<p>So, I’m somewhat foolishly pretending that I will get into these schools come April 1 and feel that I have a good grasp on their comparable academics and locations and such…but not on their social atmospheres. Any thoughts? Or are the three that difficult to differentiate?</p>
<p>williams has an absolutely terrible social atmosphere. terrible. and the campus is also ugly but that’s an aside.</p>
<p>middlebury kids are the happiest, at least the ones I know.</p>
<p>bowdoin is in the middle, you can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>social ranking:
- middlebury
- bowdoin
- williams</p>
<p>academic ranking
1.williams
2. bowdoin
3. middlebury</p>
<p>nice buildings ranking
- middlebury
- middlebury
- middlebury</p>
<p>I go to Bowdoin so I concede that I may be biased, but I wouldn’t say Middlebury kids are the happiest. I’ve visited all three schools and spent time during the year at Middlebury and can confidently say Bowdoin kids are happier. It seemed like a lot of the Midd kids were uptight or stressed out, whereas at Bowdoin that happens occasionally but people try to be optimistic about it and not let it get to them. </p>
<p>As far as a social atmosphere goes, Bowdoin is pretty great. People tend to bond pretty quickly and after a while only hang out with their “clique” but that happens in a lot places and its not that big of a deal. The only people I think who would have a hard time socially here are chem-free people who don’t live in chem-free housing. Alcohol is a HUGE part of the social scene here (as are casual hook-ups) but that’s only an issue if you don’t drink and are surrounded by people who party Thursday through Saturday (not a lot of Friday classes here). I imagine it’s isolating. Hope this helps…</p>
<p>Everybody I know who went to Middlebury hated it. (Sample size: uh… I think two or three.)</p>
<p>Then again, this is blatantly a Bowdoin push. :}</p>
<p>govman: A lot of my friends are people who switched to chem-free after freshman year. I wouldn’t say they’re disadvantaged-- rather, they have wider social circles on campus than I do.</p>
<p>cilyboi: why is Williams “an absolutely terrible social atmosphere”? I am not challenging your claim but would simply ask for some reasoning behind it. I am very interested in both Bowdoin and Williams!</p>
<p>PS I am athletic and subfree (although I completely understand if other people drink)</p>
<p>biology91: If you decide on Bowdoin (and I hope you do), go chem-free. We have way more fun.</p>
<p>In my experience, chem-free people are not just the ones who never, ever drink; their defining quality is the ability to have fun without alcohol being involved. The chem-free dorms tend to bond more, too.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>puh-leeeze.</p>
<p>Only joking, arcadia. :} Anyway, these forums can’t possibly hope to capture any actual, statistically significant data-- it’s very much about personal experience. What’s cilyboi’s evidence based on, anyway?</p>
<p>my evidence is based on the fact that i’m awesome.</p>
<p>no, i spent 3-4 weeks studying at williams with a professor. it was really a terrible feeling, the campus projected very negatively for me. i mean, it’s a far uglier campus setup than bowdoin and way uglier than midd. the people there were very nice…but i definitely didn’t feel comfortable there.</p>
<p>Kithburd: Thanks for the advice! I always thought about going chem-free but didn’t know if chem-free people were wierd/isolated from the rest of the campus.</p>
<p>
The Williams campus differs, in two important respects, from typical American college campuses. </p>
<p>First, the campus boundaries are indistinct; the college and town are blended to a large degree. College buildings are next to shops, churches, and houses, and State Highway 2 (a major trucking route) runs right through the middle of everything. If you want a campus with a carefully-planned, “ivory tower” feel, then Williams may disappoint you. </p>
<p>Second, Williams is right at the doorstep of the mountains and forests. You can set out on foot from the campus and soon reach the overlook at [Pine</a> Cobble](<a href=“http://www.wrlf.org/pinecobble.html]Pine”>http://www.wrlf.org/pinecobble.html), which is more than 1,000 feet higher in elevation. If you like mountains, then the natural scenery within walking, jogging, or biking distance of Williams is unmatched by other New England LACs. </p>
<p>It’s a matter of taste. Some people like these differences, others don’t.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to say living in a chem free dorm or choosing not to drink will make it impossible, or even difficult, to make lots of friends. I know several people, and am friends with a couple, of chem free kids who are very popular and I have yet to hear about a student feeling pressured to drink. Not doing so is generally respected and won’t ostracize you.
