<p>Really torn between these two. plan to study economics/math. Williams seems to be stronger academically(from what I read so far), but I'm not sure about living in a faraway rural place for four years. Also, Dart seems to have very great food!! Really a tough decision esp. since I'm not very sure of what I want most from college.</p>
<p>made by many Williams students. I'd say most folks I know were also looking very closely at Dartmouth and Amherst, primarily, and Bowdoin, Haverford, Middlebury, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, secondarily, as their other options. </p>
<p>Academically, they are probably pretty equal. Dartmouth is more like Williams than most of the other ivies as it is small without a huge number of grad students. That being said, I'd say access to professors, overall, is better at Williams. Math and Econ are two of Williams' strongest departments -- most of the Math profs, in particular, have won national-level recognition for teaching ability, so you definitely can't go wrong academically as an Eph. Tons of really successful Eph alums in Econ and Math, including a recent Fields medalist in math and Arthur Levitt, former SEC chairman. Not to mention a huge number of success on wall street. </p>
<p>IN terms of remoteness, I don't think Dartmouth offers much of an advantage -- Hanover is a little bigger than Williamstown, but the difference is not extreme, both are very rural environments. It is a lot easier to escape Williams for a weekend -- NYC and Boston both 3-3.5 hours, five college area 1.5 hours, Albany (no great city, but still a city, 1 hour), Montreal 5 hours, so taking an occasional weekend trip away is a lot more available at Williams. But I think you'll be surprised at how busy you are and how much there is to do on either campus. </p>
<p>Overall, to me Williams had all the advantages of Dartmouth and none of the disadvantages (namely, no frats or grad students), but I'm sure someone who chose Dartmouth would say the opposite.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, Ephman!! I just found a similar thread posted about the same time last year=)</p>
<p>I would say that both Hanover and Williamstown qualify as "faraway rural places". But Williamstown "feels" more isolated. This is because:</p>
<p>(1) Nobody is going to confuse the Hanover/Lebanon/White River Junction metro area with Boston or New York, but it is nonetheless a regional business/commercial center for the upper Connecticut River Valley area. In contrast, Williamstown and North Adams are backwaters even by western Massachusetts standards.</p>
<p>(2) Williamstown and Hanover may be equally far from large cities, but Hanover is a regional transportation hub, whereas Williamstown is out of the way. The Hanover area is located at the junction of two Interstates (Dartmouth practically has its own freeway exit) and has a small regional airport. But from Williamstown, you have to drive 30-40 miles on 2-lane roads just to get to the freeway, or 60 miles on back roads to get the nearest scheduled air service (in Albany). People in New England are much more likely to have visited Hanover -- or at least know where it is -- than Williamstown.</p>
<p>But most of the people who go to Williams enjoy the beautiful rural atmosphere. You can make a case that the sense of isolation fosters a greater sense of community at Williams than at Dartmouth. This community feeling is also fostered by smaller size of Williams, and by the absence of fraternities, sororities, and secret "senior societies".</p>
<p>For the sake of clarity, Williams is less than 40 miles from Albany airport (check yahoo maps) and it takes us less than an hour. OK, its still not that close, but its not ridiculous either.</p>
<p>As for Dartmouth, Hanover is over 80 miles (a bit under 2 hours) from the nearest "major" airport in Manchester.</p>
<p>BTW, both are very beautiful drives once you get out of the cities.</p>
<p>OK, I stand corrected. Mapblast says 37.8 miles, or 56 minutes on back roads, from "Williams College, MA" to "Albany Airport, NY". </p>
<p>Mapblast says 82.5 miles, or 92 minutes on the freeway, from "Dartmouth College, NH" to "Manchester Airport, NH".</p>
<p>On the other hand, Mapblast also says 7.3 miles, or 14 minutes, from "Dartmouth College, NH" to "Lebanon Municipal Airport, NH", which offers four direct flights to LaGuardia Airport in NYC every weekday.</p>
<p>We're really quibbling over minutaie.... Either place isn't that far from civilization. It's not like we're talking about Barrow, Alaska.</p>
<p>I think people worry too much about the whole "isolated thing." You're only at college for 28 weeks during the year, you can enjoy the sense of community and natural beauty during those 28 weeks, and induldge in Starbucks and poety readings during the remaining 24 weeks.... Yeesh.</p>
<p>Your utmost concerns really should be :
A) Does the college have strong programs in my intended area of study?
