<p>okay</p>
<p>I got into both</p>
<p>Williams giving $45 k (parents and I have to give 5ish k)
Chicago giving $ 47 k ( 8ish k)</p>
<p>so tell me which to go to.. I thought I'd make an independent decision.. but I can't</p>
<p>I'm looking to go for Pre-med btw,, but would also like to study physics psychology music theory and possibly arabic language</p>
<p>so help me people... to thee i entrust 4 years of my life..</p>
<p>These schools offer such completely different experiences, it is hard to know where to begin. Have you visited them?</p>
<p>I think you’ll find Williams more supportive. I would definitely go there.</p>
<p>Wow tough choice. It really depends what environment you want to live in Chicago or Williamstown. I prefer Chicago, but I think that is what it comes down to.</p>
<p>Are you going to be happy on a hill in the woods for four years? I would go stir crazy, but one of my best friends adored Williams (and got a master’s degree at U of C).</p>
<p>^^^ “Wow tough choice. It really depends what environment you want to live in Chicago or Williamstown. I prefer Chicago, but I think that is what it comes down to.”</p>
<p>I prefer Williams and Willamstown, but I agree - that’s what it comes down to. You get to choose either one for less money than it would cost you to live on if you were anywhere but college? Whoooooa! There’s no wrong answer there! Congratulations - this may be the most desirable dilemma I’ve seen on CC this spring!</p>
<p>i live over 10,000 miles away from the United States so visiting the colleges… not very convenient.</p>
<p>okay… I guess I’ll put my own personality forth, maybe that’ll give you some idea of which college I’m better suited for:</p>
<p>I’m mostly introverted and enjoy my “alone time”…, but every once in a while I feel a very strong urge to go out and have some fun</p>
<p>I’m not that well read as far as “great works of literature” or “intellectually stimulating material” go (unless you wanna count Sydney Sheldon and Harry Potter), and this is something I’d actually like to make up for to myself</p>
<p>Random articles about things I never knew interest me greatly… I mostly use wikipedia (not because I trust in its authenticity, but because I’m too lazy to find anything better)</p>
<p>I like music (sleeping and waking up to it, listening to it while I drive/eat/shower…etc etc), people would say my taste is emo-ish… personally I just like good music, and lyrics like those of tool or counting crows</p>
<p>I’m lethargic often</p>
<p>I CAN put in sleepless nights of studying (in fact it’s the only way I actually get things done), but I don’t enjoy it much</p>
<p>Smoking, drinking, sex and drugs are all a big no for me… (Chicago’s supposedly got the 2nd highest abstinence rate in the States)</p>
<p>I search - in an almost desperately bored way - for good comedy wherever I go, be it stand-up, in comic books, in magazines, in articles… wherever (other than tv, unless it’s the old simpsons)</p>
<p>I have no issues with name recognition</p>
<p>I have a very low tolerance level for stupid bulls*** and a little bit of me is very sadistic, while the other bit is compassionate and “normal”</p>
<p>I’m a combination of Supine and Melancholy temperaments (read 4 temperaments on wikipedia for elaboration)</p>
<p>Thanks for reading all this (if you did) and your prized opinions guys… I’d really appreciate a hasty response…</p>
<p>btw… I need to decide by tonight</p>
<p>so… bump !!!</p>
<p>“I’m mostly introverted and enjoy my “alone time”…, but every once in a while I feel a very strong urge to go out and have some fun”</p>
<p>Hmm I think you can do this at both depending upon what you mean by “go out and have fun” and how you define it.</p>
<p>“I’m not that well read as far as “great works of literature” or “intellectually stimulating material” go (unless you wanna count Sydney Sheldon and Harry Potter), and this is something I’d actually like to make up for to myself”</p>
<p>Chicago has the Core and you will be versed in many so called “great (ie Western) works” </p>
<p>Williams will do the same but you are not held to the Core.</p>
<p>Laziness, last minute sleepless nights and lethargy are not conducive to Chicago. </p>
<p>Emoishness is more Chicago then Williams</p>
<p>I think you might find a bit more drinking, partying etc at Williams but not by much at all. </p>
<p>Supine and Melancholy is not a fit for either weather situations haha</p>
<p>More options for a variety of comedy venues in a big city.</p>
<p>Name recognition is BOTH. </p>
<p>If you can overcome your laziness and lethargy than I say Chicago.</p>
<p>If you can’t I think you need the close knit support of Williams.</p>
<p>I graduated from Williams, and was a grad. student and taught in the Core at Chicago. Neither is my very favorite place. But both are great schools.</p>
