Amherst/Wellesley/Williams

momrath
Mon, 03 Apr 2006 01:02:31 +0000

College, I’ve never been to Wellesley so I can’t comment there. Amherst and Williams are both fine schools.

The environments are somewhat different. Williams is in a small village in the mountains and is self-contained. Amherst is in a small town and is part of a multi-college consortium.

Both have excellent history departments and great track records for getting their graduates into law school. The academic rigor and faculty caliber is identical.

I think there is a wide swathe of overlap in the type of student who attends each – friendly, outgoing, energetic. You would have fun at both.

My son says Williams has great food. There are several (4 or 5) choices of dining halls.

First years at Williams live in groups of about 20-24 kids called entries. The chance of getting a single is very high.

Other points of differentiation at Williams are tutorial system (2 students, 1 professor), Winter Study and the distribution requirements. It may not matter to you but for the record I’d give Williams the edge over Amherst in opportunities in the arts.