<p>Country, my son has an undergrad degree from Williams and a graduate degree from Cornell. They’re both great schools, but aside from great natural beauty, are very different in environment and ambiance. </p>
<p>My son is not in the sciences; his friends who are did well in research, internships and eventual graduate school choices so I wouldn’t worry about Williams in that respect.</p>
<p>Ithaca is a real town. Williamstown is a mountain village. Socially the atmosphere at Cornell is more Greek oriented, Williams more geared to a small group of friends. It may have just been due to the intensity of graduate school, but my son, also a snowboarder, took more advantage of outdoorsy activities at Williams than at Cornell.</p>
<p>The Ivy League carries strong name recognition weight, while most people outside of the midwest have never heard of Williams. That said, Williams is well respected by graduate school admissions and its career counseling and alumni/ae network is very active and accessible.</p>