Is there a huge difference in prestige between Williams and Bowdoin?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| I have a nephew who is facing this decision. He has visited both schools and preferred the environment and students at Bowdoin College. His father and most of his friends (he attends an east coast feeder school that sends many to Ivies/top SLACs) are telling him it would be foolish to turn down Williams for Bowdoin. They are roughly the same cost. Could someone with real world experience share if there's something significant that really sets Williams College apart? Thank you. |
Anonymous
| Oh, I forgot to mention the major of interest is political science and mathematics. |
Anonymous
| Sounds like his happiness would be the difference here! |
Anonymous
| No, there is not. |
Anonymous
|
They have different feels.
Have they done the requisite reading and research about student life, campus culture etc? https://www.unigo.com/colleges/williams-college/describe-the-students-at-your-school https://www.unigo.com/colleges/bowdoin-college/describe-the-students-at-your-school |
Anonymous
| Williams is strong in math and I do think it has an edge in name recognition but that doesn’t mean it’s the better place for your kid. |
Anonymous
| Williams is slightly more recognizable but not a big difference |
Anonymous
| Williams is more likely to open doors to investment banking and maybe management consulting right out of school. In the long run there’s not much difference in overall “prestige,” and I say this as both a proud Williams grad and someone who reviews attorney resumes. |
Anonymous
+1. Another Williams grad. Both are equally great choices for your kid, and it should come down to where he feels more comfortable. |
Anonymous
| No, none |
Anonymous
| No |
Anonymous
| I do think of Williams as more prestigious but so what? Happiness matters! My kids turned down an Ivy for a school where he thought he would be happier. |
Anonymous
|
Being consistently ranked #1 LAC is meaningful. Williams has far better name recognition than Bowdoin, presumably for this reason. We visited both and though we were very impressed by Williams' academics, DC found the vibe a little snobbish and not so friendly. Decided to go in a different WASP direction ultimately. Loved the Bowdoin visit, all positives there.
I think it's important for a kid to pick where he feels he will be happy and thrive across the board. The specific academic differences are not really at that meaningful. |
Anonymous
Does Williams really have better name recognition that Bowdoin? I'm not sure that I would agree with that. Bowdoin is a pretty unique name and I think many have heard of it even if they don't quite understand it's high position among elite SLACs. The top 4 NESCAC schools (Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, and Williams) have student populations which are virtually identical in terms of academic profiles. In terms of Wall Street and Consulting recruiting Bowdoin does have some success but the other three are considerably more successful with Williams and Amherst traditionally leading the group. Over the past few years Middlebury has passed Amherst and is now close to Williams likely because of the success of Ted Pick at MS and John Waldron at GS. A student cannot go wrong with any of these schools and they should decide based on where they see themselves happiest for the next four years. If that place is Bowdoin they are giving up nothing by attending Bowdoin provided that IB and MBB aren't their goals. |
Anonymous
| Williams has a better yield when compared to Bowdoin so that says it matters to most applicants. However if a student prefers Bowdoin for some personal reason, its fine to let them pick it, no big loss. |