I am currently deciding between Williams and Colgate for ED.
One of the things I love about Colgate is the fact that everyone talks about how strong the alumni network at Colgate is. I have heard that there is a real sense of loyalty. Alumni are constantly recruiting Colgate students for internships and jobs post-graduation. And the Career Services department seems to be top notch.
How is the Williams alumni network? Is it as strong as Colgate? Are alumni jumping through hoops to recruit Williams students? This is a major decision for me when it comes to deciding which school to ED to.
I’m certainly not an expert, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Williams Alumni organization – which his, interestingly, the very first such institution in the United States.
Also, as I understand it, each graduating student is placed in a searchable database that includes all previous living graduates. This gives each new graduate access to thousands of alumni all over the country. Moving to NYC after graduation? Send out inquiries to a dozen Williams graduates in the city; hear back from six; and walk away with 2-3 opportunities and maybe a couch to crash on for a few nights. Sounds pretty great to me.
Google “Williams alumni network,” and that’ll get you to the website.
The Williams alumni network is one of the best organized, most active and innovative of any school, it is truly one of the greatest strengths of the institution, alumni involvement and giving rates are some of the highest for any college or university. A high percentage of students say they obtained their first jobs through the alumni network, many in finance in New York. Alums also often host students on externships or on graduate programs, volunteer as professional mentors, etc.
I’m a Williams alum and one of my sons (and many others in my family) graduated from Colgate.
Both schools have an incredibly strong and loyal alumni network - it’s really a hallmark of both schools. I’ve seen both networks in action - alums absolutely look out for students, make themselves available for networking, interview prep, etc. As I think about it, both my first job out of grad school and one of my son’s summer internships came about as a result of alumni connections. And I helped one of my son’s Colgate roommates get his first job, so indirect networks work too!
Williams and Colgate alums are all over Wall Street and students from both schools are well placed for recruiting - the key is having alums in senior positions at the firm in question. And both schools do. My sense (from being involved with recruiting at my firm) is that Williams might be a “target” school at a couple of more firms than Colgate, there’s a bit more on campus recruiting at Williams, but that’s just my sense. Honestly, this isn’t a reason to pick one school or another for ED. They are both great schools - which one do you want to spend four years at?
In regards to finance, I’ve heard both Williams’s math and econ depts. referred to as, “The West Point of Wall Street.” Recruitment at WC is vigorous, with deep alumni connections.
In other depts., don’t forget the Williams Art Mafia (google it). Still alive and well, filling art history positions all over the country, with powerful museum directors and curators at some of the finest institutions. Having attended an equally influential “mafia” program for a different industry at a another Little Three school, I know how important these kinds of connections can be, generation after generation. When my DS was considering classes beyond his STEM/econ interests, his advisor (chair of the physics dept.) said, “You’re at Williams. For goodness sake, take art history!” Our dubious DS did and loved it, changing his view on the fine arts in general. THIS is why a liberal arts education is so important.
I’ve been told the same can be said for biology, theater, English and psychology. All renowned depts. with great grad school and alumni contacts. Williams grads in general are very enthusiastic.
Williams has a fantastic alumni network - one that is rivaled only by Dartmouth, Princeton, and Amherst. Williams is one of a few colleges that combines a strong undergraduate education, zealous alumni in every echelon of finance / art / law + government / medicine / academia, and great career placement. Further, Williams alums go to bat for their own, and are always back on campus recruiting for their hedge funds, investment banks, PE firms, etc.
To give an idea, Williams arranges career treks to Boston, New York, and Washington to visit different fields such as the venture capital / entrepreneurship world, Wall Street, policymaking and government, etc. During these trips, you can expect to meet roughly a hundred alumni, from entry-level analysts to managing directors to CEO’s and senators, all of whom are willing to take time to speak with you, arrange phone calls with or for you, and advise you along with your career.
Williams also has incredibly dedicated professors that help students with finding jobs, internships, and research positions for the summer. The professors at Williams are responsible for fomenting generations of alumni that have dominated various fields at rates that supersede their Ivy (Harvard, Yale, Princeton) counterparts. These fields include art history (Williams Art Mafia), finance (Williams was known as the “West Point of Wall Street”), and medicine.