B) Will this college present me with an array of post-graduate opportunities?
C) Can I afford this college?</p>
<p>thanks guys. my other concern is job after graduation. I know williams can get me into the best post-grad or professional school, but what about if I want to work right after williams? will I be disadvantaged? excuse me for my ignorance</p>
<p>You could get a great job from either school... You really need to visit</p>
<p>heehee...thanks MikeyD223. ya, visiting is obviously the most effective way to learn which school will make me feel more comfortable. but the thing is I'm int'l, and financial factor aside, it also takes time to get visa. however, I've made up my mind to come to williams in the fall. you guys are really great!! you've already made me feel homelike..=)</p>
<p>Great decision miaomoo especially since you are majoring in Economics and Math as those two departments in Williams are really famed. See you this fall:)</p>
<p>I love Williams but I feel that an international might prefer Dartmouth. There is much more happening on campus since there are more students. Also, Dartmouth is only 2.5 hrs from Boston, 3.5 hrs to NYC. Its closer to civilization and the drive is very easy since there are no back roads. Dartmouth also is the Upper Valley which has a population of 75,000 people so there is more around the area if you need it (Wal-mart, panera bread, etc), but its impact on campus life otherwise is practically insignificant. Also, Dartmouth is less athletics focused, almost double the Williams population is composed of athletes. </p>
<p>In terms of academics they are equals. Dartmouth and Williams excel at grad placement, Dartmouth is the second most represented school (when size is accounted) at Stanford MBA for example. The econ and math departments at Dartmouth are just as strong and "famed." I think socially Dartmouth is much more vibrant, however. </p>
<p>(I've visited Williams twice and attended Dartmouth)</p>
<p>I am international and i preferred Williams over Dartmouth (I applied ED to Williams).I have never visited either schools but from the viewbooks, college guides etc i found Williams to be ....err...'warm and fuzzy.' Yeah, warm and fuzzy:)</p>
<p>Dartmouth is "warm and fuzzy" too...</p>
<p>Actually, Williams is just as close to NYC and almost as close to Boston as is Dartmouth. Moreover, the routes to those cities certainly aren't on back roads, but on major high ways. And though the surrounding population may be more numerous at Dartmouth, Williamstown and the surrounding area certainly isn't lacking in terms of services a student would need. There's a nearby Walmart, a Stop and Shop, a mall, movie theaters, and several nice restaurants.</p>
<p>Pittsfield, which is the biggest "city" in Berkshire County, which is where Williamstown is, is certainly lacking in a lot of things.</p>
<p>Slipper,
Sorry to keep playing "map policeman" here, but Dartmouth, in Hanover, NH is further from NYC than Williamstown, MA. Its about 5 hours away, not 3.5. Let's all get our geography correct and keep it real.</p>
<p>In any event, does it really matter which is closer to what city. I'm not aware that there is a mass exodus on weekends from either campus to NYC or Boston or anywhere else for that matter.</p>
<p>Actually, I think Pittsfield is sort of charming, and North Adams is also a cute little town.</p>
<p>Dartmouth and Williams have far commonalities than differences. It's really like splitting hairs</p>
<p>^^ Easy to say when you haven't lived here all your life.</p>
<p>Slipper,
I'm an international, and I was fortunate enough to visit both campuses last fall. I definitely preferred Williams (applied ED in the end). Mainly because there is no greek system or grad students, but also because of the beautiful mountains all around, better teacher access, and the wonderful feel of the campus :)</p>