Information about Williams College

<p>I have recently researched Williams and met with a representative from there; thus, causing me great excitement and curiosity regarding the college. I am interested in a liberal arts school and intend to become a history major. If anyone could tell me any information they know, or preferably former students who can describe their experiences it would be greatly appreciated thank you! Also, if you could suggest other schools that come to mind when you think "Williams" please let me know.</p>

<p>Other schools that come to mind when I think Williams:
Amerhest
Smith
Swarthmore
Rhodes (sorry, had to throw that in) ;-)</p>

<p>I think of Amherst and Swarthmore.</p>

<p>Williams shares a significant number of cross-admits with Dartmouth and Middlebury.</p>

<p>kwu</p>

<p>What is the best method to research cross-admits?</p>

<p>OP</p>

<p>Amherst & Swarthmore def. come to my mind first too.</p>

<p>I also think of Wesleyan.</p>

<p>What is it that excites you about Williams? The type of student? Class size? Region?</p>

<p>Oh, and kwu is right, Dartmouth too. A lot of people who like Williams often like Dartmouth also.</p>

<p>Aspiring Scholar,</p>

<p>Visit Williams before you make a decision. It is in a beautiful area. But it is remote, and the town is very small.</p>

<p>It is great for many; and it is the wrong place for many others.</p>

<p>Williams’ top overlap schools are: Yale, Harvard, Amherst, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown and Middlebury.</p>

<p>[Williams</a> Record ARCHIVES: April 12, 2005](<a href=“WRAPS organizes campus-wide food drive, adapts to COVID restrictions – The Williams Record”>WRAPS organizes campus-wide food drive, adapts to COVID restrictions – The Williams Record)</p>

<p>I don’t know anyone (namely me) who applied to both Williams & swarthmore.</p>

<p>From Princeton Review:</p>

<p>Academics:
Williams College is a small bastion of the liberal arts “with a fantastic academic reputation.” Administrators sometimes “ignore student consensus in their misguided efforts to improve campus life,” but they are “incredibly compassionate and accessible” and red tape is virtually unheard of. Financial aid is outrageous. Absolute, “full-ride” assistance with no loans is available to any student who needs it. “Williams students tend to spend a lot of time complaining about how much work they have” but they say the academic experience is “absolutely incomparable.” Classes are “small” and “intense.” “The facilities are absolutely top-notch in almost everything.” Research opportunities are plentiful. A one-month January term offers study-abroad programs and a host of short pass/fail courses that are “a college student’s dream come true.” “The hard science departments are incredible.” Economics, art history, and English are equally outstanding. Despite the occasional professor “who should not even be teaching at the high school level,” the faculty at Williams is one of the best. Most professors “jump at every opportunity to help you love their subject.” “They’re here because they want to interact with undergrads.” “If you complain about a Williams education then you would complain about education anywhere,” wagers an economics major. </p>

<p>Student Body:
The student population at Williams is not the most humble. They describe themselves as “interesting and beautiful” “geniuses of varying interests.” They’re “quirky, passionate, zany, and fun.” They’re “athletically awesome.” They’re “freakishly unique” and at the same time “cookie-cutter amazing.” Ethnic diversity is stellar and you’ll find all kinds of different students including “the goth students,” “nerdier students,” “a ladle of environmentally conscious pseudo-vegetarians,” and a few “west coast hippies.” However, “a typical student looks like a rich white kid” who grew up “playing field hockey just outside Boston” and spends summers “vacationing on the Cape.” Sporty students abound. “There definitely is segregation between the artsy kids and the athlete types but there is also a significant amount of crossover.” “Williams is a place where normal social labels tend not to apply,” reports a junior. “Everyone here got in for a reason. So that football player in your theater class has amazing insight on Chekhov and that outspoken environmental activist also specializes in improv comedy.” </p>

<p>Campus Life:
Students at Williams enjoy a “stunning campus.” “The Berkshire mountains are in the background every day as you walk to class” and opportunities for outdoor activity are numerous. The location is in “the boonies,” though, and the surrounding “one-horse college town” is “quaint” at best. “There is no nearby place to buy necessities that is not ridiculously overpriced.” Student life happens almost exclusively on campus. Dorm rooms are “large” and “well above par” but the housing system is “very weird.” While some students like it, there is a general consensus that its creators “should be slapped and sent back to Amherst.” Entertainment options include “lots of” performances, plays, and lectures. Some students are “obsessed with a capella groups.” Intramurals are popular, especially broomball (“a sacred tradition involving a hockey rink, sneakers, a rubber ball, and paddles”). Intercollegiate sports are “a huge part of the social scene.” For many students, the various varsity teams “are the basic social blocks at Williams.” “Everyone for the most part gets along, but the sports teams seem to band together,” explains a sophomore. Booze-laden parties" “and general disorder on weekends” are common. “A lot of people spend their lives between homework and practice and then just get completely smashed on weekends.” Nothing gets out of hand, though. “We know how to unwind without being stupid,” says a sophomore. </p>

