Which is better LAC: Williams or Amherst?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

<p>The title said it.</p>

2

<p>This a matter of opinion. Anyway this is the Amherst forum, what do you think the majority of responses will be? Try the college search section for a slightly less biased review.</p>

3

<p>Yeah, what they said. But I could save you alot of trouble by just telling you the right answer is Williams. ;)</p>

4

<p><a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1libartco_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1libartco_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>Yes, that works as well.</p>

6

<p>oh yes you do.
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NACDA_Director's_Cup#NCAA_Division_III"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NACDA_Director's_Cup#NCAA_Division_III&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

7

<p>AND</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ephblog.com/archives/000706.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ephblog.com/archives/000706.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

8

<p>Williams, dur.</p>

9

<p>Depends also on your interests. Amherst is said to be stronger in the Social Sciences while Williams is tops in Math. Amherst has the 5 College Consortium and is in a less rural setting. Amherst definitely has more available outside the school because of the large township and the 3 other colleges and UMass. Athletics and the Arts are big at both. Amherst is smaller (1600 vs 2000). Both have great dorms. Williams' food is said to be better but at least at Amherst you can walk to good restaurants. In my opinion you really can't go wrong. Just so you know, I'm Amherst 2011 (and at least tried to be objective. Unlike the Ephs.).</p>

10

<p>i think that rankings are pretty objective</p>

11

<p>woc, lol. very good.</p>

12

<p>Seriously, what the hell is an "Eph" anyway? Lord Jeffrey Amherst may have been a genocidal psychopath, but at least "Lord Jeffs" actually makes sense off campus. Note that this does not apply for Williams and the "Ephs", in part because the only thing for miles around Williams is mountain. Great if you're a hippie.</p>

<p>In summary:
Amherst: For regular people and genocidal psychopaths
Williams: For hippies</p>

<p>Just my two cents from the Amherst Class of 2010's resident genocidal psychopath.</p>

<p>Ethnic cleansing FTW!</p>

13

<p>I thought hippies at Williams are a class of URM. And those are hills, not mountains.</p>

14

<p>If being second best makes you a Lord, being first would make you a king. So that's King Ephs to all you amherst kids. And if you still refuse to pay that damn library fine, we'll strip you of your lordship and make you Jester Jeffs, which is a perfectly appropriate nickname anyway.</p>

15

<p>Yes. Alliteration for the win.</p>

<p>But yeah, if you really want to know, visit both schools. You can do it on the same weekend even. When I went on the tour for Amherst, I knew that I could definitely not see myself there, the was something not right about it. But when I came to Williams, it just seemed to fit, even though we are somewhat similar...</p>

<p>So yeah, basically, just visit both schools, and you should definitely get a better feel of what you think yourself, which is pretty much the most important thing when picking out a college.</p>

16

<p>Both are great schools and you cannot go wrong academically with either one. For me, the active 5 college area scene (with the towns of Amherst and Northampton, too) and the feeling of less isolation made Amherst more attractive when I applied to college. That combination and the LAC environment heavily influenced my decision to attend Amherst. Also, another factor to consider for some applicants-for URMs and Asians, there are larger and stronger communities in the 5 college area.</p>

<p>I know the Ephs are citing U.S. News in good humor. FYI, Amherst was ranked consistently as number 1 in the 1990s. In fact, since these rankings were started-only Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore have been ranked number one. All excellent schools. I would add that any of the top 20 LACs are fairly similar in their quality of education. Choose the place that feels right for you.</p>

17

<p>The relative isolation of Williams can be a good thing because it makes for tighter friendships and a general sense of community. The URM community at Williams is tightknit and many remain friends long after graduation.</p>

<p>Also, Williams has been number one for the past four (five?) years.</p>

18

<p>duh, williams '11</p>

<p>sup priceless, i'll see you on campus 9/6/07!</p>

<p>wait, priceless you're a urm? what race?</p>

<p>f.y.i: i'm black:)</p>

19

<p>pmyen,</p>

<p>9/11 changed everything.</p>

20

<p>sixsixty:</p>

<p>How so?</p>