I have been looking at and visiting some rural LACs and loved them! Williams especially has a beautiful campus and amazing academic philosophy. The freshman year experience at one of these rural colleges seems great-- good living situation, tight-knit community etc. However, I worry about junior and senior years. While there are plenty of entertainment options on campus, by the end I wonder if it will be constricting or like I am trapped. The “bubble” seems like it would foster a unique learning experience, but by the end it may feel too childish. For anyone with experience at a rural college: is there truly enough to do for four years, or do you have the “need to spread my wings” feeling by the end?
One way to spread your wings at a rural LAC is to do a semester/year abroad. Many such schools encourage study abroad just for that reason.
A friend who is a professor at a well known LAC felt kids outgrew these kinds of schools (and those who went abroad in their junior year were bored & restless back on campus as seniors) and encouraged his own high-achieving daughters to go to big, urban campuses.
OTOH, there are many, many students at out-of-the-way LACs who are happy all 4 years, particularly at schools known to offer a challenging, enriching education (such as Williams, for example.)
In other words - the fit of a rural LAC vs. urban university is totally an individual issue. You should decide based on your own gut feeling.
Would you be comfortable traveling off-campus for a few hours to get to some “civilization”?
You would be 3 hours from Boston at Williams, and I can bet that more than a few students visit occasionally for the weekend.
I went to an urban school, so I could hop on a subway and get to shops or restaurants or the riverfront in 15 minutes. You just can’t get that at a rural school.
Maybe this will help you think about the options:
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/33-liberal-arts-colleges-in-or-near-cities/
Four years goes very, very fast - do an internship somewhere else sophomore year, take advantage of foreign study junior year. The Great Lakes College Association has some marvelous off campus, credit earning programs …these types of off-campus explorations and collaborations are one of the strengths of many of the small LACs.
First, as others have noted it is easy to get away – three hours to either NYC or Boston (or five hours to Montreal) makes it very easy to get a break from the rural environment. Second, remember that you are in one of the richest cultural areas in the country. MassMOCA (ten minutes from campus), in addition to being the largest contemporary art museum in the country, has a rich array of programming throughout the year. Here is a link to some upcoming events, including a major bluegrass festival in September: http://www.massmoca.org/search_results.php?st=2&search=30. A microbrewery is also coming to MassMOCA this year. Closer to campus, The Clark also is a world-class museum that hosts interesting events. If you enjoy golfing, hiking, skiing, orienteering or other forms of exploring nature, there are a ton of options near campus for exploring nature. And there are several interesting bars and restaurants in close proximity to campus. To me, the Berkshires are the best of both worlds – beautiful nature, escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, but also a huge amount of nearby culture and fairly easy proximity to big urban areas for a periodic escape. It’s also very easy to get off campus for a month during Winter Study if you are feeling a bit of cabin fever (or just want to get away from the cold for a month). Williamstown is hardly your typical rural town – how many truly “rural” towns host world-class theaters and museums, three bars, several art galleries, at least a dozen restaurants, and an independent movie theater?
Now, if you really don’t find the idea of being with only about 2000 peers in a relatively rural environment in any way appealing, of course Williams is not for you. But if you are generally appreciative of that environment, but are worried about having nothing to do to ever escape the campus bubble for a change of scenery or a break, that most definitely should not be a concern. You’ll be surprised by how busy you will be between academics, extracurriculars, and the enormous array of campus events – you could find an interesting lecture, or arts/sporting/service/religious event to attend virtually every day of the academic calendar, so it’s not as if you will typically be bored by campus life. And if you are creative, there is enough to do in the Berkshires (some other ideas: day trip to Bennington; going to the Normal Rockwell Museum; going to one of many interesting historic houses / sites / monuments) for the occasional escape when you need it, even without a longer trip to three major cities, all of which are easily accessible by car.