That said, I think it’s important for prospective students to understand that at Bowdoin (as with other schools like Midd), living in chem free housing like Hyde or Howell is typically made fun of. Many of the people who live in those residences acknowledge themselves that a disproportionate amount of the anti-social kids live in their dorms. Again, I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just trying to let people know that choosing to be in chem free housing can come with some peculiar drawbacks you won’t experience living elsewhere.</p>
<p>it should also be noted that for certain students, living in a non-chem free dorm with rampant drinking may itself be more a drawback that the peculiar aspect of being subject to ridicule by a few buffoon-minded students. i had a pretty consistently chem-free life at bowdoin and didn’t suffer social alienation at all, or if i did, i didn’t care enough for it to matter.</p>
<p>Another vote for chem-free. It was the best decision I made. I have a lot of friends in chem-free and while there are definitely awkward people, there are tons of cool people. I have made a lot of friends both in and out of chem-free, had some good conversations and I do not feel my social life has been affected negatively. In fact, I feel that if I had lived non-chem free then I wouldn’t have met some people that I love being around now. </p>
<p>Only warning is that some kids in chem-free definitely do drink and either wanted somewhere clean or mommy got to their housing forms before them. However, they are very accepting that they live there and have loved it or at the very least have been cordial with the people there and are seriously considering chem-free next year. It depends on your scene though but for me chem-free was a smart decision. I have heard way more horro stories from non-chem free people and you can PM me for details. Finally, chem-free seems to vary each year, 2 years ago they were the crazy kids, this year some people do feel they’re awkward and although I make fun of my dorm sometimes I love it and it’s all friendly joshing. There is definitely still a dominant number of crazy kids who are crazy fun there this year. Next year…who knows?? so choose it because it’s right for you.</p>
<p>Answering your question though, Bowdoin owns Williams and Moddlebury in my very bias opinion, well except of you want to do languages then you can go to Midd for their awesome language department.</p>
<p>let me also note that chem-free was so popular this year that they had to make the first two floors of coleman chem-free in addition to hyde!</p>
<p>youngn-011— how does chem-free fit in with the “house” affiliation, or whatever you call it?</p>
<p>Well… I had a difficult time at Bowdoin to start but basically, it’s a “Be Happy or Else” school. I seemed to be the only one who didn’t like it there but I came around by second semester of freshmen year.
As for Williams: I have a few friends there who complain about the isolation of the students from one another in terms of socializing. They don’t seem to interact that much because people are stressed.
My friends at Middleburry say that nobody there is very upbeat.</p>
<p>“Be Happy or Else”</p>
<p>Haha, could you explain that? Whats the “or else?”
and you would you say that most people are happy or no?</p>
<p>cadence,
well chem-free people are affiliated with Howell which in my opinion can be the a downside. Howell has some pretty cool people and a lot of really weird people too. However the social house scene has never been a big part of my Bowdoin experience and I don’t intend for it to be. Howell tries to organize activities for its affiliates but I feel like they end up being of the stereotypical cheesy chem-free variety. </p>
<p>That said the members of the house change each year and that changes the house dynamics although I can’t say I know any particularly interesting people who chose to live there this year. The plus side is that you can use Howell’s space for any events you want and you can even opt to host a party there and you could invite your friends. About two Howell parties have been REALLY good. I also feel you cannot expect that much from Howell since social houses are reminiscent of the frat drinking style and it is hard to have a chem-free house compare to those. However your house is there to help you so if the hyde freshmen have initiatives they can transform Howell. They do have a programming fund of about 6-8000, not sure of the exact figure to organize activities for you guys. Since they cannot use it on booze they will actually try and use it for things you may be interested in. </p>
<p>I chose to do other things than be in a social house scene like room parties and it will take a little while to figure it out as a freshman but you should definitely make your own path to it.</p>
<p>Yeah, Bowdoingirl, whats up with the ‘or else’? I am considering Bowdoin, Williams and Swat, and my friends who go or know say that Bowdoin is a real ‘group’ school-that people hang with ‘their’ group. Yeah, they love their group but do not let others in so easily. Not exactly cliques, but more like things get all sewed up early and its hard to know a whole lot of different people, or to change your group if it gets boring or somehow stops working for you. Can u comment on this? I have heard that Swat is much more open and people mix it up more…? Thanks. Its great to hear from current students.</p>