<p>In comparison to Swat, UChicago, and Reed how rigorous is Williams? </p>
<p>How many hours do students study? </p>
<p>What are the core requirements like? Is it on the level or Chicago/Columbia or closer to an open cirrcu.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Core requirements are not heavy.</p>
<p>Thank you. Anyone else want to chime in? I also have another question</p>
<p>How is Williams reputation on the east coast? Is it very well known? I live on the west coast and no one knows Williams but I have heard it has the same prestige as HYP on the east coast. Is this true?</p>
<p>Williams, like many LACs, has "distribution</a> requirements", rather than a strictly-defined core. </p>
<p>You are required to take at least three courses in each of the following divisions: Language/Arts, Social Studies, Science/Math. You choose which ones.</p>
<p>You are also required to take at least one course in "Exploring Diversity", one in "Quantitative Reasoning", and two that are "Writing Intensive". Again, you choose. These can be the same as those used to fulfill the divisional requirements above. </p>
<p>Most people who attend LACs have broad interests, and do not find the distribution requirements to be burdensome. </p>
<p>Williams also has physical education requirements, including a swim test.</p>
<p>
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I live on the west coast and no one knows Williams but I have heard it has the same prestige as HYP on the east coast. Is this true?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In general, Williams (and other top northeastern LACs) are competitive with Ivy League universities, in terms of professional recruitment and graduate school placement. However, the LACs lag far behind in terms of name recognition by the general public. Williams is commonly confused with William & Mary; Amherst is commonly confused with UMass-Amherst.</p>
<p>Williams has roughly the same reputation on the East Coast as Pomona College does on the West Coast. Those "in the know" are well aware that Pomona has admissions standards comparable to those of Stanford, and significantly higher than those of Berkeley, USC, or UCLA. So Pomona grads do well in terms of career and grad school placement. But while the general public immediately recognizes names like Berkeley, Stanford, USC, and UCLA, they know nothing about Pomona College, except to confuse it with Cal Poly Pomona.</p>
<p>If you want to impress the largest possible number of people by name-dropping, LACs are not the way to go.</p>
<p>Thank you for the quick response. It feels like this forum is dead. </p>
<p>I'm not into name dropping but I would like go eventually live in the New England area and I wanted to know if williams is well known in that area. </p>
<p>For those requirments, do they have to be taken for indviual credit or can they be combined with a major/minor? Thanks</p>
<p>
[quote]
For those requirments, do they have to be taken for indviual credit or can they be combined with a major/minor?
[/quote]
The courses that you take for a major or concentration can help to fulfill the distribution requirements. If you major in math, for example, you won't have to worry about the "Quantitative Reasoning" requirement. Your math courses would also qualify as two of the three courses required for the Science/Math divisional requirement. </p>
<p>The third Science/Math coursewould have to be from some other Science/Math discipline. The rules won't allow you to fulfill the divisional requirements by taking all three courses in the same discipline.</p>
<p>Then you would still need three Language/Arts courses, and three social studies courses. These might or might not also count towards the Diversity and Writing requirements, depending on the content. </p>
<p>You would take 32 courses over 4 years at Williams. Only 9 are required for the major. So you are left with 23 other courses to address whatever distribution requirements remain. This doesn't usually pose a problem, even if you double-major. </p>
<p>Many LACs (e.g. Swarthmore) have distribution requirements similar to those at Williams. Some LACs (e.g. Amherst) have open curriculums. Rigid core requirements are uncommon.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the info. </p>
<p>Is there places to fish around Williams? Thanks</p>
<p>The Berkshire</a> County Fly Fisher's Club indicates that that there are trout-stocked rivers in Williamstown. These include Green River and Hemlock Brook, parts of which run near the College. Not sure how good the fishing is near the College or the town. </p>
<p>There is an active Outing Club at Williams, but the focus is on hiking and skiing, not fishing. You could try asking the Berkshire County Fly Fisher's Club linked above.</p>
<p>Machiavelli12 / Corbett : the Williams Outing Club does actually organize fly fishing activities, although not too frequently since there aren't a lot of students with both the time and interest to take part. The river I've heard most about people going to is the Battenkill, but I'm sure there are others.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the response guys. I appreciate it. </p>
<p>What is the avg gpa at Williams? How do Williams students do in law school admissions?</p>
<p>The Williams Record had an article last fall about grade inflation there. The average GPA is around a B+. Unfortunately, the Record's on-line archives aren't working. I believe the article was in the 10/1/08 edition.</p>
<p>My son's only completed one semester, so it's hard to judge personally, but I would guess Williams is typical in its grading policies. Certainly not a school where grade deflation would be a concern.</p>
<p>I live about an hour south and west of Williamstown in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Although people (I am speaking of the average person on the street now) have heard of Williams, I am always amazed how many students and parents view the school in the same way they do Marist or Siena. The vast majority of those whose kids look into Williams more closely are inevitably shocked at the high admissions standards and cost of attendance.</p>
<p>If you end up living in New England don't be surprised if most people have little idea how good a school it is. Employers, grad schools and professional schools know, however.</p>
<p>
[quote]
How do Williams students do in law school admissions?
[/quote]
Williams is generally perceived as [url=<a href="http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf%5Dcompetitive%5B/url">http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf]competitive[/url</a>] as regards graduate placement in top law, medical, and business schools.</p>
<p>Specifically, how are the intro courses in math and the sciences (typical pre-med requirements)? Is it possible to do well and participate in a sport and have a modest social life? Is the grading to be considered fair?</p>
<p>^
I can only answer one of your above questions. Williams has a much higher percentage of athletes in the student body compared to your average college. Being a DIII school and in a very outdoorsy environment that isn't too surprising. So yes, it's very possible and many people do balance academics/athletics/social life</p>
<p>^ I call BS. Check out Amherst, Middlebury, Bowdoin etc. WILLIAMS IS NO DIFFERENT</p>
<p>NESCAC isn't an average group of colleges.</p>
<p>It's average for northeast liberal arts colleges. The Nescac comprises Williams peer schools, and so it shouldn't be considered to be "above average" in terms of athletes.</p>
<p>Starve the trolls.</p>
<p>What's the difference between these 2. My D visited Wand L and was a little turned off by the "partying", as it's not really her style. It's hard to believe that a school with stats as high as W and L is more into partying than any other schools. What are people's opinions? Also, how does it stack up reputation and education wise with Williams? Here in the Northeast, Williams is very well known and respected, but few here have heard of W and L.</p>