So far, my S and I love everything we’re finding out about Williams, particularly its quality of undergrad academic experience. The only thing we have qualms about is its isolated environment. From the photos of Williamstown we’ve gleaned, it looks like a nice quaint town reminding us of Telluride, Ouray and Pagosa here in Colorado – all great places for outdoors activities but pretty much nothing else.
While we love to visit these quaint towns in Colorado, we wouldn’t want to live there for four years. It’d seem to me that students at Williams have to pretty much rely on social activities centered around the college itself. In spite of searching on CC for hours about this topic, we’re not finding much of significant information about this. Would anyone care to share by responding to the question: what do students at Williams do for social life? What are available, popular?
When I visit Williams, kids usually have a variety of options for entertainment. There are party(with drinking but you don’t have to drink), movie night, comedy night, club hangout(cooking club and the others), Boston and NYC are not too far away and there are usually kids offering/hitching rides. Sport teams are pretty much sorority/frats at Williams.
There is always something going on, beyond parties which are plentiful. There are famous speakers, concerts, plays,trivia contests, sports events, club activities, outdoor hikes and activities, impromptu games, etc., etc. You can access the events calendar on the website. Beyond that are all the performances and club events and things like being invited to dinner at a professor’s house. Every Sunday night the freshman entry will have Snacks, when you gather to hang out together.
When I went there, I was never bored.
Colleges and universities of a certain caliber use their extensive finances to provide lots of entertainment and unique opportunities (like famous speakers) for kids.
You’re right about the isolation, it’s really not the best sometimes. This means your hunch is correct – students do rely on stuff that’s centered around the campus. HOWEVER. This also means campus life is thriving and exciting. There are many opportunities to get involved on campus, and there’s always one speaker or another coming to campus. The college invests a significant amount of money towards clubs and organizations and that allows them to hold such activities as cookouts, parties, bring speakers, music festivals, etc etc. Tons of musical performances as well; Williams seems to be a music center for the Berkshires. Individual academic departments also allocate funds for profs to take students to lunch/dinner, and these departments also hold student events with their funds. The entry system is also well funded such that first years don’t get too bored; Junior Advisors organize fun trips to different places, fancy dinners, and other activities.
If your S is outdoorsy it’ll be a dream place. There are many many outdoorsy activities through the outing club, too many for me to list.
Also, there are many opps for students to break out of the bubble and be involved in the nearby communities; there are tons of volunteering opps, and the nearby elementary and high schools employ a bunch of students every year as tutors and teaching assistants.
The isolation means campus life is great. If that’s what your S is into, Williams is definitely the place.
Applicants often have a love-it-or-hate-it reaction to Williams’ environment which becomes apparent the minute they step foot on campus. It is definitely not for everyone, but they know it when they see it.
For my son, who had only ever lived in mega-sized cities, the mountain setting spoke to him on his first visit and intensified over his time in Williamstown. He loved the access to nature – hiking, snowboarding, tobogganing and casual games of soccer and broom ball. He loved the intimate camaraderie of the residence hall entry system and the support of the Junior Advisers. He loved Winter Study, a month long opportunity to study something offbeat and play in the snow. He loved the insular, inward looking atmosphere of the mountain village, jam packed with immensely intelligent, funny people.
Most kids manage to get to New York or Boston once or twice a semester, either as part of a class excursion or a social event. And as mentioned there is no shortage of things to do on campus – arts, sports and outdoorsy activities, political events and volunteering opportunities. The Berkshires are a surprisingly sophisticated arts playground for Bostonians and New Yorkers. And while many of the venues are summer-based (e.g., Tanglewood for music, Jacob’s Pillow for dance, Williamstown and Lennox for theater) the influence rubs off on the Williams community. The three world class art museums – the Clark, MassMoCA, Williams Art Museum – offer art related activities all year.
Ten years after graduation my son is back in the city again, but he values the time he spent in the Purple Bubble. If he could do it all over again, he would in a heartbeat.