<p>You shouldn’t over-analyze in comparing academics at these three schools. All are academically excellent. All will give you the opportunity to take more intellectually stimulating courses than you could possibly gobble down in four years.</p>
<p>To me, the biggest point of differentiation is in environment and culture. As an athlete who loves the outdoors, you couldn’t do better than land in Williamstown and the Berkshires. For my son it was love on first sight and over the course of 4 years he took full advantage of the mountains both physically and spiritually. 10 years later, he still takes backpacking trips with his former classmates.</p>
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<p>No, Williams’ humanities and social science programs are at least at the equivalent level to Amherst’s, better in some disciplines. English is one of the largest and strongest departments at Williams, and though Philosophy is smaller, it is vibrant. </p>
<p>(Read some stories by Jim Shepard or Andrea Barrett and tell me you wouldn’t love taking their classes.)</p>
<p>Could you replicate Chicago’s Fundamentals program at Williams? Maybe not exactly, but you will find no shortage of attention to classic texts in interdisciplinary contexts. The Tutorial program and Winter Study may also be appealing to you. (Further, At LACs like Williams and Amherst you don’t have to be in a special program to have access to the “most distinguished professors in fields from the humanities and social sciences.” Just take their classes.)</p>
<p>After I wrote this I read the post by @JHS on the Chicago board. I could have just written “What JHS said.” 
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1684351-amherst-chicago-or-williams.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1684351-amherst-chicago-or-williams.html#latest</a></p>