<p>jmilton- A large portion of the student body at Amherst plays varsity sports, but many aren’t recruited at all. It results in a student body that fairly athletic, but doesn’t give off the ‘jock’ vibe. Also, Amherst doesn’t overly stress athletics. A lot of students are involved in them, so they’re present on campus, but academics are first-and-foremost, both for current students and the admissions board. What that means is that almost every varsity athlete gets into Amherst of their own accord and their own academic achievements, and most just happen to play sports (once again, athletic but not jocks). There are certainly a few recruits, but it’s a very small number, so most varsity athletes are likely regular-admits who coincidentally play sports.</p>
<p>There’s a huge population here that doesn’t do sports at all though, and there’s no tension whatsoever between them and athletes. You’ll still take classes together, and you’ll have friends on teams whether you follow sports or not.</p>
<p>Williams may be similar, I can’t say for sure, because I can only speak for Amherst</p>