Pawn_H7

Of course, there's something to be said for being the only college around.

atom_and_eve

haha (I don't know - your post was just funny, whether intentional or not)

HorseRadish

I was asked in a recent letter how Williams differed culturally from Amherst.

Many cite how more athletic the feel of Williams College is when compared to Amherst. I find that Amherst does equally well, but the appellation remains with Williams.

At Williams the isolation challenges us students to actively engage the college as their is no consortium or sprawling urban area to depend upon. There is no social environment outside of the school itself. Williamstown is an outgrowth of Williams College. Additionally, the historical and traditional roots embedded in the founding of the college lends itself in a manner distinctively divergent from Amherst's more alternative revolutionary and experimental engagements. Being a strident sibling to Williams, Amherst strove to be different from Williams, even after their bitter separation, and became rivals to one another.

At Williams the Williams-Exeter programme reflects the ties of the old world with the new. Its 4-1-4 program is modeled on a more European centered academic year. Our school prides itself as being the progenitor of many firsts among the colleges within our nation, and perceives itself as the historical and traditional voice among LAC's.

Both choices are great, but I preferred the pastoral provincial environment of Williams to the urbane consortium setting of Amherst. There is something romantic about the Williams environment that cannot be equalled or rivaled by any environment I am familiar with.

Now off to lunch with my Ephs.

klee123

(Repost from a thread a year or two ago on the same topic, which also included Pomona College.)

D is Amherst 09, S is Williams 11. Mom and Dad (yours truly) are Pomona alumni.

#1. Go visit, preferably overnight. You will know better then.

#2. Amherst and Williams are sibling schools with a healthy rivalry, but with great mutual respect. They are very similar in almost all respects. Williams has 25% larger student body, and the course offerings are correspondingly a little wider and deeper, particularly in the sciences. Art history is a standout at Williams.

#3. Williamstown is small town/village. Three blocks of Spring St and Water St with small shops and a dozen places to eat is all there is within walking distance of the college. If you have a car or a bicycle, there is a Stop & Shop about 2 miles from campus, and North Adams about 5 miles away. There is bus service.

Amherst the town is a small college town with several blocks of various shops and restaurants. The town also draws students from U Mass Amherst (about 20000 students). Hadley, just west of Amherst, is mall city. Northhampton and Smith College are 9 miles from Amherst, but Route 9 can be slow, driving past the Target, Wal Mart, Whole Foods, Best Buy...no cutesy awards there, but D loves being able to go to Trader Joe's and Target on her bicycle. Can't do that from Williams.

#4. You can take courses at Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, U Mass Amherst, but the bus commute can be more time consuming than ideal. No Italian at Amherst College, so daughter took courses at Smith and Mt. Holyoke.

#5. Pomona shares the attributes of Amherst and Williams, but with So Calif weather, a seemingly more low key but no less academically talented student body, and a contiguous 5 college system that you can use without thinking about the commute time.

It would be a great thing to have such a choice!