Hi. My son has narrowed down his ED choices to Williams and Vassar and needs to choose. Can someone with knowledge of the student population of both schools let me know whether they think he has a better chance of finding “his people” at one school or the other? His social skills are not great, and he desperately wants to find a friend group in college–he sadly doesn’t have one in his high school. He is a very cerebral kid, not interested in partying, loves math and science, is a deep thinker, and for fun enjoys playing Magic the Gathering and strategic board games and reading sci fi and fantasy books. I think most kids at school would describe him as incredibly smart but very quirky.
Both are great, very welcoming schools, but–given your description of your son-- I would suggest Swarthmore. It seems like he’d find his “people” there. Is there a reason he is not considering Swarthmore?
After visiting both, if I had to choose between those two, I’d choose Williams.
He is, and we loved Swarthmore, but it seems impossible for him to get into. He seems to have a better shot at Williams based on how other students from his school have done in the past in terms of admission.
4gsmmom, what are your reasons?
Have you looked at Reed?
I would have thought that the admission standards of Williams is equal to or slightly higher than that of Swarthmore?
For smart and quirky kids, I sometimes think bigger schools might be better? The probability of finding your own tribe is higher just by having a larger pool of students to choose from.
Hi. No, we haven’t looked at Reed. We are staying in the Northeast. I’m not saying that Williams is easier than Swarthmore in general, just that students from my son’s school have gotten goose eggs there in past years, even applying ED.
We’ve given the bigger-school idea ample thought but feel strongly that he will be better in a smaller school; given his social limitations, it will be easier for him to navigate to his peer group, at least that’s what we think.
Vassar is a great choice for the kid you described. I really like Williams but think the social vibe at Vassar would be better.
Vassar, being closer to NYC and having some proportion of artsy kids, is fine. I know “quirky” kids who attended Williams, found their tribe, and not only loved the place, but are fiercely loyal.
All types at both schools. Have you looked at various activities each offers? And how much a role sports plays?
Has he considered Tufts? I think quirkiness is embraced at Tufts. It’s the overall vibe I got when visiting.
Hi, lookingforward. It seems like sports are bigger at Williams than at Vassar. My son could care less about sports. That said, the sporty kids at Williams still have to be very bright.
Basil2000, yes Tufts is also on his list and is among his five favorites. It’s a much bigger school than the others though, and I think also seems to have a lot of sports going on, which isn’t totally his scene. He loves the setting though with access to Boston.
Vassar and Williams are the two colleges I know the most about!!! I have had family members at both, and they’ve loved them both!
I would say your son can find his type of people at both. Both attract super-smart kids, and among the super-smart, there are often the quirky. Many types of students exist at both colleges.
I remember the first time we visited my son at Williams. My spouse and I were eating by ourselves in the dining hall and walking around campus on our own while our son was off doing some event. We commented to each other that the most prevalent type appeared to be neither jocks nor preppies, but rather nerds! It is a comfortable place for smart, quirky kids. And so is Vassar.
The other good thing about both of those colleges, compared to some others, is that there is a built-in social group for freshmen, which helps with meeting people (especially helpful for the slightly awkward or introverted among us). At Vassar, you are assigned to a house where you will live for your first three years. That helps build a lasting community. At Williams, you are assigned to an “entry” (dorm group) of about forty freshmen and 3-4 unpaid Junior Advisors who are like big siblings, as well as being part of an EphVenture group during orientation.
If you visit Williams, walk down Spring Street and you will see a store that might interest your son. It has board and role-play games and people can come by and play them. Some games are set up on tables and clearly in progress.
College isn’t always easy socially and there may be ups and downs and lonely moments. For anyone. It’s an adjustment. But I agree that colleges like these two, which emphasize community, can be helpful during this adjustment.
Which “feels” better to your son? He should pick that one. They’re both great.
Thegreyking, thanks for your thorough response. Actually, my son already went into that game store during his Williams visit! 
I think we are leaning more toward Vassar, but he has to be the one to decide, of course.
The community of a school and the kinds of kids there is a huge factor in the right school for him, so it looks like we might be comparing apples with apples in these two choices.
“My son has narrowed down his ED choices to Williams and Vassar and needs to choose.”
Ok so this is a pet peeve of mine, why do people even with good intent, suggest other colleges and risk making the situation more complicated rather than simplifying the choices for the OP.
Anyway, I have actually been to both campuses, and grew up for a few years in Poughkeepsie (Vassar location). Vassar always seemed separate and distant from the rest of Poughkeepsie, almost like they didn’t really care for the town. I thought Williams was better integrated with their surroundings and for that I would lean to Williams. The point lookingforward brought up about being close to NYC is a good one, if you want that and Vassar is not as isolated as Williams. Good luck!
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Thanks, theloniusmonk. I’m not so concerned with the integration within the town, though. It is the student-body fit that is the focus of my concern, for my son who generally has trouble making friends.
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Is your son into sports at all? Williams is in the super competitive NESCAC conference, which is the top athletic conference in d3 with rivalries which mimic the ivies. Vassar is in the Liberty League, which I would characterize as much more relaxed. Williams and its peers will have 150- l75 recruits per class of which 65 or so will be hand picked top level athletes who may be less academically qualified than the rest of the class. I really believe Vassar fits the quirky description much more than Williams and both schools are terrific academically.
Williams is a more of a closet jock school that wants to win - and it does - more so historically across more sports than any school in d3 by far. Also, the admissions rate for men applying to Vassar is much higher than for women. At Williams I would be willing to bet that the actual admit rate for non recruited unhooked athlete males is around 5-7 pct.
Hi, since this is a comparison thread, comparing two colleges, I am going to try to move and merge it with your near-identical thread in College Search & Selection.
I would challenge a comment above. There certainly are plenty of great athletes at Williams, BUT—
Of S’s male friends at Williams, few are varsity athletes. Some are “hooked,” by College Confidential definition ( members of under-represented racial/ethnic groups, first generation, etc.) but some are “unhooked”— just lots of brain power and ambition! (Which the “hooked” kids also have!)
There are a variety of ‘types’ of students at Williams, with many students comfortably bridging different stereotypes that folks on College Confidential use. As I said on the other thread (hopefully to be merged with this one soon), there seem to be more students who would have been classified as nerds when they were in high school than anything else… and, like the OP, I consider this a good thing. But I don’t think high school stereotypes hold much water once you get to a college like these colleges.
Whether someone likes theater or art or football or mock trial or science fiction or botany or social justice or many other interests… there will be people who are like-minded, as well as people who just enjoy that their peers have a variety of cool interests and hobbies they may not share. Williams is a friendly place. And the same is true of Vassar.
I agree with @TheGreyKing as usual. Both schools will have communities he would enjoy. My Williams DD and DS are cerebral nerds/geeks, into SF/F, gaming and other ComicCon-like activities. They both got in ED as “unhooked” candidates. They also had other things that interested them. DS was a STEM student and ended up in club rugby. DD is an arts student who has thrived there. Their found friends who are lovely and the community is kind and supportive.
I was like my kids, but ended up at Wesleyan, but I’m not suggesting it. It was great for me – very “free to be you and me.” LACs are like that. I think wherever your son thinks he’ll be happiest based on other criteria (location, size, vibe, resources, department interest – both his and theirs) is the place to apply first.
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