Hello! I’m a rising high school senior and am torn between applying early decision to Williams or Wellesley. The state-of-the-art facilities, endowment, and Berkshires location make Williams very appealing. However, the isolation factor and the potentially fratty byproduct of a heavily athletic community are cause for concern. My main concern with Wellesley is the rigor and competitive atmosphere that dominate online discussion. Please help!!
I am a Williams alumna and parent.
Isolation: Yes. There is always plenty to do on campus, so you would never be bored, but Williams is not near a major metropolis. It is a great place for those who love to be surrounded by scenic natural beauty (the mountains!) and to be part of a tight-knit community. If you would miss wandering down a city street surrounded by throngs of strangers, Williams is not a good fit for you.
Fratty? No way! There are no fraternities at Williams and it is a super-inclusive community, which starts with the freshmen entries (small dorm groupings of freshmen with unpaid volunteer junior advisers), which are carefully constructed to be a microcosm of the college’s diversity. Are there athletes at Williams? Yes, and good ones, too, since Williams does very well in Division Three. But there are also musicians, mock trial participants, theatre people, community service volunteers, newspeople, etc., etc. Many types of students exist, with diverse interests. And there certainly is not an “old boy” feeling to it: Williams leans liberal.
I think your biggest question is all-women or coed. For me, choosing between Wellesley and Williams many years ago, the choice was clear. As a heterosexual female hoping to date, I did not feel safe meeting men at frat parties at MIT, etc. I wanted to meet men in natural settings, like dorms, classes, and clubs. And I wanted diversity of all sorts, including gender, in my college. Others might feel differently and particularly value a single sex environment.
Your second biggest question is suburban or rural.
Otherwise, both are wonderful colleges. In terms of the academic experience at these two top small colleges, you can’t go wrong!
Mostly for play, but this Forbes article that includes Williams may nonetheless legitimately hint at the school’s national status: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesportelli/2017/04/26/10-expensive-colleges-worth-every-penny-2017/.
If you’re torn, don’t apply ED: imagine if you were to develop a clear favorite, but you’d already applied ED to the other school. Egads!
There are some differences, a few of which I will attempt to list simply:
- Williams offers tutorial-style courses
- Williams has more of a "jock" element and more rah-rah school spirit.
- Wellesley lacks residential male students, though you may see some guys from MIT in class from time to time.
- Wellesley is much closer to civilization
So: think about if you could handle the bucolic ruralness of Williams, or the relative lack of males at Wellesley; whether you’d prefer a rah-rah sports scene; whether you could live without the tutorial experience; whether proximity to Boston is important to you.
Academically both are outstanding, but close study may reveal that one offers more majors/courses you like, a curriculum more suited to your taste, an academic calendar that fits your friends’ and family’s free time better, etc.
So figure out what your preferences are, and – if you persist in the desire to apply ED to one – visit both while school is in session, and check NPC to see if there is a major difference in cost. And use those things – fit, finances, and your visit – to decide where (or even whether) to apply ED.
I agree that “fratty” does not at all describe Williams. I’ve known both athletically inclined students and non-athletically inclined students that had great experiences there. Both are fine schools, but I think I’d have encouraged my kids in the Williams direction if they were choosing between those two schools.
It strikes me that as you describe the perceived negatives of each, that Amherst and Smith would be alternatives on the same continuum, that have a little less of the attributes you’re concerned about while still having the positive attributes. Have you considered and ruled these out?
I would agree that the major points of differentiation are coed/all women and rural village/suburb of Boston. I wouldn’t characterize Williams as “fratty” or “jocky” but it does attract a lot of active students. By active I don’t necessarily mean an over-emphasis on organized sports either as athletes or spectators, but rather an inclination to get out there and do something active, mostly outdoors.
I would also note in case it’s of interest to you that Williams has a vibrant performing arts culture – e.g., music and theater, as well as three world-class art museums on or near campus. Williamstown may be a mountain village, but it’s a very sophisticated village! For that reason I think of Williams as being more insular than isolated.
Students do get to Boston or New York once or twice a term either for social events or part of an academic assignment, but the focal point of Williams culture is the campus itself and the surrounding countryside.
Go and visit each for a day while it is in session. The vibe is so different at these two. It’d be really surprisingly if one didn’t feel more comfortable to you than the other.
Indeed. Vibrant college towns in themselves but 2 hours from Boston and 3 from NYC (with bus/train service to those cities and free bus service between the colleges and all around the area), same consortium, the two women’s schools more co-ed, in a sense, with consortium students in classes. Smith has a higher acceptance rate than Wellesley, Williams higher than Amherst, but closer.