Trying to be objective, I'll note that the college decision process is really amazingly random. It all comes down to finding a good "fit" between the student and the institution, and that can turn on the strangest things.
On the pro-Williams side, I'll say that you won't find a better small-college faculty anywhere. That's not to say that there aren't a few duds here and there-- there are-- but as a whole, the faculty are remarkably dedicated and highly accomplished. It's also hard to top the facilities-- I played on the rugby club, and the administration didn't exactly love us, but we still had the nicest field of any of the school we played, by a long shot. The academic, athletic, and residential facilities are all absolutely first-rate. Which is exaclty what you should expect from a school with an endowment of better than $1.5 billion.
The down sides are mainly geographical. Williamstown is not exactly the hub of the universe-- it's an hour to Albany, and three hours to New York or Boston. If you're a City Person, you might well go nuts-- Kate went out there to visit with her family, and pretty much got right back in the car as soon as they arrived. The social scene can also get a little claustrophobic-- the whole student body is only about 2,000 people, so just about everyone knows just about everything about just about everybody else. It's also somewhat prone to cliquishness, with lots of very tight social circles.
None of those negative factors bothered me that much. I grew up in a small town, so I didn't mind the rural setting, and I didn't find the social scene to be all that bad, mostly because I had a place where I fit, with the rugby club. I was reasonably friendly with people from a bunch of different cliques, and never had too much trouble finding something to do, but then that's largely a function of my personality.
In the end, I would say that it comes down to individual preferences. If you're really absolutely set on the liberal arts college thing, Williams offers the ultimate liberal arts college experience. If you're not really sure that's what you want, it may get a little overwhelming.
There will be some students around in the summer-- a lot of people in the sciences stick around to do research, and a fair number of humanities types doing honors theses will be there. And, of course, the Admissions office pays some tour guides to stick around. You'll be able to get a little bit of a sense of the people from that. And, obviously, you'll get to see the campus, so a visit will clarify a lot.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-06-10 09:30 pm (UTC)Trying to be objective, I'll note that the college decision process is really amazingly random. It all comes down to finding a good "fit" between the student and the institution, and that can turn on the strangest things.
On the pro-Williams side, I'll say that you won't find a better small-college faculty anywhere. That's not to say that there aren't a few duds here and there-- there are-- but as a whole, the faculty are remarkably dedicated and highly accomplished. It's also hard to top the facilities-- I played on the rugby club, and the administration didn't exactly love us, but we still had the nicest field of any of the school we played, by a long shot. The academic, athletic, and residential facilities are all absolutely first-rate. Which is exaclty what you should expect from a school with an endowment of better than $1.5 billion.
The down sides are mainly geographical. Williamstown is not exactly the hub of the universe-- it's an hour to Albany, and three hours to New York or Boston. If you're a City Person, you might well go nuts-- Kate went out there to visit with her family, and pretty much got right back in the car as soon as they arrived. The social scene can also get a little claustrophobic-- the whole student body is only about 2,000 people, so just about everyone knows just about everything about just about everybody else. It's also somewhat prone to cliquishness, with lots of very tight social circles.
None of those negative factors bothered me that much. I grew up in a small town, so I didn't mind the rural setting, and I didn't find the social scene to be all that bad, mostly because I had a place where I fit, with the rugby club. I was reasonably friendly with people from a bunch of different cliques, and never had too much trouble finding something to do, but then that's largely a function of my personality.
In the end, I would say that it comes down to individual preferences. If you're really absolutely set on the liberal arts college thing, Williams offers the ultimate liberal arts college experience. If you're not really sure that's what you want, it may get a little overwhelming.
There will be some students around in the summer-- a lot of people in the sciences stick around to do research, and a fair number of humanities types doing honors theses will be there. And, of course, the Admissions office pays some tour guides to stick around. You'll be able to get a little bit of a sense of the people from that. And, obviously, you'll get to see the campus, so a visit will clarify a lot.