Hi I’m a senior in high school and I cannot decide where to apply ED: Williams or Amherst. With Williams, I love the tutorials and J Term, and the entry system, but I’m a little worried about the (lack of) a party scene and whether there’s any arrogance of the students about being #1. At Amherst I love the campus and the setting, and the club sports scene, but I’m a little worried about the student/athlete divide and the lack of tolerance toward Moderates and conservatives. Any thoughts? Thanks!
I think you’re worrying about all the wrong things. All schools have moderates and conservatives and tolerance or lack thereof for each; not everyone at Williams are arrogant at being #1; not all schools have student/athlete divide. I don’t know of ANY school that lacks party scenes. Just go with the school that suits you better, whatever the criteria that might be, including your intended major.
For Williams and Amherst, the reality is, if you are happy at one, you’d probably be happy at the other, so I wouldn’t sweat it too hard. I’d say visit both and go with your gut instinct / heart (or just apply to both RD and let the chips fall where they may).
You are right that the tutorials and Winter Study are two of Williams’ strongest academic attributes, both are fantastic. And entries are great as well. I don’t think the party scene is really any different between Williams and Amherst – both are what they are.
There is most definitely no arrogance about being number one at Williams. People who want to brag about what college they go to generally don’t apply to liberal arts colleges in the first place, since 90 percent of people have never even heard of a single NESCAC school. Maybe the ranking will occasionally be mentioned during some good-natured trash talk by fans at an Amherst-Williams sporting event, but otherwise it never even would. No one at Williams seriously thinks it is “better” than Amherst (or Swarthmore or Pomona) by virtue of a magazine ranking.
Do you have an idea what area you want to study? That matters to – each has some academic strengths / weaknesses relative to the other, although again, there is really a lot of overlap there as well.
Ephman is right. WIlliams and Amherst are basically two sides of the same coin, academically and socially and in prestige. Maybe if you wanted to study math or art history, Williams would have the edge, or maybe if you wanted to study english or neuroscience, Amherst would have the edge. Williams has the tutorials, Amherst has the consortium. Really, it is all just nit-picking after that. When you graduate, you end up in the exact same same enviable place from either one of them.
Moreover, the things people worry about with each school are present at both of them. Amherst and Williams will have a very similar party scene (even though Williams has a worse reputation for some reason). The student/athlete divide issue is essentially the same at both schools (even though it became more of a discussion point for Amherst for some reason). They are both liberal, but reasonably accepting of most conservative views (I wouldn’t suggest being a biblical literalist or an alt-right type at either one of them). The students are not more arrogant at Williams or less tolerant at Amherst.
If you get the choice, go with whichever you like better.
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I’m interested in Geology/ES, I’m not sure if that helps! I’m definitely not alt right, just more moderately liberal than most at the radically liberal school I go to. Also thanks so much for the comments they’ve been really helpful 
My son is looking at Williams but would be interested in Amherst. He is not sure what he wants to study but more than likely it will be political science, history or economics.
Please discuss which school might be stronger in political science, history and economics.
They are both tough to get into due to being small LACS with few seats. Most EDs are recruited athletes and flyin minorities. Are you in either of those categories, or have geodiversity? If not, you are likely to be deferred by both.
@preppedparent, what is a flyin minority? OP, I agree with all of the points from other posters in that both schools are very similar and you can’t go wrong at either. My daughter went to Amherst and her husband went to Williams, so it will be interesting to see which one their future children will choose, if either. My daughter was interested in Williams, but chose Amherst because of their no core curriculum.
@CottonTales has hit on something important – look at the course requirements both overall and for your major. One may ultimately be far more to your liking.
Personally, I like schools with distribution requirements for students who are not solidly committed to a couse of study because the intro classes are designed with this kind of exploration in mind. But if you can’t bear the thought of a FL class and a school requires it, maybe it’s not right for you. Sometimes this kind of digging will give you clarity when you are looking at 2 comparable schools. Both are excellent on all fronts, and yes, much more similar than different.
You can’t go wrong with either, but it will be super tough to get into both without a hook.
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^ But the only way to be sure you won’t get in is not to apply.
I have a son at Williams, and he absolutely loves it. It’s certainly challenging, and he does occasionally tire of some of the political correctness there (or at any top liberal arts college) although he, too, is a moderate lefty. But there are so many things that he loves about Williams that he probably could not imagine being anywhere else. Early last year, we looked at Amherst, too, but it just didn’t appeal to him. But, as others have indicated, the two schools are very, very similar. He went with his gut, and so should you. You can’t go wrong.
Agreed, for what its worth, Williams is a little larger and has two graduate programs in art history and economics.
The football game with them both is this coming Saturday, in Williamstown. I am betting on Amherst!
CottonTales – you bet wrong :)!
^ @Ephman, I was waiting for somebody to call me out on that. :-< It wasn’t a complete loss for me though as my SIL is a Williams grad, so I can claim a partial win, right?