Williams vs Swarthmore

College Search & Selection
1

Hi all! I was accepted to both Williams and Swarthmore regular decision and I am trying to choose between them. I was given the same aid at both schools. Both are obviously academically rigorous, but I get the vibe that at Swarthmore that rigor stems from a non-competitive atmosphere and a culture of intellectualism (and students wholly devoted to work), while Williams (which is also bigger) is slightly more competitive and has more students who’d embody the preppy/jocky stereotype. Swarthmore is closer and easier to get to from where I live, but I have a personal connection to someone at Williams. I personally think that the Williams campus is more beautiful because of the view (although Swat has beautiful buildings and more flowers). Williams students also seem slightly less tense on campus. Can anyone offer a student or parent perspective and elaborate on some of these differences or bring up new ones? Has anyone decided between these two schools? Why did you choose to go to Williams/Swarthmore?

I’d appreciate any advice at all. Thank you!
(This discussion is also posted under Swarthmore College.)

2

I was in your position last year, and, to be honest, it is one of the easiest decision to choose Williams over(had more debate with Dartmouth, Hamilton, and Colby.) To me, Swarthmore is like where the nerdiest of the nerds end up. Everyone aspires to be a PHD candidate. I probably should have visited the school post-acceptance, but I just decided to take it out of the equation from the things I read about Swarthmore. From my personal experiences, Williams students are super chill(even the pre-med ones) and are down to party/fun most weekends. I see a lot of wealthy students, but most of them are very humble and sensitive about the topic of wealth. Of course you will see more preppy/jocky kids if you hang out with sport teams or econ majors, but it is not prevalent.

Regardless of your career choice(academia or professional), Williams is a better place. More relax environment, way better networking, and more prestige(I am not a fan of prestige-chasing, but, if all else are equal, more prestige=better.)

3

In what world does Williams have more prestige than Swarthmore?

4

I chose Williams above Swarthmore, but this was many years ago. But the reasons I chose Williams (other than the really stupid reason that Swarthmore admitted me after waitlisting me whereas Williams admitted me initially) still are applicable today. One of the biggest reasons was that, overall, Williams had a less stressful feel to it. Students work very, very hard at both schools, but I heard more students complaining about the workload and stress at Swarthmore, whereas Williams kids acknowledge they have a lot of work but seem to be more enthusiastic about the whole experience. Of course, individual experiences vary at each school.

Unlike the poster above, I was a “nerd” in high school, and I was neither preppy nor jocky. In fact, I was terrible at all sports. And I had a great time at Williams and was friends with people from all sorts of backgrounds and interests. The entry system helps ensure you interact a lot with people from diverse backgrounds, as do the small classes and the myriad of clubs and activities. I am sure you can find your niche at either school.

Congratulations on having two fantastic choices! You can’t go wrong with either choice.

One might pick Swarthmore for the Quaker consortium, the more unified look of the campus buildings, the amenities of suburbia, the proximity to Philadelphia with a train station right on the edge of campus, or the reputation of being the nation’s most intellectually oriented college other than U of Chicago (although at Williams, too, intellectual conversations abound in classes, dorms, and dining halls).

One might pick Williams for the natural beauty of the Berkshire mountains, the close-knit community fostered by the freshman entry system in which 20 freshmen live together and by the Ephventures orientation program, great dorms for four years with a high likelihood of getting a single (60% of freshmen and most upperclassmen), or the unique tutorial system in which two students alternate presenting papers and giving each other feedback under the guidance of a professor.

Really, the two colleges are more alike than different. Go with whichever “feels” better to you and don’t look back on the choice. There is no wrong choice here.

5

@jacobmatias in every sense of the word outside of academia(even within academia, swarthmore is not even doing much better than Williams)? A quick look at Linkedin will show that Swarthmore does not have a lot of kids outside of academia. 65 at Penn, 65 at Google, and 34 at Harvard. Meanwhile, Williams top 3 employers are 74 Google, 61 Goldman, and 56 Morgan Stanley and also 50 alum at Harvard…

6

@williams2021 You’re passion for Williams is to be commended but your claim above is a bit of a stretch. Williams’ student body is 25% larger than Swat so of course one would expect the numbers to be skewed higher for Williams. Additionally, different geographic regions and different types of student bodies will factor in as well (Penn vs. Harvard for example). Bottom line, the differences between Williams and Swat in terms of academic reputation, job placement, prestige, etc. are meaningless. Both are great schools.

7

Interesting you perceive Swat to be a less competitive place than Williams, because we definitely got the opposite impression from our visits to those schools. In fact at the Swat info session, we chuckled because it seemed the 3 presenters were super competitive about their take on how non-competitive the place was. But then our tour guide told us the no computed gpa and no competition spiel talked about at the info session was largely not true!

We also thought that despite the really nice Williams campus, that Swat was more beautiful.

Swat seems more intense. Williams definitely is sportier. Bigger and better athletic facilities, more teams, bigger rosters, more coaches and they like to win and our very proud of their winning tradition. But in terms of academics, both top of the top. Swat has the honors program for upper class men, Williams has tutorials. Check those out and see which appeals to you more.

8

My son is at Swarthmore. He chose not to apply to Williams for some of the characteristics you mention – competitive, preppy/jocky, less diverse. He wanted the intellectually curious culture of Swarthmore. He has found the best part of being at Swarthmore is the people – open-minded, intelligent, curious, talented, accepting, kind …
It has been the perfect fit for him. He loves the academics, relationship-building with professors, opportunities for research, collaboration among students, access to Philly, living in an arboretum, and the rigor.

