@spachen My son decided between Amherst and Williams and the isolation of Williamstown was his biggest concern, but he has no regrets at all. His freshman year he got a student season ski pass to nearby Jiminy Peak and actually taught his future roommate from the Midwest how to ski. Most students at Williams do not ski, but for those who want to try, it is very accessible. Highly recommend bringing a bike as it can be helpful to get across campus and get off campus to run errands. Aside from Spring Street, there is a Rite Aid Pharmacy and Wild Oats Market about 1/2-3/4 mile from campus on Rt. 2. Hikes are accessible from campus/town.
@eastvillage: Bike racks are throughout campus and many freshman also bring their bikes inside at Mission dorm. Piano rooms are available in back of Chapin Hall. I am really impressed with high caliber of piano players and musicians in general at Williams given that there is no music school. There are many performance outlets available.
Thanks @TheGreyKing and @HPTD12 for filling me in on some of the nearby amenities (and the ski info).
Not sure I love the fact that there’s not good health care options on the weekends. When I was in college, my then-boyfriend/now husband sprained his ankle near my dorm, and there was literally a volunteer EMT group on campus that took us to the hospital a few blocks away, so I know accidents can happen on campus.
We plan on attending the virtual tours and parent-to-parent phone calls tomorrow and Tuesday. I think he’s mostly set on Williams at this point (he’s really taken with the entry system/tutorials/winter term), but he wants to do some of the virtual tours before he ultimately decides.
Another question: We know nearly half of Amherst and nearly 60% of Grinnell students study abroad, but is it common at Williams? It wasn’t common at Columbia (like maybe 25% when we were there in the late '90s). I remember hearing about it on the Williams tour regarding Winter Term, but I can’t remember if the full semester study abroad is as accessible.
one of my biggest concerns is that my son is not an athlete and it sounds like a big part of the social scene is through teams. Do most friend groups revolve through athletics? Are the “performance” kids separate from the “sports” kids?
I read on the Williams site that there is a piano at Mission Hall and that there is ample indoor bike storage at Mission and some indoor bike storage at the First Year Quad dorms.
You are overlooking the 24-7 emergency room that Berkshire Health Systems runs in North Adams. https://north.berkshirehealthsystems.org/
It is 6 miles from the Williams campus, 13 minutes by car. The college has a contract with North Adams Ambulance Service to transport students both for emergencies and for routine appointments. The emergency room can handle broken bones and can stabilize heart attacks.
Thank you @Fifty for clarifying. We went on the virtual tour presentations yesterday, and a Dean mentioned the 24/7 van service, and that even after hours or on the weekends, the service is there specifically for Williams students. My son, while in great shape, has asthma, so it was a point of concern.
@eastvillage – Regarding pianos (and directly from DD music major): A few dorms have pianos, like Mission. But there is etiquette involved. They should only be played during narrow times of day/week where playing them would be considered acceptable. You don’t know who is sleeping, studying, writing, test taking, etc. at any given moment in the building and would be disturbed by your playing. Maybe Friday and Saturday nights, if a lot of the dorm was out and about, but not too late if some want to sleep?
HOWEVER, there are at least 15 practice rooms with pianos in Bernhard Music Center, plus more in performance venues. If you just want to play, the uprights are available for anyone’s use. If you are considered a pianist to the music dept., I think you can use one of the few practice grands as long as a professor isn’t using it for teaching. Do NOT just go plunking on the Bosendorfer Imperial Grand if you happen to find it in Chapin Hall. That’s one of the world’s finest pianos and cost at least an entire WC education full rate. DD has never had a problem finding a piano to use if she planned ahead.
To echo others regarding the musicality of WC, it’s why DD attended: it’s the closest thing to a LAC conservatory without going to Oberlin, and it’s a fully open department which most schools don’t have, meaning anyone can use the practice facilities, and take classes or lessons as long as they’ve fulfilled the class requirement or audition. No major declaration necessary. The musical options there are incredible for a small LAC, and it’s the unsung strength of the WC community. None of the New England LACs come close – and trust me, we checked. Good luck!
Hi, I’ve noticed that a lot of the replies here are coming from either parents of Williams Students, or alumni who’ve graduated way over a decade ago. While their view points, I’m sure are helpful, if any current prospective frosh wants to ask questions directly to a Williams student (Class of 2020, finishing thesis, non-athlete, Latina, QuestBridge NCM), please dm me.
Hi, there is a huge athlete/athlete divide and a lot of it falls on social class lines. However, this does not mean you can’t make friends with people of different interests/background. (Speaking as a current Williams Senior).
I have literally never heard of this. The report may be true or false. While there is some sexual assault on campus–one assault is one two many–they rarely ever get escalated to the courts. I also don’t know if you can trust the veracity of an article written by UMass student who is all the way in Boston, especially since they don’t provide any evidence. Every year we get a report on the number of sexual assault/harassment cases on campus, and how they were resolved. Williams College stands out to me in only that it has very few cases per year compared to our counterparts.
On a somewhat related note, I would take what you read in the Record with a grain of salt. They constantly misreport–so much in fact that I would sit around with a friend every Wednesday at Stressbusters to get a few chuckles out of some of the more badly written articles.
Hi @mariapaula thank you for chiming in as a current student. I’m so sorry your senior year is finishing via distance learning. I’m wondering a couple of things I will pass along to my prospective student. I’ll DM you.
Good luck!