Williams vs. Amherst vs. Columbia vs. Yale

jersey454
Fri, 27 Mar 2015 18:11:02 +0000

As you said before, these kinds of threads are numerous, and so a lot of the more general comparisons - prestige, job opportunities, grad school acceptances, etc. - have been made time and time again. I will aim to steer clear of them, as we all know that people who matter (especially in grad school admissions) will understand how the academics at LACs compare to the academics at any Ivy.

In terms of fairness, I feel that I’m obligated to say that I’m a current freshman at Williams and I absolutely love it. I come from a CT suburb and am very familiar with both the city and rural life, and I consciously chose Williams’ rural environment BECAUSE of how comfortable I am in a city. College, in my opinion, is a time to grow and experience things you will not be able to experience at any other point in your life. This includes living in a rural environment for four years and being able to take advantage of all that the outdoors can offer. For most people (and especially you, since you have an interest in politics), we will spend much of our adult lives living in a city and experiencing the countryside only through vacations and the like. At no other point in my life before retirement, at least, do I see myself having the opportunity to live in a rural location as my primary home. For this reason, I chose LACs over Ivies, although it may not be as important a factor to you as it was to me.

The reasons for the 80% choosing rate of Ivies over LACs was well explained above, but I have one more point to add to it. LACs are “fit” schools - not everyone likes having such a small environment. If size is a factor for you, as it is for a lot of people, consider carefully which size you want. I’m sure you understand the personal pros and cons of each. Many people go to college looking to significantly increase the size of their school, and so pass over LACs in favor of larger schools. Plus, some people like having people gawk when they drop the H-bomb or the like. To each their own.

The difference between the ivies and the LACs you’ve listed is easy to see, and that’s all about personal preference. Definitely visit each school, of course, and see how you feel there. The differences between the two categories are macroscopic, so deciding which TYPE of school you like better should be easy. Less so between Williams and Amherst, which have many similar features. I found that when I visited the schools, the students made the difference. Be sure to listen in to conversations and ask random students questions. Everyone loves showing off, and the two schools are very prestigious so there’s plenty of showing off to go around. Hearing people talk about their school off the cuff is very helpful, but don’t just ask one student and be done with it; make sure you talk to at least 3 or 4. That’s what helped me decide between two schools that are so similar on paper.

Finally, don’t worry about choosing between the two visiting days! People miss those events all the time (I should know, I did) and colleges are very helpful in finding a time for you to visit again. Ask to stay with a student overnight, take a tour - which should be significantly smaller than it would have been over the visiting period, and that’s a very good thing - and decide how the college feels without all the bustle and fanfare of the visiting period. In fact, that may be preferable in both cases. I highly recommend it.