Williams vs. Middlebury vs. Vassar

I was accepted to these three amazing institutions for the class of 2024 and I don’t know which one to choose. I am a perspective art history/english major with an interest in classics and general history as well. Any advice or personal experiences with these schools would be incredible :slight_smile:

You have landed on some excellent choices, both generally and for your interests:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesportelli/2017/04/26/10-expensive-colleges-worth-every-penny-2017/

https://www.flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america

If decided between, say, Vassar and Williams, look to Vassar for its artistic and literature-intensive veneer overlaying generally strong academics, and Williams for its similarly strong academics cum notable density of student-athletes.

If decided → If deciding (in the reply above).

All excellent academically and in terms of prestige, so let’s forget rankings.

None are in urban centers, but Williams is known for being particularly isolated, to the point where it’s a turn-off for some people. there is really no town there at all. If you have any doubts about your ability to thrive in that for 4 years, and could see yourself maybe getting bored, then I wouldn’t take the chance with it when you have such excellent options. If isolation doesn’t bother you, if you prefer a hike on Sundays (every Sunday) rather than brunch and a movie, then maybe Williams is for you. Again, if in doubt, maybe don’t risk it.

So I see your decision as between Williams vs Vassar/Middlebury.

Vassar is not a warm weather place, but Middlebury is quite cold. And it was the most beautiful campus I have seen. Vassar is lovely too so this is not a reason to choose, just my observation.

Vassar typically has more women than men (like 56% to 44%). Middlebury is more balanced. stereotypically Vassar leans artsy and Middlebury has more athletes, but these are just stereotypes and YMMV.
Middlebury really emphasizes foreign language and immersive travel abroad.

Williams for art history.

Not to be pedantic, but you are a prospective art history/english major.

I agree with circuitrider…Williams has a special art history program and trac record of placement in this industry. Do some research and you will find Williams art history grads with leadership positions in many art museums, galleries, and such.

Re # 3, note that Vassar’s gender distribution in its most recent entering class was 59.3% female and 40.7% male.

https://www.vassar.edu/admissions/class-profile/

All wonderful choices! You can’t go wrong here. They also are much more similar to than different from one another, with all the advantages of small liberal arts colleges, and none of them have frats.

Spouse went to Vassar; child and I both went to Williams; child visited and seriously considered Middlebury.

Art history is a particularly strong department at Williams, with a super powerful alumni network in this field. English is strong at all three of those colleges.

The physical environments were described above by others. Here are some other considerations.

Williams:
The hardest to get into of the three, highest test scores, etc.
The most nerdy students of the three colleges.
A quite intense intellectual experience with a heavy workload, but a very collaborative community.
The tutorials are special and unusual among colleges. 2 kids, 1 professor in a class.
Winter Study in January.
Great freshman experience with close-knit freshman “entries” (dorms) and Ephventure orientation groups.
Alas, poorly maintained dorms and dorm furniture. And its campus is not as nice as the other two colleges’ campuses- a bit crowded, a road in the middle, and a hodge-podge of different architectual styles (although it is the nearest to the mountains- you can walk, not drive, to a mountain hike). Great and gorgeous new library, though!!!
The most prestigious choice of the three in terms of ranking (although more people on the street will have heard of Vassar). More people with a choice of the three colleges will pick Williams for this reason.
Best alumni network overall (although Vassar has the edge for performing arts alumni).
You will like the art history alumni connections and the three major art museums near campus.

Vassar:
Loosest academic requirements. That’s a nice feature. Lots of choice.
Ratio most skewed toward females of the three choices.
Great theatre on campus, and famous alumni in the performing arts.
The only one of the three that is suburban, not rural.
Closest of the three to a major metropolis, though still pretty far (about 2 hours).
Living in the same dorm for three years builds community.
Lovely buildings, Library, Shakespeare Garden, Sunset Lake.
Most recognized name of the three with the masses.

Middlebury:
The best maintained buildings and campus of the three, with breathtaking mountain views all around, too! Absolutely gorgeous.
Best food of the three. By far.
Most stringent academic distribution requirements of the three.
Of the three, for most people it will be the farthest away/ longest drive or trip/ most isolated.
The best of the three for foreign language study.

You can’t go wrong here. Make a choice and don’t look back. Good luck!

^Just noticed you also named history. The history department at Williams is truly outstanding.

@chocokat098 My son majored in art history / art studio at Williams. As mentioned Williams has profoundly good Art History offerings (including a Masters program).

There are three world class museums on or near campus – Williams College Museum of Art, The Clark and MassMoCA. All three offer opportunities for hands-on involvement during the student year. Williams has a stellar reputation for placement of its graduates in Art History Masters and PhD programs as well as museum and foundation positions, both in curating and administration.

Williams English and History departments are also excellent. I wouldn’t say that Williams is a destination for Classics, but it does offer the major. Double majoring is common (40% do it).

There’s a fair degree of overlap between Williams and Vassar but they are quite different in location/environment and to a lesser degree in culture/personality. Williamstown is really a mountain village, which is either a positive or not depending on your preferences. If you’ve visited, you probably have an opinion. (I haven’t visited Middlebury so can’t compare.)

As a general statement, I would characterize Vassar students as more demonstrative about their arts involvement and more politically progressive. Williams students may be equally enthusiastic about the arts and social issues, but tend to be lower key in their expressions of interest.

Middlebury ended the residential portion of its semester on a bleak note recently. In a decision in which you can choose from two other, excellent schools, this might be something to consider.

https://vtdigger.org/2020/03/15/spike-in-vandalism-at-middlebury-as-students-prepared-to-leave-campus/

@TheGreyKing Thank you so much for commenting on my post, your feedback is very helpful. I have been seeing your incredibly thoughtful responses all over college confidential, and I was hoping you would see my post :slight_smile:

Thanks, @chocokat098 ! Good luck in your decision. I look forward to hearing which you choose!

I decided to go to Williams! Thank you so much to everyone who commented, it was all very helpful. In the end, Williams was the best fit for me; I just got that gut feeling. :smile:

FWIW: A random observation: Students at Williams College & at Princeton University write well.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/writing-programs