@TheGreyKing I’ve gotten the impression that Williams is very sporty (from what I’ve read in the Princeton Guide and Fiske Guide) and my kid I think got that impression as well, which might not be the same as preppy but if almost everyone on campus is involved in athletics to some degree, that’s not really the quirky vibe I think my kid is looking for. I’m not the original poster on this thread, though, but was curious since we are looking at a lot of the other schools mentioned.
@washugrad - I think your son would find the quirky vibe at Williams! But, if possible, he should visit and judge for himself. (Though I would agree that Bard or Hampshire would have a higher percentage of kids for whom “quirky” would be the first adjective one would choose to describe them!)
But yes, there are plenty of athletes around, as one would expect from a small college that fields varsity teams in a wide range of sports. However, it is certainly not true that “almost everyone” is involved in athletics. There are lots of kids who are into music or art or various other activities, without playing a sport at all.
In short, there are indeed a lot of athletes around, but there is neither a culture where athletes rule the school and exclude others nor where students who do not like sports will feel they are in a minority. Odds are, you son would be friendly with both athletes and nonathletes, and he would be able to find friends who share his interests.
But we digress from the OP’s question…
Thanks, everyone. I knew I could count on the folks here at CC for helpful insight. She’s already considering some of these, but you guys have mentioned a few more that were not previously on her (or my) radar that she can now research.
Williams College has won the Learfield Sports Directors Cup in D3 a record 20 times. No other school even comes close. They will never admit it publicly but they are obviously extremely interested in top athletes who have a solid academic profile. Given this, mathmatically, other candidates must be academically exceptional (or have other hooks) in order to maintain overall admissions selectivity).
Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury are fierce rivals in their conference - comparable to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton in the Ivy L. The Ivy’s compete for a league championship across all sports. In order to achieve this they field top teams year after year in specialty sports like Crew, Squash, and Fencing with kids from all over the world.