I’m considering going to Williams in the fall and I have a few questions.
Considering the rural location, are there enough opportunities around for premed students? Do you feel like you were prepared for medical school and received enough support? I have heard that some colleges “weed out” med school applicants, do you know if that happens at Williams?
I also have some questions about the general environment of the college. Do you feel like lasting relationships are made through the entry system? Are there cool things you can do off campus that aren’t “advertised” by the college (obviously not the bad kind of cool)? Aaand finally, why did you choose Williams over other colleges?
I appreciate your help.
Incoming freshman here so keep that in mind as I don’t have the most experience, but I have visited and knew enough to decide to go to Williams. I can list factors that I considered for Williams and then give you my thoughts on other issues.
Entries - only hearsay on the effectiveness, but entries are pretty unique and awesome from the people I’ve talked to
Tutorials - I am super excited for these and believe that they will greatly improve my writing and reasoning abilities as well as my over all education
Natural Beauty - This is important to me personally
Students interested in both Academics and Athletics (Outdoors)!!
Small class sizes - most of the classes are seminar style and the ones I visited were awesome! All the students were actively engaged in discussion and it seemed like a great environment
Rigorous classes - this was a concern of mine, I did not want easy classes and William’s do not seem like that at all
Winter Study - really cool classes on a pass or fail basis! How could you say no?
Research - No grad students means it is super easy to do research throughout the year, they also pay $4,000 a summer if you want to do research then
Feeder to top Grad and Professional programs - top employers and schools know Williams, you shouldn’t have a problem getting a job at all
Really dedicated/close knit alumni, this goes with the above, super easy to get plugged in with alumni in all sorts of fields
Possible Cons -
Williamstown is small, this is a plus for me but could be a negative for some
Less high class research - though it is really easy to do research and there is no competing with grad students, the really high level research getting done a large universities doesn’t typically happen at Williams. That said, you would only be a side note barely helping in top research at those schools.
Less name recognition among the average Joe
Not sure what you mean by cool things to do off campus, but personally I am really looking forward to exploring the trails in the area, going skiing in the winter, and heading to Boston and New York on breaks (among all kinds of stuff on campus of course).
Before they go to college, many students are concerned about being able to do stuff off campus. A school like
Williams is going to have so much to do on campus that you will not find yourself leaving that often, tbh.
My daughter goes to a well-known LAC and I can tell you the calendar is filled with activities. There will be a lot of active clubs. There will be theater, comedy shows, excursions into the surrounding area, live music, dances, sports events, winter sports, all kinds of fun events to keep students happy on campus. So it’s nice to feel that you can go to Boston if you like, and of course you probably will, but I suspect after the excitment wears off, you will spend most of your time on campus. After all, that’s where your friends, food, and bed are.
My daughter is a new 2022 and we live on Kauai. A very small island in Hawaii. So she surprised me by saying Williams will feel like home, beside the weather and beaches of course. One girl from here graduated Williams 2016 as Pre Med. She said summers and Winter Study she got to intern in Boston. So if it is not on campus and you have a will there is a way.
Just a few things to add… I was accepted for 2022 and I’m considering my options. I looked at their events tab and it did seem like there is a lot to do. I’ve also heard that there are over 100 clubs, but I’m still trying to find the list. So you’re probably right that I may not go off campus often.
I did word my question pretty badly, but you got it. It is probably reasonable to go to Boston or NYC during breaks but they are not really close to the campus. Being involved in sports would be fun and I think that there are a lot of ways to participate in less competitive activities.
I guess that most opportunities for premed experiences will be far from campus during breaks. It also seems that they don’t weed out applicants, but I’m not completely sure yet. Thanks
For the club list, go to the Williams website. Here is the path. Click on:
Menu
Life on campus
Activities
Student Centers, organizations, and events
Registered student organizations (RSO’s)
Current listing of RSO’s
External/public access
Also: Some club sports, like club tennis, are listed as RSO’s. But most are not. You can find other club sports, intramural sports, and the outing club by going to:
Athletics
Recreation
Then pick club, intramural, or outing club.
This is not an exhaustive list, but it will give you an idea. There also will be official music groups, like the Berkshire Symphony, that kids get involved in, that will not be listed in the sources to which I just directed you.
@snowleopard2022, Williams has active and accessible advising for health care professions and an excellent track record for getting their students in medical school.
I’d suggest you spend some time following the links on this site. I’m sure one of the advisors would respond to emailed questions. https://careers.williams.edu/healthstem/
To me the entry system is a huge positive for making the transition to college life. The Junior Advisors are there to answer questions – mundane and profound and the entry provides a ready-made social group for meals and activities. My son lived with the friends he made in his first year entry for all four years, and now a decade after graduation, they are still very close even though they live in different parts of the country.
Students generally manage to get to New York or Boston once or twice a term, sometimes as part of a class related field trip or sometimes independently. Even though Williams organizes a myriad of arts, sports, lectures, parties and advocacy events, a lot of Williams socializing consists of hanging out with friends late night in the common rooms, in the dining halls or campus center or during impromptu sports or outdoorsy activities.
Thanks for helping with my questions.
I found this to be important with regards to premed planning - “Williams supports the applications of all students who choose to apply, regardless of grades or other factors. In recent years, eighty to ninety percent of Williams applicants with competitive science GPAs and MCAT scores have been admitted to at least one medical school.”
After looking into it a bit more, I agree with you about the entry system. It’s nice to know that they could make a friendship last that long. Though, it looks like they are changing things up with the system for next year. http://williamsrecord.com/2018/03/07/jaab-announces-significant-alterations-to-ja-system/
I feel like it would be different with a group of 40 people, even if the number of advisors increases too. Have any incoming freshmen heard about this?
I’m a premed at Williams now, here are some thoughts re: your questions:
Although our rural location may lack a large quantity of “premed” opportunities, we are within 15-30 mins from two reasonably sized hospitals (SVMC and BMC). Being one of only a handful of colleges in the area allows us to have phenomenal connections with these institutions - as linked above, SPEC 19 is a one month long (and guaranteed) shadowing opportunity at these hospitals. I don’t know of many other schools that can offer an experience like that
There are opportunities to work in almost any clinical setting - I know people who work as scribes at these hospitals/EMTs for the local ambulance/volunteers at nearby nursing centers
Non-clinical volunteering opportunities are plentiful and well coordinated - search for the Center for Learning in Action
No weeding out of med school applicants, anyone apply to medical school with institutional support. This is big since no support really hampers your ability to get accepted
Premed advising is robust and comparable to peer schools; the premed advisor is great (and was previously the dean of admissions at Brown’s medical school)
@Ephs1234567890 Thanks, the info is really helpful. Also, I’m not sure how this works in any college, but do all/ a lot of the premed students work together to get through the process (kind of like a club)? Right now, it seems that the premed track is difficult no matter which college someone is in and probably even more so at Williams.
Also, during Winter Study, Williams does a great job placing students in internships at major medical centers where alums volunteer to host Williams students so that they get exposure to hospital and research centers. Students in the sciences generally are very collaborative and supportive of one another. Many go on to author papers together. It’s a strong academic and professional network. My daughter has been to dinners with Williams medical alums when she was interning.