<p>Hello - I'm new to this but thought I'd give it a try. </p>
<p>My child is an ED to Williams. He loved the visit and the students.</p>
<p>So, as a new Eph parent, I was just wondering if there were other parents or incomming students who might like to exchane questions / answers about what to expect as an incoming Freshman or a Parent of one. </p>
<p>If your already at Williams or, an Alum, feel free to post your advice as well. </p>
<p>I look forward to hearing from you. </p>
<p>Here's a question to get started. Does anyone know or have ideas about what a Freshman is going to need to bring with him/her that will help make getting settled in at Williams better?</p>
<p>My S is a very happy junior at Williams. Hm. A broad question. I would have your S thinking about whether he wants a single or a double. That will make your “what to bring” thinking a little clearer.</p>
<p>Mission is singles; the Frosh Quad is mainly doubles.</p>
<p>My S was in Mission. He had a wonderful entry and a wonderful experience in his fourth floor single. It was like a tree house.</p>
<p>He travels light and brought about half of what his sister thought he’d need, and even that was too much.</p>
<p>If you have specific questions, I’d be happy to try to answer them.</p>
<p>Our son is a freshman; very happy on campus in a single in the frosh quad. He loves the place and adapted quickly. </p>
<p>Singles can be small, so you may need to ‘downsize’ what you bring. When rooms are assigned, you’re able to access plans to show the room. That will give you some idea of the size and what might fit.</p>
<p>There is a Bed, Bath and Beyond in a nearby town, as well as a Wal-Mart in North Adams. BB&B allows you to shop at home and have the items ‘delivered’ or held for you at the store near the college (25 min drive). When you arrive in Williamstown, you can pick up the items at the local store and perhaps decline those items that won’t work in the room once you see it. </p>
<p>Some essentials are foam mattress topper, fan for the room, light (maybe a clip on one if using bunks), some rooms need risers for the beds, bring totes to store under the bed and a plastic storage cart. Again, you can buy many items locally once you see the room. Most kids have a small fridge but those are available locally, if you can’t haul one there. Some bring a mini microwave, too. </p>
<p>A Williams student offers a laundry service for the kids. And then there are the questions about cell phone service. There are lots of fun things to discuss. Good luck and ask away!</p>
<p>So nice of you to offer to answer questions!</p>
<p>As far as cell phones - we have a family plan with TMobile with a great rate but I have heard there is no service in Williamstown. I called TMobile and they indicated it would be possible to use the Williams wifi network to make calls on a Tmobile blackberry. The only problem would be that the phone would not work in nearby towns. Does anyone know if this really works?</p>
<p>Also with the dorms - do the incoming freshmen get to choose whether they would prefer a single or double? </p>
<p>Pretty much. Although Mycroft said his/her son has a single on the Frosh quad those are pretty rare. As I said in first post, the rule of thumb is that if you ask for Mission you get a single (no exceptions.) If you ask for frosh quad you get a double (no exceptions.)</p>
<p>It really is a personal choice. Some say the entries in Mission (which are the horizontal floor) are tighter; some say that’s not true.</p>
<p>Some feel a roommate is a great resource; my kid as some sleep issues as was thrilled to start college with a single.</p>
<p>About cell phone service, I can’t answer your Blackberry question. We have Verizon which works well, including a Blackberry. We have never really had any difficulty.</p>
<p>Our son requested a single in Mission and ended up with a very small single on the Quad. He’s happy so it all works out. He’s hoping for a single again next year as he enjoys having some privacy. Sharing a common room, a bathroom, and the laundry is enough for him. He likes having his own room. We were talking about housing options last weekend and he mentioned that though no one he knew had serious roommate problems, most kids wanted a single next year. </p>
