Williams vs. Cornell vs. UC Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z Williams College
1

Hi guys! I’ve posted this in a different forum, but I wanted to check in here in order to get different perspectives. I’ve had the good fortune of being accepted to Cornell University (College of Arts and Sciences), UC Berkeley (College of Letters and Sciences), and, of course, Williams College. I haven’t been able to visit any of these schools yet, but I definitely will very soon.

To help you get to know about me a bit:
I definitely want to major in something politics-y or history-ish. So at Cornell, I applied as an American Studies major; at Williams, I indicated interest in the American Studies and Political Economy majors and the Justice and Law concentration; at UC Berkeley, my first choice major was Political Economy. I may want to double major (highly likely, actually) so I definitely want that to be a very viable option. I plan to go to law school after I graduate, and as for careers, I’d like to be either a lawyer or a college professor. I didn’t apply for financial aid at any of these schools (my family is very middle-class, and I’m an only child, so I doubt I would have gotten much anyway). I have lived in Southern California all my life, so I’m not used to cold weather or snow. I highly value a strong alumni network, and I don’t want to attend a school where frat parties are the social scene (although I do want a social campus).

Here’s my pros/cons list so far:

WILLIAMS:
Pros: [ul]
[] small class sizes, have the opportunity to develop good relationships with professors
[] the tutorial classes. This was the first thing that drew me to Williams in the first place.
[] I like the one-month January term in which I can focus in-depth on a certain topic for several weeks.
[/ul]
Cons: [ul]
[li] It’s a small school (2,000 students), and I hear people start getting restless after just 2 years.[/li][] Williamstown is in the middle of nowhere (perhaps Cornell is too, but the school is considerably bigger).
[li] I know that sports is a very big thing at Williams, and I’m not athletic AT ALL (I dislocated my kneecap a few years ago, so I actually cannot run without risking dislocating it again)[/li][/ul]

CORNELL:
Pros: [ul]
[] wide variety of classes, which I think I’d really appreciate
[] large, diverse student body. I currently attend a high school with almost 4,000 students, and I like always having people [] to meet. I enjoy walking through hallways and seeing people I don’t know.
[] beautiful campus (from what I’ve seen in pictures haha)
[/ul]
Cons: [ul]
[] not sure how well I’d get to know my professors, because it’s so large. Since I want to go to law school, I know that recs [] are going to be important, so I want to develop good relationships with my professors.
[] I’ve heard there’s grade deflation at Cornell…?
[] I get the impression that frats and sororities are very dominant in the social scene, and I don’t particularly like that.
[li] I’ve heard that sometimes people look down upon double-majoring because they think it[/li][/ul]

UC BERKELEY:
Pros: [ul]
[] close to home (more for my parents than me though)
[] $30,000 cheaper per year
[] good weather
[] I’m very liberal, and so is Berkeley, so I would definitely enjoy the political scene (and I’m planning to join political activism groups, which I think Berkeley is known for)
[] if I end up deciding that I don’t like the humanities (which is highly unlikely), Berkeley has strong connections to the Silicon Valley and is very strong in STEM
[/ul]
Cons: [ul]
[li] again, I’ve heard that grade deflation is prevalent at Berkeley[/li][] it would be hard to get to know my professors because there are so many students
[li] it’s hard to get/sign up for desired classes[/li][/ul]

Any information/insight would be much appreciated Thank you so much for taking the time to give me some advice! The advice I get will probably play a large role in helping me choose which school to attend.

2

@spicykins, I think your choice will become clearer once you’ve had the chance to visit Williams and Cornell. You have three wonderful choices, but they are all quite different from each other. My son is a Williams alumnus for undergraduate and Cornell for graduate school. For sure, you will experience winter at both, but you’ll survive.

The most important factor would be how your family feels about spending the extra ~$120K for you to attend a private college. This may be a huge burden or none at all; either way it’s a serious consideration.

I think your observations on Williams’ pros are generally correct but I would comment on your cons.

Williams is indeed a small school but I don’t think a sense of “restlessness” is a universal reaction. Your friend circle will be much the same size as it would be at a large university and even at 2000 students, there will still be hundreds that you don’t know. The academic and social opportunities are intense and expansive, and the four years will fly by. Also, many students study abroad junior year. Of course, small liberal arts colleges aren’t for everyone, but I know my son would choose the Williams experience again in a heartbeat.

Williamstown is in the middle of the Berkshire mountains, which is different from “nowhere.” It’s a beautiful and sophisticated area, with art museums and summer theaters, about two hours from Boston. Again, the insular, mountain environment isn’t for everyone, but those that like it, love it.

Williams kids tend to be active, but are not necessarily involved in organized team sports. The student body is decidedly liberal (though not so much so as UCB) and there are plenty of opportunities for activism.

Everything you’ve heard about the accessibility of Williams professors is true and then some. In addition to Winter Study and the tutorials (both of which are terrific) the the entry residence system is also unique to Williams. During your time at Williams you will take 32 to 36 courses. You will not run out of options. In fact you could probably stay at Williams for 10 years and still find stimulating and interesting courses to choose from. Getting shut out of classes is rare. Double majoring is common. Experimentation across disciplines is encouraged.

3

Good problem to have. My gut tells me that you should save the money and go to UC Berkeley. (However, I do question the logic of going to law school). If you go to Berkeley you will have saved significant $$ that you could put towards some type of graduate program, but one thing Williams does better than UC Berkeley and Cornell is get their students into brand name graduate programs - (full disclosure: I am a Williams Alum). Are you sure you will be paying full price at Williams? (A large majority of Williams students get some type of financial assistance from the school - please check with the financial aid department at Williams - it might be cheaper than you think.)

I suggest you visit to get a feeling for the social scene at each school. Berkeley and Cornell each have a Greek system that dominate the social scene. While Williams College banned fraternities decades ago, a large percentage of the school plays some type sport (with rugby being the largest participatory sport) - the sports teams tend to lead the social scene on campus.

Going to a small college in New England is a very different experience than going to UC Berkeley. At Williams you can get most of your classes, and something like 97% of the matriculated freshmen graduate within 4 years. UC Berkeley is so large that it might be advisable to join the Greek system to keep you from getting lost in the chaos. Williams is such a bucolic setting and professors’ office hours are wide open. Graduate students interact with and do most of the teaching of undergraduates at large universities.

Good luck.