For some reason, Williams College just sprang into my mind a few days ago, and I can't seem to stop thinking about it, so I will give it a little blurb.
First of all, this school is unbelievably elite. It really does rank with the ivies in the caliber of its student body, and in my opinion, surpasses them in overall quality of education. It is ranked No. 1 (tied with Amherst) for Liberal Arts Colleges in the US, and it has a massive endowment of around a billion dollars, a number many huge universities can't even imagine. For two thousand students, this campus in rural, woodsy Massachusetts (It's almost New Hampshire) is unbelievably beautiful and has unbelievable resources. This is really one of the few liberal arts school's whose resources can match those of large universities. We're taking TOP tier professors and amazing networking job opportunities after graduation, not to mention a huge portion of students going on to elite grad schools.
Williams is well known for having a strong music program (rare for a liberal arts school), among other strong programs in social sciences, particularly Economics and Political Science.
To quote Wikipedia (the best source ever)...
Williams is ranked # 8 in the most recent Washington Monthly rankings, which focus on key academic outputs such as research, scientific grants won in the natural and social sciences and the number of B.A. graduates earning PhDs. The survey also measures public service contributions. Williams ranked fifth, after Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, in a 2004 Wall Street Journal survey of the "feeder schools" to the top fifteen business, law, and medical schools in the country. Williams ranked fifth, after Princeton, CalTech, Harvard, and Swarthmore, in Forbes' 2008 ranking of America's best colleges.
Again, really great opportunities. Another nice thing (for me at least), is that they are a notoriously Early Decision biased school. Their ED acceptance rate is almost 40%, while their regular rate is a typically competitive 18%. This seems to promise an awesome opportunity for admission to an extraordinary school if this is your top choice. Though I haven't actually visited this school, I have read a few guidebook profiles on it, and have gone through a viewbook the college sent me.
The academics at Williams are the real show:
Tutorials and Winter Study, two unusual academic opportunities, largely define a Williams education. Tutorials pair two students with one professor (read: lots of individualized attention). The students meet with their professor each week and alternate writing papers or doing problem sets and critiquing their partner’s work. During Winter Study, the month in between the fall and spring semesters, students can choose from a wide range of off-beat classes, go abroad for the month, or work on an independent project. (Unigo.com)
In general, this school is one of the "preppiest" and most elite of small liberal arts colleges. It has an athletic and social tinge that's hard to come by at smaller schools, but it's certainly refreshing. This can probably be explained by the rural location and outdoorsy feel of the campus. After reading a few student reviews on Unigo.com, I have basically come to the conclusion that Williams is worth your money. The school has a great balance of social activities with academic priority. Truly innovative academic programs make the experience extremely rewarding and also serve to quickly integrate Freshman into the college experience.
The Princeton Review gives them a 99 (highest possible) rating for both Academics and Admission. Average SAT score is 1430, ACT range is 29-33 (25-75 percentile).
First of all, this school is unbelievably elite. It really does rank with the ivies in the caliber of its student body, and in my opinion, surpasses them in overall quality of education. It is ranked No. 1 (tied with Amherst) for Liberal Arts Colleges in the US, and it has a massive endowment of around a billion dollars, a number many huge universities can't even imagine. For two thousand students, this campus in rural, woodsy Massachusetts (It's almost New Hampshire) is unbelievably beautiful and has unbelievable resources. This is really one of the few liberal arts school's whose resources can match those of large universities. We're taking TOP tier professors and amazing networking job opportunities after graduation, not to mention a huge portion of students going on to elite grad schools.
Williams is well known for having a strong music program (rare for a liberal arts school), among other strong programs in social sciences, particularly Economics and Political Science.
To quote Wikipedia (the best source ever)...
Williams is ranked # 8 in the most recent Washington Monthly rankings, which focus on key academic outputs such as research, scientific grants won in the natural and social sciences and the number of B.A. graduates earning PhDs. The survey also measures public service contributions. Williams ranked fifth, after Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, in a 2004 Wall Street Journal survey of the "feeder schools" to the top fifteen business, law, and medical schools in the country. Williams ranked fifth, after Princeton, CalTech, Harvard, and Swarthmore, in Forbes' 2008 ranking of America's best colleges.
Again, really great opportunities. Another nice thing (for me at least), is that they are a notoriously Early Decision biased school. Their ED acceptance rate is almost 40%, while their regular rate is a typically competitive 18%. This seems to promise an awesome opportunity for admission to an extraordinary school if this is your top choice. Though I haven't actually visited this school, I have read a few guidebook profiles on it, and have gone through a viewbook the college sent me.
The academics at Williams are the real show:
Tutorials and Winter Study, two unusual academic opportunities, largely define a Williams education. Tutorials pair two students with one professor (read: lots of individualized attention). The students meet with their professor each week and alternate writing papers or doing problem sets and critiquing their partner’s work. During Winter Study, the month in between the fall and spring semesters, students can choose from a wide range of off-beat classes, go abroad for the month, or work on an independent project. (Unigo.com)
In general, this school is one of the "preppiest" and most elite of small liberal arts colleges. It has an athletic and social tinge that's hard to come by at smaller schools, but it's certainly refreshing. This can probably be explained by the rural location and outdoorsy feel of the campus. After reading a few student reviews on Unigo.com, I have basically come to the conclusion that Williams is worth your money. The school has a great balance of social activities with academic priority. Truly innovative academic programs make the experience extremely rewarding and also serve to quickly integrate Freshman into the college experience.
The Princeton Review gives them a 99 (highest possible) rating for both Academics and Admission. Average SAT score is 1430, ACT range is 29-33 (25-75 percentile).
Jon thanks for putting this site together. i really enjoyed reading the post on various schools. i am applying to Williams College and your coments are very helpful...I think william even pays for undergrads to have music lessons...that was mind-blowing!Keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteTo make this site great ..how about making it possible for others to submit reviews of other colleges that they have visited. I loved your posts on Williams and harvard however i would have liked to see a post about Oberlin collegeThis can be done by others who may havevisited schools you cant visit.
ReplyDeleteKofi from Ghana
It is a nice enough place with really intelligent students. The winter there makes the place a lot less attractive. If you drive there you have to use these little two lane roads that wind through the mountains. It is slow going in the summer. In the winter, however, these roads fill up with ice and snow. I still get a knot in my stomach when I remember what it was like to travel in western MA in the winter time. There are plenty of equally good schools that are less rural, less isolated, and easier to access than Williams College. If you want a high quality liberal arts education, I'd pick a nicer place like Pomona or Claremont in CA.
ReplyDelete