I’m hopelessly conflicted between williams and USC. I will be pre med, and I plan to major in public health (Williams) or global health (USC). I’m very interested in biochemical/public health research. I would like to begin working in a prof’s lab during second semester of my freshman year. The only thing that makes me apprehensive about USC is that being a student at Williams would allow me to make closer relationships with my profs, and I know research opportunities at Williams wouldn’t be hard to find. However, USC is in LA so I could do community outreach (v important to me) and do a prectorship at kaiser permanente and other hospitals in the area. Additionally, USC is harder for me to pay for, I would end school 20k in debt, meanwhile at Williams I would end up 0k in debt. Could anyone could give me their take on Williams vs USC or tell me how research opportunities at USC are like?
Also, I love USC’s campus. When I went there, it felt “right.” It just feels like at Williams, there are more opportunities available, however, I really don’t like rural locations.
Are you thinking of public health research,which is largely statistics, or are you interested in medical clinical experiences or biomedical scientific research work ? Biochemistry labs are available at USC, not so much at Willams but your Williams professors will take you to large research universities to experience scientific research work.
Read more about public health careers to understand that there are no “labs” for something in the public health field. You will be analyzing data. Is that what you want to do? If you want a biology or biochemistry degree, that may include lab experiences at either college.
USC offers full PhD program labs in many fields, but not as well known in sciences, as Williams. USC is stronger in engineering, computer science and film than biology, chemistry or physics . I am not certain though about public health,which is more of a social science field.
In terms of med school placement, I think you might have an advantage at Williams. The school is very small, so they get to know the students quite well. Each med school will require a committee letter. I can imagine the committee letter from Williams will be a lot more personalized compared to what you will get at a big college like USC. The downside of WIlliams is that it will be difficult to find shadowing/volunteer opportunities.
Also try to keep the debt as low as possible, since med school is quite expensive.
I am not as familiar with USC, so I will comment on Williams, where my kid is a freshman.
Yes, close relationships with professors and research opportunities are abundant. Internships are possible during Winter Study and the summer, and Williams is terrific about linking students up with great opportunities, although it sounds like you have a particular opportunity that excites you at USC.
There are a lot of community service options at Williams, particularly linking Williams kids to people in the nearby community of North Adams. Williams kids are busy helping people file their taxes, tutoring low income kids and helping them apply to colleges, consulting for small businesses, etc. You could inquire about the service and internship opportunities for pre-health kids and learn more. You might enjoy things like the winter study trip this year to provide eye exams to people in Nicaragua!
Here are some large school-small school differences:
- Class size and course catalog: Students will experience more small classes at W, right from freshman year. However, the course catalog will be less extensive than at a large USC.
- Research and Professor Access: There may be more cutting-edge research at a big university, and students with a highly specific research interest may be more likely to find a professor who shares it. But at W, the professors will have undergrads as their research assistants, instead of graduate students. Professors at W are expected to be excellent teachers, not just excellent researchers/ writers. And they are very accessible- they know each student’s name and may join them for meals and events on campus.
- Community size: If you like to meet a lot of new people and be able to reinvent yourself periodically, a large university gives you more flexibility. If you want to know a reasonably high percentage of people in your class by the end of four years, and be part of a tight-knit, nurturing community, which leads to very, very loyal alumni with a strong network, then W may appeal.
Another difference between Williams vs USC:
Big Sports excitement and frats, or more mellow Division 3 sports and an inclusive environment with no frats.
Here are some distinguishing features of Williams:
- The tutorial system. Two students take a class with the professor. Each week, one student prepares a paper and the other reads the paper and prepares a critique. Very intense, but amazing.
- The freshman entry- You will live in an “entry” with about 39 other freshmen and 3-4 Junior Advisors (who are like big brothers/ sisters and do not have any disciplinary role; they are unpaid and chosen by their peers, not the college). Your entrymates are a built-in friend group when you first arrive. And each entry is designed as a diverse microcosm of the college community, so you will really experience the diversity of Williams.
- The freshman orientation program- Start the year with two weeks before classes start just to make friends and get used to being away from home. Do a bunch of activities with your entry mates. Read a book and debrief it with a professor and a group of students. Sign up for an Ephventure of your choice with another group of students, and spend intensive time getting to know those people as you go on adventures together.
- Winter Study- a month every year in which to study one subject pass-fail, possibly going to another nation in a travel class or doing an internship in a potential career field. With lots of free time to socialize, enjoy winter sports, and be active in your clubs and activities.
The happiest students at Williams will enjoy being in the mountains (and enjoy traditions like Mountain Day, when classes are cancelled and students hike up mountains), and being on a tight-knit campus where most of the action (student performances, guest speakers, club and sport activities, activities like All Night Trivia, etc.) takes place on campus as opposed to off-campus.
If you crave more off-campus action, you may prefer USC. Here is a funny example. We are in Williamstown right now. Last night, son was busy with schoolwork and friends, so the rest of our family went to the only movie theatre in walking distance of campus and watched the movie that was showing: it was an artsy film, in Icelandic with subtitles! There were 8 other people in the movie theatre. When we stepped out onto the main street afterwards, the street was deserted. A family member looked up and down the empty block, and commented, “I feel like I’m in a horror movie!”
My son likes being in a rural area and is glad to escape the suburbs for four years, and he loves the small college experience and definitely preferred the feel of small colleges when we visited to that of large universities. But others might come to the opposite conclusions.
He is having a great college experience so far and could not be happier with his college selection. That makes me a fan of Williams!
You have two great choices. Which is best for you is a matter of personal preference.
With respect to faculty-mentored research opportunities, they’d be very strong at Williams: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/undergrad-research-programs.
My child is also deciding between science ay two very different and terrific schools (UMass Amherst and Brandeis), and I found the points from @TheGreyKing extremely helpful and clear. I wonder if they could be made part of a FAQ to help other families think about the differences between small schools and large schools? The differences are often too abstract to understand without experience, and I love how concrete this is. In any event, thanks!
@Lynnski - Glad it helped!?
$20,000 of student loan debt for an undergraduate degree from an outstanding university should not be a significant factor in this instance.