Student Life

Colleges and Universities A-Z Williams College
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Hello! As I put together my list, I started falling in love with Williams, but I have a few questions about student life.

I’ve heard food is quite good at Williams, but I am not sure if this is from the perspective of “best fries ever” or “diverse and high quality food.” I tend to eat pretty healthy and varied food. Are there options for less common foods like indian food, Japanese food or middle eastern food-- either in the dining hall or the limited off campus restaurants? This is not a huge deal, but who doesn’t love to eat! Also, there a grocery store within walking/biking distance?

As far as the party aspect of Williams, I have heard there is a lot of drinking, but also regular non-drinking options. I love that Williams doesn’t have greek life, but I hear that athletic teams often take on the role of frats by looking down upon non-athletes. Is this true? Also, do sports teams live in the same dorms together? I read that they do, but it was by an individual i.e. not reliable source.

When I hear about Williams, everyone talks about how lovely it is to spend time outside on the campus. In the winter, aside from skiing and such, what is there to do? I like some light hiking and appreciate the surroundings, but frankly, I am a terrible skier. Is it possible to run outside in the winter, or does the snow and ice stop that? How else do students take advantage of the campus in the winter? Since I mention my lack of skiing ability, it seems apt to ask about medical emergencies. Is there a hospital close by? Is there a doctor close by for non-emergency appointments?

Williams seems to have all the art/music clubs one could desire. I am interested in acapella. I have looked up Williams’s groups, and they are great! Do they get large audiences? I know that at some schools, acapella is a big deal and they get hundreds at performances. Is Williams like this? Also, with the extremely small school size, is it too much like high school? I hear that Williams isn’t cliquy, but I worry that there will be a lot of gossip like people whispering about so-and-so hooking up with so-and-so at a party etc. Also, in high school everyone’s reputation is formed by the end of freshman year. Is Williams like this, or is it anonymous enough to accept more change? Finally, this is not a huge concern, but I have heard that people at Williams dress in casual preppy or outdoorsy clothes. I love fashion and tend to dress a little more cosmopolitan-- would I be the odd one out going to class in a nice dress vs sweatpants?

As you can see from my nit-picky questions, I am really starting to imagine life at Williams and want to make sure it is right for me! I do have a visit scheduled, but it is over the summer, so I won’t get to see actual student life. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!

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Hello! I’m a current student at Williams, and, as per usual with these posts, I’ll try to answer them question by question.

First off, love that you started with food. The dining hall food is relatively varied, but just like at any other school with the possible exception of Bowdoin, it can get monotonous. Luckily, there are restaurants in the area, like a Japanese/Thai, Indian, and a Middle Eastern place (yes, exactly what you asked for) right on Spring Street, plus some assorted coffee/sandwich places and pizza around the area and on Spring Street as well. There is a free bus service to Stop and Shop, but you probably won’t go there as much as you think you will freshman year. People usually start utilizing the grocery stores later in their Williams lives. Basically, you’ve got a decent amount of variety with the campus food (3 dining halls means 3 major theme options per meal) and off-campus options, and no one ever complains of an inability to find good food in the area.

Sports teams kiiiiiiiiiiinda replace frats, but not really. The entry system does a lot to remedy this, as it forces athletes who may have been inclined to only spend time with their teams to realize that everyone at Williams is interesting, not just athletes. They still throw many of the off-campus parties, but it’s not nearly the dominant social force on campus that fraternities are in many places. The teams do NOT - repeat, NOT - live together freshman year, and it’s only through a lot of planning and some good luck on their part that they’ll manage to get more than a few people together sophomore and junior year. Senior year you have the option to live off-campus, so they tend to get together then, but that’s really it. The reported “nonner/athlete divide” is largely mythical, as around half of my friends are varsity athletes and I am certainly not one.

Williams is great in winter regardless of your skiing ability. Snowshoeing, snowball fights, and sledding are common, as is ice skating on frozen ponds and such (very very fun). The crazy people like to do polar plunges in nearby rivers, which is insane. In terms of running outside, you CAN, but most people just stick to treadmills for the winter months. Really, people just enjoy the snow, it’s great. In terms of doctors, we have a health center that’s open every day, and a hospital is about a half-hour away with an emergency clinic in the town over (10 mins).

acapella is HUGE at Williams. So much so, in fact, that some people cough me cough complain that it takes over the music scene at Williams. When some of the nine acapella groups do shows together, they’ll easily pack whatever room or venue they’re in, and each has its own style. If you know you want acapella, Williams has it in spades. As for cliquyness… no. It just isn’t. Again, entry system does such a great job with this. There is no group on campus that is socially exclusive to the point that they don’t hang out with anyone else. Just doesn’t happen. As for gossip, well, it happens. It’s a small school, so if you’re not discreet about things, people will know, but it’s surprisingly easy to be discreet. And with fashion, go for it! There’s a huge range of fashion at Williams, and people dress from crunchy to preppy to cosmopolitan and everywhere in between. Actually, you’ll probably be seen as very interesting and intriguing for your fashion sense, since most people here harbor a secret desire to be more fashionable than they are. You could run a winter study course on fashion and I’m 200% sure people would come in droves.

Based on your questions, Williams sounds like a perfect fit. Just sayin’.

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@jersey454 Your response was everything I possibly hoped it could be! Thank you so much-- I know I want Williams, now its just time to see if they want me :slight_smile: