<p>I'm possibly going to apply to Williams next year, as I'm currently a junior. I've been looking into LACs only recently, and noticed US News ranked Williams as the best LAC in the country. For those who applied to Williams or are current students, what aspect(s) of Williams College appeal to you the most and why?</p>
<p>I applied but I don't really like it to tell you the truth. It just doesn't give off the image of being very (overtly) focused on academics....and I wanted a college that was, so I chose Swarthmore =)</p>
<p>Williams college has fabulous faculties, and is full of awesome opportunities/resources. The friendly, supportive (not-so competetive) student body is a definitive plus. The notion that it is not very focused on academics is absurd. The college consistently produces winners of prestigious fellowship ( Marshall, Rhode, etc.), and its student enjoy excellent graduate school/job placements.</p>
<p>Of course, Swartmore is very focused on academics, but it is all up to you. If you are outgoing, enjoy outdoor activities, and etc., Williams college is a great place for you. If you are more of an introvert intellectual (Univ. of Chicago type), I think Swarthmore would be better fit for you.</p>
<p>mulberry, My son is a sophomore Williams. Williams is a wonderful school, in the true liberal arts tradition. There is without doubt an intense focus on academics, which are excellent in many, many disciplines. The classes are small and the faculty are both brilliant and accessible. The kids are very smart, intellectually engaged, confident, friendly and outgoing. Many are involved in some type of physical activity, not necessarily in team sports, but in "getting outside and doing something". There are a lot of options in the arts -- music, theater, dance and some of the best small art museums in the country. The location in the Berkshires is profoundly beautiful. </p>
<p>For some Williams is too small, too isolated, too cold, too extroverted, too whatever. . .Selecting a college is all about fit and it is not a contest.</p>
<p>Without knowing what you're looking for it's difficult to judge if Williams would be a good match for you, but I can say unreservedly that Williams kids love their school.</p>
<p>I'm looking for a school which emphasizes academics and physical activity as well. I do like the University of Chicago (as they are now trying to get rid of the "introvert" image with new gym facilities), but from all of your input, Williams sounds like a good fit: small community, great academics, and physical activities, among other factors.</p>
<p>not true. i'm an athlete and outgoing, but i'm looking at swarthmore and amherst over williams.. how can you put a stereotype on students?</p>
<p>remember... I said it's ALL UP TO YOU. I was just trying give some suggestions. Amherst similar atheletic Tips although it has smaller student body.</p>
<p>mulberry, UofChicago and Williams are about as different in ambience as you can get! Both great choices, though and I believe it IS possible to have this kind of diversity on your short list. </p>
<p>mzlover3 & ReBdUll298, Swarthmore is a wonderful school. Good luck to you both.</p>
<p>In general, there's a fair amount of overlap between Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wesleyan (and a bit farther afield, Pomona). All have wonderful academics. All have bright and enthusiastic students. All have accessible and brilliant faculties. All have 20+ varsity teams. Most kids could be perfectly happy at any of the four. Some choose the school because they fit the stereotype. Some choose the school because they DON'T fit the stereotype. This can be a hook at a selective school. Visit, try to find which one is the best fit for YOU.</p>
<p>i am going to williams next year and i was wondering what activities students do besides physical ones. i am interested in those, but i was wondering what the college and town offer for students....concerts, museums, movies, etc...just curious</p>
<p>The new (like 47 million? dollar) theater is opening up in March. Williams gets bands for the First Friday of each month. Images is a small independent movie theater located on Spring street that'll sometimes get mainstream movies. The price is $4.00 for a ticket. We have one art museum on campus, one within walking distance of campus, and one within a 15 minute car ride. (Williams College Museum of Art, Clark Art Institute, and MASS MOCA). </p>
<p>I agree with Momrath. generally people here arre overlaps for Wesleyan, Amherst, Swarthmore, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, Columbia, Pomona, Brown, etc. To say that Williams isn't focused on academics is ridiculous. It's academic ranking on the Usnews ranking has always been at the top for liberal arts colleges, and the WSJ ranking for "feeder" schools into top grad programs has Williams as number 5 after Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, and first among liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>iamkatcon, you should go to the all-campus calendar (<a href="http://www.williams.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/webevent.cgi?cmd=opencal&cal=cal6%5B/url%5D">http://www.williams.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/webevent.cgi?cmd=opencal&cal=cal6</a>) to get an idea of what events go on each day. Also, ace.williams.edu is ACE (All Camups Entertainment)'s website, which will list the big parties, movies, etc. going on each weekend.</p>
<p>If I'm really not into sports, but do enjoy the outdoors and such, would I still be able to find things to do? Is the social/ extracurricular life really centered around sports?</p>
<p>Here are some more campus life-related links, all completely unrelated to varsity athletics. The two I posted provide a pretty good look at what's going on on campus. Also, this is the list of student organizations: <a href="http://wso.williams.edu/organizations/%5B/url%5D">http://wso.williams.edu/organizations/</a> . This includes different religious and cultural groups, among many other things. One organization is the Williams Outing Club (WOC), which covers most of the organized outdoors stuff <a href="http://wso.williams.edu/orgs/woc/%5B/url%5D">http://wso.williams.edu/orgs/woc/</a>. Also, usually a quick glance at wso.williams.edu will tell you the major events of the day.</p>
<p>I agree with Momrath. You could take AT LEAST 75% of the students at Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst, and Pomona and move them to a different school and you would never know the difference. All four of these schools serve the same customer base.</p>
<p>The differences do not lie in the academics. All four schools hire the same professors from the same places and teach pretty much the same stuff.</p>
<p>IMO, choosing among these four really boils down to three types of issues:</p>
<p>LOCATION: One is in the Berkshires, which means stunning scenery, but near Siberian isolation in Winter. One is in a town with large (and not very good) state university -- lots of college activity in the area, good and bad. One is in a somewhat distant suburb of Los Angeles with all of the characteristics (weather, style, etc.) of Southern California. And, one is in a ritzy old neighborhood of Philadelphia with easy public transportation (train station on campus) to all of the major cities from Washington to New York. Weather from best to worst would be Pomona, Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams. Necessity of a car from least to most would be Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams/Pomona. Ease of getting away from the ivory tower for an evening from best to worst would be Swarthmore, Pomona, Amherst, Williams.</p>
<p>CAMPUS CULTURE: These are subtle distinctions, but they have significant impact on the college experience. For example, Williams and Amherst are considered to be heavy drinking schools. Swarthmore and Pomona light drinking schools. Doesn't mean Swarthmore and Pomona students don't dring (in fact, Swarthmore probably has the easiest access to alcohol), just that a smaller percentage of the students are what you would call "hard-core" partiers. Likewise, if varsity athletics are your thing and you are good enough to be recruited, Williams is the place. Conversely, if you are not good enough to be recruited, Swarthmore or Pomona might be better as both still cater to the "walk-on" athlete. All four schools can be as challenging academically as you want to make them. However, on average, Swarthmore students probably spend more hours a day studying and a higher percentage of the student body is highly engaged in their courses. Some aren't, just like at the other schools.</p>
<p>LITTLE THINGS: There are any number of seemining small policies that impact the schools. For example, Swarthmore being co-ed from day one made it develop into a different place than Williams or Amherst. Housing policies impact student life. For example, Williams' entry system isolates freshmen into small groups whereas Swarthmore's policy of no freshmen dorms integrates them with the upperclass students from the get-go. That's different. Williams Winter Study program is different. Swarthmore's pass/fail first semester is different. Williams tutorial system in different. Swarthmore's Honors Program is very different.</p>
<p>I don't think there's a bad choice among the four. I do think there are better choices among the four for individual students.</p>
<p>Thanks for the really informative post, interesteddad... does your daughter go to Swarthmore, by the way? I seem to remember you from the Swarthmore boards. I was wondering... does Swarthmore being near a major city impact its atmosphere significantly (does it make it more cosmpolitan/ less athletics- oriented than a Williams, say)?</p>
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<blockquote> <p>I was wondering... does Swarthmore being near a major city impact its atmosphere significantly (does it make it more cosmpolitan/ less athletics- oriented than a Williams, say)?</p> </blockquote>
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<p>I think its unique location (there aren't many top LACs with convenient access to a major city) is probably the number one pragmatic reason that people are attracted to Swarthmore over Williams and Amherst. I would say, from my four years at Williams, that the major disadvantage of the best liberal arts colleges is that they tend to get a little "claustrophobic" over the course of four years -- isolated with the same people in an idyllic bubble. Being able to go out to dinner in the real world every few weeks goes a long way towards solving that problem. Likewise, simple little things like transportation to and from school is much easier, especially if you don't have a car. However, I don't think that makes Swarthmore any more "cosmopolitan". As I said, you could swap the majority of freshmen between Williams and Swarthmore and never know the difference.</p>
<p>I do think that there are noticeable differences in the campus cultures at the two schools. There are all kinds of kids at both schools, but in general:</p>
<p>Williams more athletic and outdoorsy. Swarthmore more academically focused.</p>
<p>Williams a bit more politically apathetic. Swarthmore a bit more invested in "causes" (but not with the visible trappings of radicalism that you might see at Wesleyan or some of the women's colleges).</p>
<p>Williams a little more "preppy". Swarthmore a little more diverse and probably more embracing of different cultures, orientations, etc. For example, I believe that gay students find Swarthmore comfortable. I also think it's more comfortable for less affluent students as there is a definite "poor college student" culture and all activties on campus are free. There is less "ad hoc" segregation by race and ethnicity than at most colleges.</p>
<p>Williams leans slightly more heavily towards law degree and MBA candidates; Swarthmore leans a bit more heavily towards grad school, academics, teaching, and public service careers. (note: Both schools churn out a lot of doctors, lawyers, investment bankers, college professors, and the occasional politician!)</p>
<p>Williams has a stronger drinking culture than Swarthmore, for reasons that I really don't understand (I think the segregated freshman dorms versus mixed dorms and the large percentage of varsity athletes are two key contributors -- but it really boils down to campus culture). But, it's certainly not like Swatties don't drink. There are campus-wide parties with alcohol on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and there is no pretense of checking IDs. For whatever reason, there just isn't a big percentage of hard-core "drink 'til you puke" boozers. "Animal House" behavior is definitely considered uncool by most of the students and the school is very much self-governed by accepted community norms (in fact, this may be Swarthmore's most defining characteristic).</p>
<p>While most students drink, not drinking is not considered "weird" and almost all the students go to the parties, whether they drink or not. I suspect that the same applies to the majority of the Williams students as well, but the hard-core boozer crowd is evidently more visible and disruptive. There is a huge disparity in the number of students treated for alcohol poisoning each year at the two schools.</p>
<p>As I said, its not a contest. To praise Swarthmore (or Amherst or Pomona or Smith or any other fine LAC) it is not necessary to compare negatively to Williams or any other college.</p>
<p>Williamstown is not near Siberian. Williamstown is a charming New England village. Theres one of everything that you need. The Williams campus is a vibrant, self contained entity, like that of many another rural LAC. There are tons and tons of activities that keep the kids entertained on campus. (They always tell you this in the info sessions: its true.) If you want easy access to a big city, then Williams is not the place. It is not, however, the gulag. </p>
<p>Necessity of a car would be related to necessity of getting away from campus. Again, highly, personal. If you dont like the campus and surrounding area, then you would need to get away frequently. If youre content on campus, then having a car for an easy escape is a non-sequitur. Transportation from Williamstown to New York and Boston is manageable. One other small thing that is a big plus is the number of dining options on campus. Williams has five dining halls which provide a lot of variety. There are several restaurants in Williamstown that are within walking distance. </p>
<p>Climate is relative and cant be universally ranked. If you like winter and snow related activities, youll like Williams. If you dont, its going to be a long 4 months from December to March. Is the weather better in Eastern Pennsylvania than in Western Massachusetts or Southern California? I wouldnt even begin to make that value judgment. Different yes, but better? </p>
<p>Partiers, unlike pornography, are not hardcore or softcore. They are just kids blowing off steam, having fun, socializing. The road to Alcoholics Anonymous is not paved with Williams grads. There are many, many moderate drinkers or non-drinkers, even among athletes. Drugs are very rare.</p>
<p>All LACs recruit athletes. All have 20+ varsity teams. There is a relatively high percentage (compared to a university of 10,000+ students) of athletes, varsity and club and casual, at all LACs. Williams kids support their teams and their athletes. They also support their artists, dancers, poets, singers, musicians etc. There is plenty of emphasis on and funding for the arts. </p>
<p>Its impossible to say who, on the average, studies the most, the hardest, the serious-est. Again, it is not a contest. Williams students are without doubt engaged in their courses. They study a lot. Theyre committed. They are intellectually challenged. There is absolutely no grade inflation. Just to get a B requires major effort.</p>
<p>Williams students are not apathetic toward politics or worthwhile causes. They are as idealistic as the next guy/girl though not excessively PC. Although decidedly liberal in majority, minority opinions get a fair shake. The cultural, religious, ethnic and racial diversity at Williams compares favorably to other LACs. They have a large endowment and spend it generously in financial aid.</p>
<p>Williams entry system is hardly isolating. Most entries consist of 24+ kids in a vertical arrangement. There are parallel entries that connect so there are another 50 or so kids nextdoor.. In a few days every firstyear has an instant social group. Every group is assigned two junior advisors who shepherd the firstyears through the college process. They provide logistical and practical advice plus emotional and societal support and are the link to and models for the school culture. Every 3 or 4 kids have a common room for hanging out with friends. There is high incidence of single rooms even for freshmen. It is a wonderful system that should go in the plus column.</p>
<p>that was a great post momrath.</p>
<p>yea...and this is 1000th post</p>
<p>Wiliams has more posts than any other LAC. Take that swarthmore!</p>