Williams vs Midd vs Reed

Colleges and Universities A-Z Williams College
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<p>First off, I'll say that I'm very grateful to have such great options. Still, it's a difficult decision. Any perspectives?</p>

<p>I'm looking to be an English and/or Classics major, and I plan on going into academia (probably teaching). I would think that Williams' association with Oxford, Midd's language programs, and Reed's emphasis on classics (i.e. Hum 110) would all be beneficial.</p>

<p>Does anyone know about the departments at any one of the schools (I'm sure that all of their English departments are fabulous, but I think there may be more variation in Classics).</p>

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<p>S is a graduating Classics Major at Williams and he had a wonderful experience.</p>

<p>I think you can go ahead and choose your school based on where you want to be. You may, in fact, change majors. </p>

<p>S went in as a music major and switched midstream. As long as the school offers the major you want, I say choose with your heart, all other things being equal.</p>

3

<p>All three are certainly excellent institutions but I would suggest you visit them if you can. Indeed, as mythmom has indicated, you may switch majors, as many kids do. Hence, “fit” is important. You didn’t mention finances, but all things being equal, I would go where you feel most comfortable.</p>

4

<p>Definitely Midd… It has by far the best English Language Department…

  • Bread Loaf School and many other stuff…
    All of the schools are great… That’s for sure… and you cannot go wrong… unless (maybe) with Reed, which u have to fit in, as it is kinda different…
    But Middlebury is your top choice…</p>
5

<p>All have excellent English programs. Have you visited all three? I’d go with the one that felt most like home.</p>

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<p>Would rank Williams>Middlebury> Reed. However, you need to decide where you’d be happiest for four years, and that may entail visits, attending classes, etc.</p>

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<p>Are you a jock? A hipster? A granola head? A vegetarian? Gender neutral?</p>

<p>Seriously, just another facetious way of saying that you can’t go wrong, so it should be where you feel the best. None of those schools will hold you back.</p>

<p>But Midd has the best food…</p>

8

<p>Want not just go to the best LAC in the country, one of the few LAC’s that competes against the Ivies for students?</p>

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<p>Doesn’t Reed have more of a core requirements- as I recall they actually have to read the classics. You might want to take a look at the various requirements to see if that offers some insight. We just finished visiting Williams and Midd with D1 and both are fabulous- how can you go wrong with your choices?</p>

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<p>Yeah, there are a couple very significant negatives about Reed. They have very strict requirements (though reading the classics is what I’m looking to do, so that’s not such a negative), and it’s very difficult to double major (you have junior qualifying exams to pass into a major, and would the. Have to write two theses). Because of the quals, it’s difficult to study abroad. Still, it felt like a very special place when I visited, and I would be able to go to any grad school I wanted.
It’s been a year since I’ve visited Williams or Midd, but I’m going again for each’s accepted student days. I’m leaning toward Williams for it’s incredibly generous finaid (still haven’t heard from midd b/c of a weird situation with my dad), but I guess I’ll know soon.</p>

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<p>“Because of the quals, it’s difficult to study abroad.”</p>

<p>It’s easy as a sophomore, especially as a non-hard-science major. The Reed advantage is, as you note, admission to a PhD program, since you’ve already written a master’s thesis. But you have be willing to work as hard as those at Swarthmore and UChicago.</p>

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<p>I know this topic is a bit old, but I’d just like to point out that Reed has an established study abroad program at Oxford as well, in partnership with Sarah Lawrence College; however, you have to be either a junior or a senior to be considered (I imagine junior year is the only realistic window of opportunity for this, because of the senior thesis). Or where you talking about Williams’ adoption of the tutorial-based teaching model? That is admittedly a great system.</p>

<p>As an aside, all of the colleges you are considering are members of the ICCS - Rome program:</p>

<p>[Duke</a> Study Abroad : ICCS - Rome](<a href=“http://studyabroad.duke.edu/home/Programs/Semester/ICCS_Rome]Duke”>http://studyabroad.duke.edu/home/Programs/Semester/ICCS_Rome)</p>

<p>So wherever you end up, you’ll have the option to spend a semester studying classics in Rome, if you wish.</p>

<p>Personally, I think that Reed would be an awesome place for a classics major who’s interested in pursuing an academic career–the academic rigor and the emphasis on the humanities are both things you’d benefit from–but Williams and Middlebury are also outstanding schools, of course.</p>

<p>I think you can’t go wrong here, so my advice is to just go with your gut.</p>

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<p>All three are excellent, with Reed and Williams also in the top ten for advanced academics in a few disciplines:</p>

<p>[COLLEGE</a> PHD PRODUCTIVITY](<a href=“http://web.reed.edu/ir/phd.html]COLLEGE”>Doctoral Degree Productivity - Institutional Research - Reed College)</p>

<p>Reed has one core required class (Hum 110, the Classics) and then distribution requirements (a course from this group, that group).</p>

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<p>Williams offered you generous financial aid and you’re not sure where to go? I’m very confused. The financial aid offered by Williams is need based. If you qualify for it then your family needs it. You mentioned you don’t have an offer from Middlebury yet due to unusual circumstances with you father. What about Reed? I think Williams is still a no loan school, I don’t think that is the case with Reed, I’m not sure about Middlebury.</p>

<p>Do yourself and your family a favor. With you career ambitions you are looking at a lot of school and years until you earn a decent paycheck. Minimize the debt you accumulate now, both yours and your parents.</p>

15

<p>Reed often/usually includes about $5k in federal loans per year, which allows 10% more students who need financial aid to attend. If you’re one of these 10% (but there’s no way to know if you’re one of them) you LOVE these loans!</p>

