<p>A point that momrath made is really important–there’s hardly anywhere to drop a ton of money at at Williams. This may sound somewhat trite, but coming from a lower income family, I think it’s a huge deal. My older son went to NYU on a very generous scholarship, and he was really shaken by the enormous, very conspicuous wealth of many of the students (to the point that this was one of the biggest factors that made him leave). THis is going to be his own personal experience, and also this is not a criticism of the college itself which was very generous to him; it’s more reality. The school is in a fabulous location in New York City. His classmates went out to eat every night to top restaurants, went to expensive bars, bought expensive clothes, went on weekend trips in their private airplanes, etc. (Also there was a ton of cocaine use.) All around him there were constant wonderful temptations to spend; amazing coffee shops, cool bar-restaurants, museums, you name it. </p>
<p>Meanwhile my son had to walk rather than take the subway so he could save four bucks and had to scrimp in order to buy a slice of pizza off his meal plan. If students wanted to meet at a cute coffee shop such as French-style bistro, my S had to worry about how he would afford even a cup of coffee there ($5 including tip). When the professor gave the class an assignment to, say, study a painting at the MOMA, my S had to worry about how he was going to afford admission cost to the museum and didn’t go with a group of students when they rode the subway up because he needed to save the money. It was constant. </p>
<p>Professors were equally oblivious. One professor gave the class an assignment to create a costume for themselves for a graded acting performance. The rich kids - most of the class - went out and bought whatever they wanted. Many spent $500 or more. Many rich kids were given a credit card by mommy & daddy and had no effective spending limit (for one girl, it was $1000/week). My S had to spend hours and hours at thrift stores (he didn’t tell me about this until afterwards), and, to add salt to the wound, the professor criticized him for his inferior costume. </p>
<p>Of course, if my S were a very strong, resolved person, he would not have let any of this dissuade or impact him. There were such students at NYU and my S admired them greatly. But he wasn’t that strong; and I think most 18 year olds don’t have the sort of strength needed to withstand this constant display of unattainable wealth.</p>
<p>It’s so much easier to bear poverty when you’re not surrounded by very privileged fellow students constantly living a very privileged lifestyle (and being oblivious about it). One of the great benefits of Williams, to my mind, is exactly what momrath says-there’s literally no place for conspicuous consumption.</p>