Best of luck on your choice. I don’t think you can make a poor one.

9

Ha! My kid showed up at Swarthmore with collared shirts; then our first shopping trip was to Target for t-shirts. Nice mix of kids. A few preppies, a few nationally ranked teams and a few Wall Streeters. Not quite Williams, but Swat has something for everyone. Plus, few other LACs can claim fraternites and engineers. Geography matters. My kids lost lots of class time chasing internships and full time jobs across the nation. Remember to keep a nice suit in the closet all next to all your t-shirts! The airport and Amtrak are minutes away.

10

Hi all! I was accepted to both Williams and Swarthmore regular decision and I am trying to choose between them. I was given the same aid at both schools. Both are obviously academically rigorous, but I get the vibe that at Swarthmore that rigor stems from a non-competitive atmosphere and a culture of intellectualism (and students wholly devoted to work), while Williams (which is also bigger) is slightly more competitive and has more students who’d embody the preppy/jocky stereotype. Swarthmore is closer and easier to get to from where I live, but I have a personal connection to someone at Williams. I personally think that the Williams campus is more beautiful because of the view (although Swat has beautiful buildings and more flowers). Williams students also seem slightly less tense on campus. Can anyone offer a student or parent perspective and elaborate on some of these differences or bring up new ones? Has anyone decided between these two schools? Why did you choose to go to Williams/Swarthmore?

I’d appreciate any advice at all. Thank you!
(This discussion is also posted under Williams College.)

11

Agree with those who say this choice is a true toss-up and you can’t go wrong. If you still have time try to visit both for a few days and I’d say just go where you feel most comfortable.

Regarding a few comments here, I strongly disagree with those who claim that Williams is in any way competitive … never a vibe I experienced or have ever heard about from those who have attended Williams since I graduated. No one caress about their performance relative to their peers, or if anyone does, it’s far too few to matter. It’s a very relaxed, friendly, collaborative atmosphere. I’d also strongly disagree with the claim that Williams has more prestige than Swarthmore. Among employers, academics, grad schools, anyone of consequence to your future, they are viewed as equals. And the student bodies are essentially equal in terms of credentials. Also, it’s not true to say that Swarthmore is more diverse … Swarthmore has more Asian students, Williams has more Black students, but they are roughly equivalent in terms of racial and economic diversity. Finally, I would not call Williams “preppy,” take a look at the kids on campus and not that many really fit that description. Perhaps “not terribly interested in fashion” would be a better descriptor …

In terms of why I prefer Williams over Swarthmore – I like the beautiful natural surroundings at Williams. I did find Williams to have a marginally less stressful vibe, although students are very focused on academics and work very hard at both places. I wanted a small school, but Swarthmore felt a little TOO small (Williams is about 25 percent larger). I love a few of Williams unique quirks: the Junior Advisor / entry system, Winter Study, Mountain Day, Tutorials, all of which are really great selling points in my view. Swarthmore I’m sure has its own unique attributes that make it more attractive to other applicants. Since the academics are even, the post-grad opportunities are even, and for you the cost is even, just go where your gut tells you that you will be happiest.

12

If I read the OP correctly, he or she is referring to the athletic-like, work-hard/play hard “competitiveness” we associate so much with rural colleges. The helmet sport->economics major->corporate job road map is pretty well supported anecdotally at Williams and corroborated by various ROI surveys. That doesn’t mean you can’t follow the same career path at Swarthmore; smart, liberally educated people can turn their hands toward anything they choose. It just means you may not have the same number of cohorts. I agree with what others have said, that the prestige factor is a red herring.

13

Multiple types exist at each school. For example, I am the antithesis of a helmet sport person (nerd with no athletic ability and an antipathy for rah-rah stuff: I never attended a sports event while at Williams), I was a complete nondrinker at Williams and throughout my life, and my career path is in public education (I am a ‘Money—What’s money? Career fulfillment comes from having a meaningful impact on others’ type).

Yet, as is obvious from my multiple postings on this site, I loved my time at Williams and am a loyal alumna. So whenever anyone says Williams is for jocks and preps, I think of myself and my wide range of friends when I was at Williams, and I think, “Stereotype does not fit the people I knew best.”

And Williams is collaborative and not cut-throat, if that is what is meant by competitive. Students help one another and work together all the time.

Again, both S and W are great schools.

14

Second GreyKing. Yes, there are plenty of folks who play helmet sports, major in economics, and get a corporate job at Williams. But they are a very small minority of the student body, certainly less than 10 percent overall fit into that general stereotype / prototype. I will say that Swarthmore does not have a football team, so if the idea of being around football players (even very smart D3 type football players many of whom would surprise you in terms of their interests) bothers you, Swarthmore has that going for it. But you also miss out on some fun spirit-building fall tailgating / football Saturdays, featuring loads of alumni in town, a few times per year.

15

One of the chillest people I know went to Swarthmore for undergrad. (On the other hand, she IS a professor now.)

16

@appdout - Which college did you end up choosing?

17

Swarthmore! I think it was more about location than anything – I loved both schools, but decided that I might like to be near a city especially as an upperclassman. It’s a little harder to get off the Williams campus. And I love the Quaker ideals. Thank you so much to everyone for your comments!