My Friend Needs Help Now!!! Williams vs. UMCP

crnchycereal
Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:40:40 +0000

Likewise, I’m shocked that your friend would consider UMCP over Williams. The caliber of Williams is superior in almost every regard, including but not limited to faculty attention, quality of classes, personal and financial support from the college, research opportunities, internship opportunities (e.g. great alumni networking and extremely generous grants available to students working non-profit internships), quality of the student body, and perhaps most importantly, the sorts of jobs that will be open to her upon graduation. And to have to borrow a good sum of money to attend a far inferior school? I’m sorry, but this is an easy decision.

I certainly can’t say that mine is an unbiased opinion. I graduated in 2008 and actually just came back from a trip up to Williamstown. But as a (minority) alum who absolutely loved his experience at Williams, I strongly encourage your friend to choose Williams.

In addition, though your friend would obviously think otherwise, I think that attending a school where many of her friends and high school classmates also attend is a drawback, not an advantage. Based on the experiences of high school friends of mine, this makes it way too easy to become cloistered within a rigid, stagnant social scene. On the other hand, purposely pushing herself to live beyond her comfort zone and encounter a whole new set of people will undoubtedly help her to mature and grow in ways she might not have at UMCP.