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<p>Well, in terms of financial stuff, which I wish I didn’t have to consider, but unfortunately I do, Williams is offering me ~10,000 more per year than Reed, and they’re paying for all of my books. Additionally, I live on the east coast, so you have to factor in travel expenses, which would be miniscule for Williams, since I only live about 3 hours away. (Still waiting on Midd, but I imagine it should be more comparable to Williams than Reed, but I find out when I find out, I guess.)</p>

<p>Unfortunately, and it breaks my heart to say this, but I don’t think I’ll be able to go to Reed. It isn’t because I think I won’t fit in or I think it’s not as good academically or I think I wouldn’t be able to handle the rigor. Exactly the opposite: I’ve had a pretty passionate love affair with Reed since my junior year. I’ve been to Portland, and it’s my favorite city. Reed is beautiful; I could be a reactor operator and classics major at the same time; there’s seventh annual nitrogen day and the thesis parade and the doyle owl; it’s vibrant and the food is pretty good and everyone’s intelligent and I heard someone talking about Plato before a math class. Unfortunately, my family doesn’t want me to go so far away and I question if I’ll be able to handle it, especially since I won’t be able to come home during every break. (This is sort of just a rationalization for talking myself out of going, but) I’ll always be worried that I’m not cool enough if I go to Reed. Also, everyone smokes. EVERYONE. It’s the rule, not the exception.</p>

<p>Besides, when I visited both Williams and Middlebury, there was the same kind of intellectual enthusiasm as I saw when I was at Reed. I also noticed when I went to those two schools that there were far more people with multiple majors, which is important to me, whereas at Reed, there are virtually none.</p>

<p>So, this is the point I’ve reached: Williams or Middlebury. I’ve gone back to visit both, but, unfortunately, I haven’t been able to come to a definitive decision. I went to classes at both schools, and in the seminar classes (which were both English) there was an equal amount of participation and intellectual passion from both the professors and the students. I like the architecture better at Middlebury, but the facilities are certainly comparable (though Williams has a far superior art collection), and I don’t really think I should base my decision on stone work vs. brick.</p>

<p>Is there anything anyone can do to help me differentiate? I’m getting desperate and don’t want to have to flip a coin. I guess flipping a coin might help though, since sometimes right before it lands you realize that you hope one will beat the other…</p>

<p>Maybe if I say something about myself? Okay, as far as academics… I think everyone knows. I’m an enthusiastic humanities person who wants to be in a vibrant, intellectual community. I’m a left-leaning vegetarian who currently feels like she’s writing a personal ad (I enjoy long walks on the beach and conversations in front of the fireplace…). Um, I’m not athletic in the varsity sports sense of the word, but I like hiking, swimming, and rock climbing. I love to be surrounded by nature. As for extracurriculars, I’m interested in writing (particularly in some sort of literary magazine, but my experience is more with regular newspapers), informal music, maybe some theatre, but mostly things I haven’t had a chance to do yet. I really like Harry Potter and going to midnight showings of cult movies (Rocky Horror and Eraserhead and the like). I like movies in general.</p>

<p>I feel like none of that’s helpful but maybe it is… Help?</p>

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<p>Also, I know that financial aid from Williams “follows” you to various study abroad programs. Is it the same at Midd?</p>

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<p>Have you shown Reed the Williams offer? The school has a lot fewer resources than Williams, so they might not be able to match, but if you explain that it is your dream school and only the inferior offer is preventing you from attending, perhaps they will step up (although that is a LOT of ground to make up, can’t hurt to try). </p>

<p>As for Williams vs. Middlebury, honestly, your profile and interests make it sound like you would fit in equally well (indeed, really well) at either school. Which isn’t a huge shock, because in my mind Williams has two schools that are very similar to it – Amherst and Midd, and it is kind of in the middle of both in terms of overall feel / character, but really, hard to distinguish from either in most material ways. </p>

<p>Each school has certain quirks that might or might not appeal to you … Midd is a bit bigger, has the Feb folks coming in later in the year, the emphasis on languages, and so on (a Midd person would know more). Williams has tutorials, Williams-Oxford, Mountain Day, the entry system, Trivia, and the Amherst-Williams rivalry. Both, I believe, have Winter Study. I do think Middlebury has the most beautiful campus I’ve ever been to, but Williams has an incredibly beautiful surrounding area, and I love the art and culture offered by the Berkshires. </p>

<p>I hate to rest on this, but if it is a true toss up, you kinda have to go Williams. It does have a marginally better reputation among employers and grad schools, and the students are, again, marginally more qualified in the aggregate, as well as more racially and economically diverse, if that matters to you. If you look at the alumni from Williams vs. Midd (say on Wikipedia), Williams has a substantial advantage in terms of the number of prominent alumni in virtually every field … Midd has improved tremendously in recent years, but Williams has been at the pinnacle of liberal arts schools forever. Plus, Williams has a big advantage in terms of resources, about double the per-capita endowment of Middlebury, which is reflected in things like faculty-student ratio. I don’t think these should be deciding factors if you feel more at home or have a clear preference for Midd (if you do, I’d say go there), because honestly the education provided by either will be outstanding, but if it truly is a toss up, Williams seems like the only way to go.</p>

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<p>I think Ephman has offered you solid advice. It sounded from your post that your heart is still with Reed. If that is the case, than definitely send them the Williams offer and see if they will match it. If not, and if you want to consider Williams or Midd instead, than I would pick Williams if I were in your shoes.</p>

20

<p>Maybe you’re just frustrated because finances are dictating this decision for you. That would be a tough position to be in regardless of what the choices are, you don’t get to mull if over and decide based on preference.</p>

<p>Maybe even if Reed offered you as much money as Williams or Middlebury you would still choose Williams or Middlebury. Your enviable position has a downside, you are going to be forced to turn down two of these schools and that probably isn’t easy to do.</p>