<p>I love Williams because of tons of things, including the gorgeous campus that has a towering church spire reminiscent of Cambridge, the possibility of studying at Oxford for a year, the standard liberal arts college benefits, and the fact that it is ranked behind only HYPS on Wall Street Journal's ranking of schools that send the most students on to top 10 grad schools.</p>
<p>What about you?
(Go '10!)</p>
<p>The people. Everyone is so friendly and approachable, it just makes me feel really comfortable.</p>
<p>I'm the parent of a Williams student and I love Williams for the friends that my son's made. They are brilliant, funny, accomplished, confident and most of all wonderfully kind human beings. Same goes for the many professors who have stimulated, counseled and encouraged him. Friends like these are one of life's great assets.</p>
<p>Let me tell you a little story about why I love Williams. And this is only one of the reasons. I visited campus for preview days and sat in on a class called Constitutional Law II: Rights. As a law junkie/ recovering mock trial addict, I loved this class to begin with. It was fascinating. I went up to the professor after class to ask him a question about taking the class in the fall. He told me to send him an email over the summer. At this point I should probably mention that about 15-20 people sat in on this class. So a couple of weeks ago I sent him an email. He responded the next day and said that he remembered me! I talked to him for about 2 minutes! I was amazed.
In addition to stories like that, about both students and professors, I love everything people mentioned before, especially the williams-exeter program and even the laid back atmosphere of the admissions office (I love mark robertson!)
Oh, and one more story. Even though I get frustrated that no one's ever heard of Williams, I kinda like it that way. I was talking to my english teacher about this issue and, being the all-knowing lady that she is, she responded, "The reason no one knows about it is because they don't want people to come to the school because of some stupid ranking system. They want people to come because they've researched it and decided it's exactly where they want to be." How cool.</p>
<p>That's awesome.</p>
<p>"Oh, and one more story. Even though I get frustrated that no one's ever heard of Williams, I kinda like it that way. I was talking to my english teacher about this issue and, being the all-knowing lady that she is, she responded, "The reason no one knows about it is because they don't want people to come to the school because of some stupid ranking system. They want people to come because they've researched it and decided it's exactly where they want to be." How cool."</p>
<p>Exactly. It is better this way because we can be sure students aren't applying and attending so they can say "I go to Williams", like they do for HYPS. They actually love Williams not because of the name but because it is the best fit for them. No prestige whores.</p>
<p>just out of curiosity, so is Williams not very well known in the US? Say, compared to Wellesley, which one's better known? I'm an international student by the way. Thanks for answering my question!</p>
<p>Curious kid, both Williams and Wellesley ARE well known in areas that count: e.g. graduate and professional school admissions committee, Wall Steet, Fortune 500 companies, international foundations and government agencies. </p>
<p>They are not, however, well known to the average person, at least not to the same degree that big name schools like Harvard, Princeton and Yale are. This is true in America and even moreso overseas.</p>
<p>I also love the supposedly intense alumni loyalty.</p>
<p>Another reason to love williams: on the tv show The West Wing, President Bartlet mentions that he got into Harvard, Yale, and Williams and only decided to go to Notre Dame because he thought he wanted to be a priest.</p>
<p>oh, forgot to add another reason why I love Williams is the devoted alumni...ephblog.com</p>
<p>haha just to ummm validate rhapsodynshadow's comments about her english teacher " being the all-knowing lady that she is"..... she really is, i go to or well at least went to the same school, and everything she says should be wriitten in stone and cherrished for the later societies to enjoy... haha , dont worry anybody who youre talking to who doesnt know Williams and how truly amazing of an institution it is probably isnt someone worth any extended amount of time... haha i know that's a pretty bad generalization, but there is some truth to it</p>
<p>why do i love williams, let me count the reasons..lol!!! well, I've never visited, being an int, but something about the site, the viewbook and the correspondence i've had from people there has just made me love the place so much! I loved the humor in the viewbook...those stats were so much fun (no of americans who think joan of arc is noah's wife (!) et al.) So many current students have been so helpful..at CC and on blackboard..the people at Williams really seem so amazing. It just seems like my ideal of a college...and i love the fact that the Greek system was done away with in the 60s. Everything I've read and heard about it seems so amazing, that I can barely wait for August. 10ers..see you there! Oh, btw, has any 10er opted for the 'Where Am I' orientation?</p>
<p>Yup! I'm a where am I person! I'm really looking forward to it. Haha, I think I know who you are now. Aditi? It's weird putting cc names to actual ones. It'll be funny on campus talking to people who were former ccers.</p>
<p>Hehe...yeah, it's Aditi! It really <em>is</em> funny putting names I know from blackboard on to cc names...Elizabeth?</p>
<p>Here's a fun article that belongs in this thread.</p>
<p>Great article. I've still got two years left here, but I wish I had ten more. At least I'll have the reunions to look forward to.</p>
<p>yup, it's Elizabeth!</p>
<p>Whoa ! You guys have enhanced my love for Williams immesurably ;). I'm really hooked on Williams and intend to apply early decision. Does applying to Williams under ED program give applicants any edge ?</p>
<p>Pygmalion, applying ED to any school ALWAYS gives the applicant an edge. It's simply a fact of the admissions process. Some might argue that the difference is negligible because the ED pools tend to be more self-selecting, thus accounting for the higher admit rates, but I don't really buy that. Yes, schools like Williams are trying to get the most diverse and talented student body possible, but at the same time, the admissions game is also about money and guaranteed yield. With few exceptions, every kid who gets in ED is a guaranteed lock for the Williams AdCom, and that equals higher yield and a guaranteed tuition-paying student. One might consider the fact that Williams competes with all of the other top LACs and universities in the country, especially the Ivy's. Cross-admits to Williams and Harvard, for example, usually choose the latter.</p>