<p>Students who considered Williams also looked at…
Amherst College
Boston College
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Colgate University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Georgetown University
Harvard College
Middlebury College
New York University
Princeton University
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
Tufts University
University of Pennsylvania
Vassar College
Wesleyan University
Yale University</p>

<p>amherst, dartmouth, middlebury, swarthmore, wesleyan all come to mind as well. What are your favorite things about Williams? Look for those in other schools. :)</p>

<p>Dartmouth, Hamilton, Colgate, Wesleyan, Amherst, Middlebury</p>

<p>For my out-door oriented, skiing, snow loving sons: Williams, Middlebury, Amherst, Dartmouth, Tufts(less selective but not much), Carleton, MacAlaster, St Olaf(safety). Be sure to get some geographical diversity if you can, especially if you are from the NE and not in a group with any special “hook” like sports, legacy, ethnicity, first generation, etc.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for all the comments!
I’m not sure who it was, but someone asked me what excites me about Williams. In response to that I will address a few different points. I’m a student who loves learning and believes that it should be an individualistic experience. I’m enthralled in learning and enjoying sharing my interpretations, opinions, etc. Thus, I am strongly attracted to a small school, with a small average class size. I want the professor to know my name and stop me if he sees me outside and talk about the, perhaps “less than impressive,” paper I just wrote. I grew up not too much from Williams, about fifteen/thirty minutes away. I am fairly familiar with the area and spend a portion of every year in NE. Furthermore, the region “excites” me because I desire to go to a college where the town is student based, a real “college town,” if you will. Williams struck me as just a place. With all of that being said, I still hold a few reservations about Williams. I’m currently an athlete, but one who views sports as a second-rate priority behind school. I want to casually play lacrosse, rugby, and ultimate frisbee in college, but not have it dictate my life and my studies. To me, school is for school. That being said, I have heard that Williams is driven by its athletic programs, which determines the level of social interaction you have. However, the validity of these statements has yet to be questioned. Also, I think it is quite conspicuous to anyone interested in liberal arts schools that they are never on the “top colleges, blah blah blah.” However, liberal arts schools, especially those like Williams and Amherst, are consistently being categorized as “top colleges, amazing schools, comparable to Ivy League schools, etc.” I pose the question: “Is there any reason to question a liberal arts school because of its absence from these lists?”</p>

<p>Thanks again
(especially “notnim” who motivated me to answer these tough questions for myself)</p>

<p>Do you know that there are forums here for individual colleges? I have not visited the Williams forum, but I know the Brown forum is active for exchanging info about the university and there are often current and former students posting there. That’s some first hand info.</p>

<p>Top University and LAC’s ranks are tracked on separate lists. The top LAC’s will get you into grad schools or professional schools at an equal or often better rate than the top universities. They are also almost just as difficult to gain admission to.</p>

<p>I personally would encourage people to go to a school a bit further away than where they grew up, as I think college is a great protected way to explore a new area. But that’s up to you. In any case, you will need to develop a list of reach, match and safety schools so that you have some options when the time comes.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply “BrownParent!”
At the time I made this thread, I did not know that there were individual forums for particular schools. Since then, I have found that out, but decided I would see what kind of information I could gain from this initial post. Thank you for your information about LAC’s comparatively, it was very helpful. Although I was born near Williams, I have spent my “childhood” traveling and frequently moving. Currently I live in the Midwest, but have found the atmosphere of NE favorable. I have already formulated a list, but I was just personally looking for information about the culture of Williams not “Do you think I can get into Williams?”</p>

<p>Bowdoin comes to mind.</p>

<p>I would disagree with earlier poster who said one could expect common overlap between Swarthmore and Williams. Two members of our family went to those 2 schools (spouse and son), and though they are similarly ranked, they could not be more Different. I think a “sound body, sound mind” philosophy runs through Williams, whereas Swarthmore administration could care less about athletics. S’more fancies itself to be “intellectual” to point of being pretty self-impressed and weird sometimes. They got rid of football and wrestling teams about 10 years ago, in a manner which upset students and alums–being a Quaker school, consensus is attempted, but it was not in this situation. Frankly, for my taste, Swarthmore could use some of the diversity (as in different races actually spending lots of time together) that sports brings to a place, as well as some of the blue collar feeling wrestling brings, rather than a few more students with solid 800s.</p>

<p>I was equally confused by the mention of Swarthmore. Besides their excellence as top liberal arts colleges and their high positions on the USNWR rankings, Williams and Swarthmore have little in common.</p>

<p>Williams and Vassar both have very strong programs in music and art - if that is important to you.</p>