<p>Putting aside the environment, and focusing on the academic program, there are a bunch of things you’ve said that point toward Williams. You want to be premed, but you want to study physics, psychology, music theory, and Arabic. Now all of these are outside your pre-med 10-11 required courses. They could be used to meet a lot of your distributional requirements at Williams. But at Chicago, you will also have the Core Curriculum to content with. So, essentially, you will have two “cores” - premed and the Chicago curriculum. That will leave much less “space” for other things. (However, Arabic offerings at Williams have been “intermittent”.)</p>
<p>Of course, there is much more drinking (and athletics) at Williams (according to their own data), so if you find these so discomforting, you might tilt the other way.</p>
<p>bump bump bump…</p>
<p><em>innocent smile</em></p>
<p>Wow, you really can’t go wrong here. But I would say Williams, just because it’s a more supportive atmosphere. I believe UChicago is in a somewhat dicey urban area, and Williams is in the country, on its own beautiful campus. They say UChicago is where “fun goes to die,” which actually isn’t so bad for an introvert (and besides–I’m sure they lie. Chicago is a great city). I just think you might get more t personal nurturing kind of attention in a safe, comforting atmosphere at Williams. But what a great choice!</p>
<p>pm, I’m a great Williams fan and my son had a wonderful experience there, but I always caution interested students to be sure that they would be comfortable with the environment. Williamstown is a lovely New England village situated in a somewhat remote mountain valley. It is rural and insular. For those who like nature, outdoorsy activities and a closeknit community it is heavenly. For those who crave urban buzz and a lot of distraction it is isolated and confining.</p>
<p>I see from your other posts that you are South Asian. Williams has done well in the area of recruiting diversity, but the surrounding area is predominately White. Again, how you feel about this depends on how you feel about the ivory tower. </p>
<p>Academically I see the two schools as being equal, though the curriculums and (I would suppose) learning styles are different. Both are quite rigorous and demanding, but academic support and counseling is accessible.</p>
<p>We are Americans who live in Indonesia. For my son, Williamstown was about as far as you could get from Jakarta and still be on the same planet. I mean that in so many ways, not just geographically: physically, culturally, meteorological-ly. For him it was a positive. He enjoyed the contrast and found surprisingly that there was a lot of interest in Indonesia at Williams as well. You might feel the same; you might feel “lost.” My guess is that Chicago would be less of a culture shock.</p>
<p>It sounds like you would fit in better at Chicago. I’ve never been to either school, but from what you’ve said about your personality it seems to fit the Chicago stereotype perfectly.</p>
<p>I also think you’d fit in better at Chicago.</p>
<p>As someone who’s been living in New England for quite a while and has visited Williamstown on a few occasions, I have to warn you–Williams is in the middle of nowhere! Yes, there’s Williamstown and Williams students say the town has all the basic stuff, but if you want any kind of culture (e.g. comedy) you’ll have to drive for HOURs. In Chicago? There are a bunch of great comedy venues you could go to… Second City, which I believe isn’t far from the Univ, is one of the most well-known improv groups in the country…</p>
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<p>Don’t know where you live, but surely your part of the world has large cities and small villages.</p>
<p>If you were going to school in your own part of world, would you prefer to attend a school in the middle of a huge urban area, with maybe 10,000,000 people ? </p>
<p>Or a school in an isolated mountain village, far from the cities, with maybe 4,000 people ? </p>
<p>You are choosing between two extremes: one of the most urban schools in the US, versus one of the least urban schools in the US.</p>
<p>…and the school that may otherwise be a logical choice, in other respects that have been already articulated, requires a core big on “western civilization”. Is this required program of studies actually of interest, in this case??</p>
<p>I’d be wanting to look again at choice # 3, personally. but maybe that’s not helpful.</p>
<p>We live in an imperfect world.</p>
<p>Chicago’s core is not (or at least need not be) very western centric–ten years ago, sure, but times have changed. There is a fair amount of leeway and diversity in the Core. Honestly, monydad’s worry is a bit silly.</p>
<p>You sound much more like a typical University of Chicago student than a Williams student. I think you should go there. I’ve studied at and now work at Chicago, and would advocate for Williams in most cases because of the undergraduate focus and social environment.
But I think it ought to be Chicago for you.</p>
<p>believe it or not, I ended up accepting Duke</p>
<p>it was my parents’ first choice… they want me to “excel at medicine” and see it as the best path for me</p>
<p>So… hoping to have fun in the music program their… and REALLY hoping the girls live up to their rep of being hot =P</p>
<p>adieu peoples, and thanks a billion</p>