<p>As for cell phones, we had T-Mobile but our phones did not work when we visited campus, our contracts were up for renewal so we switched carriers to AT&T. It was important to us to have reliable phone service regardless of where we called from. Often we call from the road to let him know we’re on the way (“wake up, we’re almost there”). If your phone service did not work because you were in a dead zone, that could be annoying. I’d suggest you test your phones on a visit.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the input. My daughter is so excited about Williams - but a little nervous as well. Deep down she really wants a single - she has no sisters and is used to privacy and but doesn’t want to miss out on the roomate experience or be out of the loop in a single, so she is a bit conflicted. She has some small quirky borderline OCD tendencies - as I am sure many do. I think she would like the single in a suite in the quad but it seems like this is not requestable, it just sort of happens to some?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone have any advice about how much money the kids need and also any input as to any financial surprises from the school? I have heard horrors about bookstore bills (not from Williams - just other schools)and also did not know for sure if the Jan Term is included or not, or if there are extra fees for the ephventures. Thank you!</p>
<p>Behrumt, you will see a fee for health insurance on the bill that you can waive by showing proof that your daughter is covered under another plan. It’s a pretty big fee, like $1000 or so, so be sure to not pay that by mistake. There are no fees for ephventures but they will send her a list of things she’ll need for the camping trip if she chooses that. Some of the things can be borrowed from the Outing Club but it is nice for them to have a good pair of hiking boots and such if they’re inclined to the outdoors. There’s no extra bill for winter study unless there are specific course fees for the course they choose.</p>
<p>As for spending money, it depends on the kid. My daughter has spent very little money but she’s a frugal kid (about $50 + travel costs for the fall semester).There really aren’t many places to shop and socializing is primarily on campus. </p>
<p>The housing questionaire is very brief, I don’t recall if there’s a place to make specific requests. My daughter loves her single, it’s quite a luxury compared to freshman housing at other schools.</p>
<p>There is a space for special requests at the bottom of the housing form where you could write something like, single in Frosh Quad, although I’m not sure how effective this is. Any of the freshman dorms has its perks and is a great place to live.</p>
<p>Textbooks are expensive everywhere, definitely in bookstores, slightly cheaper online, but if your child is going to be on financial aid, it’ll cost nothing to purchase books. This explains it better than I can: [Williams</a> College :: Office of Financial Aid - Announcements](<a href=“Williams College”>Williams College)</p>
<p>Your daughter would not miss out by being in a single. There are common rooms for socializing and the entry system really gets the kids interacting. There is a lot to adjust to during that first semester and Williams does a nice job of getting the kids to interact with other students and with their entry. The kids can become really close, even if in a single. Our son’s entry gets together every Sunday evening and the kids really try to be there. And he talks about getting together to watch movies, sports, or going in entry groups to various campus events. If she thinks a single is best for her, go for it. I don’t think it would matter which actual dorm she was in.</p>
<p>I think all the entries get together Sunday night and snacks are provided on a rotating basis by the kids.</p>
<p>They really do support each other and go to each other’s meets/performances.</p>
<p>When everyone else has a single too, it’s not an isolating experience at all.</p>
<p>There really are no hidden costs that I can remember except maybe packets for languages or lab fees of around $50.00 or so.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend the Ephadventures – the outdoor trips. Not everyone goes since there are other options, but they are really great bonding experiences. </p>
<p>The kids start frosh year with two sets of friends: those from their eph trips and those from their entry. It’s nice to have so many friendly faces.</p>
<p>My S is not as frugal as the young lady above. He and his friends did order in food and go to the movies at Images (the indy movie theater in town.) I am not sure what he spent because he had a job in the library and earned his own spending money and still does.</p>
<p>Many kids frequent the Thai and Indian restaurants in town.</p>
<p>It’s not an expensive place to be, but there SOME things to spend money on if the student is so inclined.</p>
<p>And then the JA’s usually have cars and there are weekly runs to the store for snack items, etc. for the dorm room. Maybe boys indulge in this more, I’m not sure.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think my daughter is the frugal extreme mythmom. She went out to eat exactly once in the fall semester and only because it was an entry thing. We do send her care packages on occasion so she gets by on that for snacks. We also left her very well stocked on toiletries and such. Beer is probably her biggest self-funded expense.</p>