Are there colleges that have a system similar to Williams where freshmen are randomly put into groups to ease the struggle of making friends?
Colgate is implementing Residential Learning Communities. Hamilton has a program that you can select, known as REAL.
Wouldn’t that apply to any college where it is common for frosh to live in the dorms with other frosh?
Middlebury has “living-learning communities.”
If you really wanna be that guy, then sure. But the system that I’m referring to typically has a couple of upperclassmen advisors, maybe a faculty advisor, and group-specific outings during orientation season.
What you describe seems to be part of the typical agenda for a frosh orientation session.
That onboarding practice is very, very common-- hardly unique to Williams.
Pre-orientation programs, often set off-campus in a natural environment, can also serve in easing the transition to college.
Williams’ first year entry residential system is different from a frosh orientation session. At Williams, first year residence halls are broken down into “entries” comprised of +/- 20 students who live adjacent to each other and are shepherded by two junior advisors. The JAs (who are unpaid and compete for positions) act as social organizers, question answerers on matters weighty and mundane, soft shoulders and a huge resource for the transition from high school to college.
Although each student’s entry experience may vary, my son’s was especially rewarding. He had warm and enthusiastic JAs who organized social events and provided a window into Williams’ culture. Some of his entry-mates became his best friends for the rest of his Williams years and beyond. The entry system was one of the things that attracted him to Williams and turned out to be a major positive.
Though some of the other schools he looked at had residential houses and theme houses I’m not aware of any that had the same entry system.
Pomona College’s Sponsor Program seems to fit your description. Freshmen at Pomona are sorted into sponsor groups which are comprised of about 10 people. These sponsor groups are led by 2-3 sophomores or juniors, and they live nearby in the same dorm.
The Customs Program at Haverford does exactly this.