<p>To all of the people who are at/who are going to the previews... </p>
<p>how are they? any general comments?</p>
<p>*i must live vicariously through you all...</p>
<p>~Nicole</p>
<p>*yeah..me too :(</p>
<p>I would really like to go home already. Staying here for four days is kind of a bore especially since I really don't have anything to do for Monday and Tuesday. The people here seem to be nice but I can't stand the fact that half of them wear flip-flops in 40 degree weather. I don't care too much for the other prefrosh kids in my room. One kid is a total cornball, the other speaks in acronyms, and another snores very loudly. Plus, sleeping on the floor is doing a number on my back. There is no town to speak of. The "town" on Spring Street is very Disney with somewhat Disney prices. The food that I ate in the dining hall wasn't that great. Maybe b/c it was a weekend the Kitchen staff was a little lax. My hamburger was too pink for me to eat and the food at the buffet stations was too cold. Food in the Deli and restaurants on Spring Street is ten times better. I had breakfast in the Inn on Sunday that was very good. I went to two parties on Saturday; one with alcohol and the other without. I couldn't enjoy myself because I didn't know anyone there. However, I will matriculating to Williams despite my luke warm feelings of the prefrosh visit. From what I've heard, Williams is VERY giving. You can change your financial aid package numerous times and can have a check made out to yourself on the spot. Money is literally not an issue here. Dorms for the most part are the best you'll find at most colleges in the country. Their Winter Study and Study Abroad programs are great. Moreover, class sizes are small, the alumni network is fantastic, and career prospects are amazing.</p>
<p>Hmmph.....</p>
<p>Maybe you should re-think matriculating.. It doesn't sound like you had a good experience at all. Can you envision spending four years of your life at Williams??</p>
<p>Best
-Mikey</p>
<p>"One kid is a total cornball, the other speaks in acronyms, and another snores very loudly. Plus, sleeping on the floor is doing a number on my back."</p>
<p>I really wish I could go home too. The admissions staff is very nice but it really does get very boring. There is really no town. NO TOWN! Just a collection of buildings and grassy lawns. Absolutely no town, no stores, and one bad bar.</p>
<p>I also went to a few parties but didnt have a good time cau I didnt know anyone there. Most of the people there seem to be from the rich northeast private schools and tend to form exclusive cliques very fast.</p>
<p>Oedipus you really hit the nail on the head! BTW, what is your name, where you from, and how do you look like? We might see each other tomorrow!</p>
<p>When my son chose Williams a year ago, I had the same concerns that some of you are expressing on this this thread. It's out in the middle of nowhere...will he be bored? I could not have been more wrong. His complaint about Williams one year later is that there is NOT enough time to attend all the lecturers they bring in, the events that are sponsored, etc. He is never bored, quite the contrary, he wishes there were more hours in the day to spend at all the fabulous things there are to do there.
As to the flip-flops at 40 degrees, yup...40 is warm in Williamstown.</p>
<p>There are defintely stores on Spring Street. Not too many though</p>
<p>Hehehe... Guess I always did all of my shopping online</p>
<p>It's important to realize visiting as a prefrosh that to a certain extent you should expect your visits to have significant downtime. Your student hosts will (obviously) often be working, running errands, or participating in their extracurricular activities. I was quite bored through most of my overnights at various schools, but I have never been bored as a student.</p>
<p>Most people at Williams aren't from northeast private schools and it's one of the least clique-y places I've ever been.</p>
<p>I'm sorry that you two had rather mediocre experiences during your visit at Williams, and I think that you should seriously consider whether you want to matriculate. However, mind that many of your complaints are more particular to visiting college than Williams specifically.</p>
<p>Haon
Although I didn't have much of a great time during my visit, I still think that as a student at Williams I'll really come to like it. I girl I spoke to said that she hated her Prefrosh visit but loves Williams now. I went to a some classes yesterday and the professors are absolutely amazing. I am from NYC after all so I just need to adapt to this environment.</p>
<p>I loved the prefrosh visit. There was downtime to get to know other members of the class of 2009 and it was up to us to make those connections... The purple key fair with all the clubs was awesome... all the current students were really into what they do and were actively trying to engage us in their activities. Williams is a very warm place (maybe not temp-wise... but warm nonetheless). The professors are amazing. The facilities are the best you will come by... and the other members of the class of 2009 were great people!</p>
<p>did anyone happen to take any photos while you were there? i would love to see some of them!!! ahh, i'm so excited, the previews sounded like they would have been fun. nevertheless, i am ed'r and it isn't as if it would have changed my mind. i'm so upset though, i am unable to access the blackboard forums. the little "login" button has stopped appearing! gah!</p>
<p>Hey Nikki! I hear you... I keep trying to get into the forum, too.</p>
<p>Ahhh, it's working again!</p>
<p>I loved the Williams previews weekend and feel like it is definitely my number 1 choice now. Unfortunately, Amherst just sent me my financial aid package and it is significantly better (they're offering about 5k more per year). I'm not sure I could justify paying that much more to go to a school that isn't any better academically. I would like to try to get them to match the offer, but when I went to previews, I specifically asked whether or not they did this and they were pretty firm in their denial. Were they just covering their butt so to speak? If I were to write a letter to them, with the Amherst package enclosed, is their a good chance that they'd seriously consider changing my package?</p>
<p>obilisk18--it's certainly worth trying to get a better aid package at Williams. I've heard of it happening more often than not.</p>
<p>yeah... definitely write them a letter. I'm sure they'd love to snag you from the Herst'</p>
<p>Actually.... Call the financial aid office, fax them Amherst's award and ask them to adjust their package to meet Amherst's. It would be dumb of them to say no.</p>
<p>obilisk18, I recieved a disappointing finaid package from Williams as well and I immediately emailed the office to see if I can get them to adjust their package. I mentioned specifically the amount that Colby and Wellesley offered (which was double), and the office said that they don't "match" offers from other colleges. However, they did ask me to clarify on a few things - eventually I got another 2k in grants. Not significant considering my family will still have to pay 27k more... :( However, there was another guy on the Admitted Students forum that mentioned after a review, his package was doubled. ???</p>