Williams visit

<p>Well I went to Williams and Middlebury yesterday. Middlebury has a beautiful campus but the fit didn't seem right for me. Williams was great! I thought I was set on Dartmouth or Cornell for my ED school now Williams is in the mix! What a great place!</p>

<p>My S took a language course in Middlebury and says it is very nice, but he likes Williams even better. And he chose Williams over one of the other schools you mention.
You visited both Williams and Middlebury in a single day?</p>

<p>Yes we drove to Middlebury tueday night after dad got home from work. We took the 9:30 tour & info session and left promptly for the Williams 2:15 info session. It was a long day and to be honest I really didnt want to do another info session but I’m glad I did!</p>

<p>Can you be more specific about what you didn’t like about Middlebury?</p>

<p>I actually thought the campus was beautiful (Middlebury) , I really cant put my finger on exactly what didnt seem to fit for me maybe it was just too isolated. It is really far from everything! The people seemed nice and the campus was one of the nicest I have seen.</p>

<p>Our son felt the same way about Middlebury. He thought the campus was beautiful, and the people friendly, but after visiting many of the same colleges ceresma is seeing, he took Middlebury off his list.</p>

<p>Ceresma, our son ultimately decided to apply to Williams ED, was deferred in December and then accepted in March. He completely enjoyed his first year, and is chomping at the bit to get back to Williamstown! Good luck in your college search.</p>

<p>It’s interesting–Middlebury isn’t more isolated than Williams, but many walk away feeling like it is. Perhaps it’s because 1) Middlebury is surrounded by farms and fields to the immediate west, while Williams seems to be completely surrounded by the community; 2) people coming from the south or east often feel like the further north or west they travel from home (Boston, NYC, Philly, etc.), the more isolated they become. People coming from the north (Burlington, Montreal) rarely get that feeling. Would you believe that Middlebury is closer to a major world city than Williams is (Montreal)? 3) Vermont. The name alone conjures images of snow, forests, mountains, cows, and barren fields; and 4) the campus. Middlebury’s campus is much more spread out, with generous views of the surrounding fields and mountains. It can make it feel more empty and isolated.</p>

<p>I’m always intrigued when people visit a school that they really like (the campus was beautiful! The students were friendly! The academics are wonderful!), but then shy away from applying for reasons they can’t quite articulate.</p>