<p>Williams is amazing.</p>
<p>Amongst the general populace is kinda limited to one coast. Speaking as someone from Chicago, most people here don't know Williams from Williams and Mary. </p>
<p>You'll get plenty of personal attention, excepting Psych 101, which has 400 students.) But I recall a freshman year conversation with my friend who went to Harvard, and she said that 400 was her SMALLEST class. </p>
<p>At Williams, you cvan take part in tutorials (2-person meetings with 1 professor, going in depth on several texts and mostly debating and justifying your paper orally.) A lot of my intellectual growth came out of sparring with classmates. This produces a much higher quality recommendation from professors who know you as a person, vs. another Harvard friend who had to find a T.A. to write her a rec when she was applying for med school.</p>
<p>A Williams education teaches you to think on your feet, to be knowledgeable beyond the pat answers of a scantron test, and to be able to see the world broadly. If you don't believe me about the scantrons, you can ask any science major - most of the biology and even chem classes had essay exams with either short or long essays, forcing you to escribe how you would set up or conduct an experiment. No guessing there, you really had to know your stuff.</p>
<p>You'd be surprised about how recognized Williams is. Like it has been stated, you are looking in the wrong social circles. As soon as you go up a few echelons, Williams will be very reputable and people will respect it.</p>
<p>I'd argue that Vassar is more recognizable than Williams, but strictly on a brand-name basis. It had an image associated with it in the middle to latter portions of the last century that made it a very popularly known school in New York and among journalists and other writers...</p>
<p>I think that Williams and Amherst (the latter being the better of the two ;) ) are far superior to the Ivies because of their size and learning environments. The ivies can say they don't use TA's as much as they want, but in classes of 200 or more, it's inevitable.</p>
<p>Williams is a fantastic school with a fantastic reputation. Unfortunately, not everybody knows this. Many people where i'm from see Williams as "a good liberal arts school" rather than the elite institution it is. The CC boards here are filled with students and parents who know loads about every elite college, we've all done our research so it's easy to say that Williams is wonderful. I had no idea williams even existed until my senior year in high school when i did some extensive LAC research. It also depends on what you're going to do after college. For grad school, williams will be an excelent choice. For the job market, it depends on what you major in and what degree you receive. Both of my parents work and recruit for two Fortune 1000 companies, and you'll need either a B.S. degree or the ability to overly-impress them with a B.A. - clearly the BS is prefered and sometimes required. This is one thing you should consider (though i can't speak for other companies). But, doing exceptonally well at Williams should set you up for whatever you want to do. </p>
<p>And i'd have to disagree with the idea of liberal arts colleges being superior to the ivy's because of size and learning environment. It's really a personal preference and choice. My school's size allows them to offer over 4,500 different classes. This isn't possible in a school of 3,000 people. Nor is it possible to have 700 student clubs. Here, size is only beneficial. And the classes of 200 with all TA's is a really broad generalization. 99% of classes are under 20 students. In high school, i thought a LAC would be best for me as well (looked at Hamilton, Colgate) but elected for the big ivy and havn't looked back at all. The learning environment is very independent, nobody is going to hold your hand through the process. Despite this, everybody at my school develops really close relationships with professors, administrators and faculty - this semester, i've had dinner with two professors and with the dean of my school. Perhaps explain why LAC's are 'far superior' than the ivy's rather than just state your opinion that they are.</p>
<p>I certainly hope that's not true about the BSc vs BA or I'm screwed.</p>
<p>heheheheh... you'll be just fine williams07student. I have total faith in you!!</p>
<p>My nephew graduated from Williams 10 years ago. He could've gone to an Ivy but is a very quiet, shy person so he wanted a smaller environment without the Greek scene or eating clubs. He absolutely loved it there and made lifelong friends. Had no problem getting into grad school for his field (geology) and still keeps in touch with his science professor. He'll tell anyone who'll listen that going to Williams was the best thing he's ever done.</p>
<p>The top firms will come looking and interviewing, so don't worry about the B.A./B.S.</p>
<p>In finding a job straight out of college the two most important factors are who you know and what you know. For either, you couldn't pick a better school than Williams. The education that you will receive as well as the alumni network are both unparalled.</p>
<p>No, Williams isn't as well known among the general populace as Columbia. However, where it counts, people will have heard of Williams. If you're looking to impress your nextdoor neighbor or grocer with the college you're going to, don't go to Williams. Other than that, it's an exceptional choice.</p>
<p>I agree with windycity and haon. My son graduated from Williams two years ago and now is working for an architectural firm in Boston (now applying to grad school). The alumni contacts there are unparalleled. He had no problem getting his foot in the door at several firms. His girlfriend is a senior there now and just landed a fabulous consulting job with her 'BA to be degree' in political economy. The firm she is going to work for actively recruited on the Williams campus. Williams provides a great education and alumni network.</p>