to visit. Also, my counselor tells me I need a finalized list of 15ish colleges soon, and I’m just trying to narrow things down.
My son is a freshman at Williams. He has grown up in a big, bustling city but is loving his time at Williams. We did visit the summer after his junior year and he was sure he wouldn’t miss the trappings of city-life as long as he could belong to a close knit community. He has found that and much more at Wms. So many times over the past few months he has commented on how beautiful the surroundings are ( this from someone who did nor particularly observe the beauty of nature before!) and how special it is to be able to spend so many days skiing or snowboarding just minutes from campus. There is so much going on campus that there is no time to miss urban life! He is an athlete, so the training and the really intense academics take up most of their time. And yet, he and his friends always seem to find the time to attend talks, musical performances, sporting events, parties or just hang around playing pool. I feel the isolation of the place lends itself to the students forming close bonds and trying many different things/activities that they may not have if they had a city to escape to. However, I would definitely suggest that you visit and know that for yourself!