Williams vs. Amherst vs. Oberlin vs. Bowdoin

<p>"when I see people making comments that reflect poorly on my alma mater and the students there now"</p>

<p>Pot, meet kettle. You should think carefully before hastily making emotional posts.</p>

<p>And, since you missed it, my comments about geographical areas are not meant as "putdowns ... of other fine schools."</p>

<p>Well, D thinks Barnard's locations is perfect: idyllic and urban.</p>

<p>And yes, S does think Williamstown perfect. I'm not kidding.</p>

<p>As for me, I couldn't live in a dorm room again, but I did love the Middlebury Inn and the proprietor is wonderful!</p>

<p>That's why, optimally, prospectives should try to visit (if at all possible) the colleges or universities on their lists to find out if they feel "right" for the individual students ... still, some students do change, and what felt just right for them at the age of 17 may feel oh-so-wrong at the age of 19 or 20. It's sublime when, as in a marriage, the student grows more comfortable with their "chosen" as they age, and with the passage of time -- in spite of all its "warts."</p>

<p>So, what do people see as the main important differences between Williams and Dartmouth?</p>

<p>Dartmouth has fraternities and grad students. Williams has neither.</p>

<p>Dartmouth had their "D Plan." Williams has a 4-1-4 calendar.</p>

<p>4,000 v. 2,000</p>

<p>Schools like Dartmouth and Stanford that use the quarter system have a very different schedule than those on the semester system. Some students find the quarter system much more stressful than the semester system. Also, many students love the relaxed January Winter Study period at Williams. Some students love the D Plan and spending sophomore summer together. Some find it too confining and have trouble scheduling their D Plan (often because of sports). It's a personal choice, but bears researching and thought.</p>

<p>How about similarities and differences at these two places (W and D) with regard to qualities of the student body, atmosphere of the campus, intellectual rigor and so forth? My S got an excellent offer from D; we are still waiting for our fin aid package from W. If it is less, we are prepared to negotiate -- if W is truly his preference.</p>

<p>Any current Williams students out there who considered these two schools? If so, please share your stories, views and experiences. Thanks.</p>

<p>I decided not to apply to Dartmouth for a few reasons, but a part of it was that I didn't want to go to a school with frats. Not having gone there, I can't say definitively what it would have been like, but I feel like they'd have a pretty overpowering impact on the social atmosphere of the campus. Dartmouth also felt much more like a big school when I visited it; it does have three times the student body of Williams. Something about it felt a lot more urban to me, even though it's essentially in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it was the parking garages, or the interstate highway right across the river. </p>

<p>Academically, I'm sure you can get a good education at both. All Williams classes are taught by faculty members since we have no grad students; I can't remember if that's the case at Dartmouth. There are probably more opportunities at Williams for undergrads to work closely with professors, through tutorials, summer research grants, or just the fact that a lot of profs will happily meet you at the coffee shop (or at least their office) to talk about whatever you might want to talk about. I don't know if Dartmouth profs are as accessible, but since they have to work with grad students as well I'd imagine it'd be harder for them to deliver the same focus on their undergrads. Of course, the flip side of that is that since Dartmouth is a bigger school it has a lot more profs than Williams, so you'd be more likely to be able to find classes pertaining to your specific interests.</p>

<p>Dartmouth is actually just twice the size of Williams and has very very few grad students so I don't think the above post is completely accurate.</p>

<p>I do think Williams students are a bit quirkier even though they have the jock image. We haven't found that to be the case.</p>

<p>doesn't it have 1,600 grad students? That would mean, all together, it would be nearly thrice the size, right?</p>

<p>unregistered: I guess you are technically correct. I wasn't considering the grad students because they are mostly in the prof. schools, like the Tuck Business School, Engr. School and Med. School.</p>

<p>When I think of grad students and the size of the student population I think of PhD's in math or bio or English because that impacts the life of the average student more (having been a TA I know of what I speak.)</p>

<p>So I was looking at undergrad pop.</p>