Williams vs Vandy

[Anonymous]

I toured both colleges years ago.

Williams is a classic New England elite LAC. The academics are superb and the students engaged. The area is dead boring for a college student. When I was in my hotel I chatted with the front desk guy, who was a recent college grad who went away, and he ended up driving me around, the takeaway being there is was absolutely nothing around so you better like the college b/c there isn't anything interesting anywhere else.

Vanderbilt is in the heart of a big city, though the campus feels sort of walled off. It seemed very preppy and southern and a little bit like you would be excluded if you don't fit "the mold."

I didn't end up going to either school - I went to an urban school in a northern city.

If I had to pick, I'd recommend Williams, since the academics will be better (not just the scores of the admits, but the actual collegiate experience - in the olden days, the point of the thing) and I got the sense the students were more inclusive so it would be easier for a non-fratty kid to find his people.

Exception is that you visit Williams and think, "gosh this seems like a boring place," you are probably right and then go live in a city.

They are very different environments so it should be easy to pick one when you think it through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go with Williams. In a lot of circles, particularly within a lot of traditional industries like law, medicine, and finance, Williams is still seen as a solid tier above Vanderbilt. Vandy strikes me as a school that is somewhat overrated for what its selectivity with a very insecure Chancellor who seems to be obsessed with rankings.

Lol “solid tier above” in law and especially medicine

Williams doesn't have a medical school or a law school, but I think what this person meant was that within the legal and medical professions, a Williams undergrad is typically seen as more prestigious than Vanderbilt. Williams is known to be a pretty strong feeder into Top 14 law schools, while Vanderbilt lags behind: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-law-school

Maybe. But I think this view is a little dated. Vanderbilt has an excellent medical school right on campus. And it has a T14 law school.

If someone wants the SLAC experience, go to Williams. But I really don't think Williams is better than Vanderbilt for med and law school placement these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boys love Williams and do well there.

Vanderbilt has frats -- not what I'd choose but perhaps your kid disagrees.

But I think it's very unusual for students to apply to both Vanderbilt and Williams.

It's not at all unusual. Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore are super prestigious, many consider them HYP level undergrad education. Given the crapshoot that is admissions, the decision tree is not figuring out type of institute you'd like and applying only there, it is instead applying to the best institutions you have a shot at and figuring out later whether you want small/large, city/rural based on the admits you get and their rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boys love Williams and do well there.

Vanderbilt has frats -- not what I'd choose but perhaps your kid disagrees.

But I think it's very unusual for students to apply to both Vanderbilt and Williams.

It's not at all unusual. Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore are super prestigious, many consider them HYP level undergrad education. Given the crapshoot that is admissions, the decision tree is not figuring out type of institute you'd like and applying only there, it is instead applying to the best institutions you have a shot at and figuring out later whether you want small/large, city/rural based on the admits you get and their rankings.

Exactly. I know a kid who was obsessed with Williams. Applied early, was deferred and then didn't get in. Ended up at Duke and loved it. They seem incredibly different but he likely could have been happy at either one.

[Anonymous]

If your family home has a lawn go to Vandy.

[Anonymous]

Nashville seems like such a great place for that age. Vanderbilt would be an easy choice for my teen, but it ultimately depends on what your son values.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would go with Williams. In a lot of circles, particularly within a lot of traditional industries like law, medicine, and finance, Williams is still seen as a solid tier above Vanderbilt. Vandy strikes me as a school that is somewhat overrated for what its selectivity with a very insecure Chancellor who seems to be obsessed with rankings.

I agree. The Chancellor’s written response to last year’s USNWR ranking was embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Williams.
More respected among those that hire and admit to top med/law/phD

[Anonymous]

Be prepared to say Williams College in Massachusetts your whole life because no one with exception of liberal elites have heard of it. Nashville a dynamic go to city with chance to watch SEC sports with great weather vs a climate change rally of 150 people in wiillamstown

[Anonymous]

I would choose an intellectual northeast college over a southern one filled with Daisy Dukes 10 out of 10 times.

[Anonymous]

Williams has Oxford style tutorials. Also, it’s in a blue state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go with Williams. In a lot of circles, particularly within a lot of traditional industries like law, medicine, and finance, Williams is still seen as a solid tier above Vanderbilt. Vandy strikes me as a school that is somewhat overrated for what its selectivity with a very insecure Chancellor who seems to be obsessed with rankings.

Lol “solid tier above” in law and especially medicine

Williams doesn't have a medical school or a law school, but I think what this person meant was that within the legal and medical professions, a Williams undergrad is typically seen as more prestigious than Vanderbilt. Williams is known to be a pretty strong feeder into Top 14 law schools, while Vanderbilt lags behind: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-law-school

Maybe. But I think this view is a little dated. Vanderbilt has an excellent medical school right on campus. And it has a T14 law school.

If someone wants the SLAC experience, go to Williams. But I really don't think Williams is better than Vanderbilt for med and law school placement these days.

+1, people here are obsessed with lacs. If you at all like opportunities and diversity, I’d stay clear. It’s nice in theory, but having access to actual professionals nearby is really helpful and can change your career for the positive. I think lac people get too caught up in the academic path to actually explore anything- doesn’t help their campuses are stuck in the middle of absolutely nowhere. For some reason, liberal arts colleges are allergic to engaging with the rest of the world

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Williams.
More respected among those that hire and admit to top med/law/phD

Interesting - how does one assess the reputation of undergrad institutions among multiple disciplines? Where did you find this data?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go with Williams. In a lot of circles, particularly within a lot of traditional industries like law, medicine, and finance, Williams is still seen as a solid tier above Vanderbilt. Vandy strikes me as a school that is somewhat overrated for what its selectivity with a very insecure Chancellor who seems to be obsessed with rankings.

Lol “solid tier above” in law and especially medicine

Williams doesn't have a medical school or a law school, but I think what this person meant was that within the legal and medical professions, a Williams undergrad is typically seen as more prestigious than Vanderbilt. Williams is known to be a pretty strong feeder into Top 14 law schools, while Vanderbilt lags behind: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-law-school

Maybe. But I think this view is a little dated. Vanderbilt has an excellent medical school right on campus. And it has a T14 law school.

If someone wants the SLAC experience, go to Williams. But I really don't think Williams is better than Vanderbilt for med and law school placement these days.

+1, people here are obsessed with lacs. If you at all like opportunities and diversity, I’d stay clear. It’s nice in theory, but having access to actual professionals nearby is really helpful and can change your career for the positive. I think lac people get too caught up in the academic path to actually explore anything- doesn’t help their campuses are stuck in the middle of absolutely nowhere. For some reason, liberal arts colleges are allergic to engaging with the rest of the world

Holy hyperbole, Batman. Check out Williams' January term - they get a lot of professionals from NYC and Boston who come in to teach really interesting courses for a month. And as someone noted above, it is not that hard (though admittedly not super easy) to get to Boston or NYC for a long weekend.

Again, not saying Williams is perfect. It definitely is remote. But it is a lot less remote than Grinnell, Middlebury, etc. For generations students have managed to overcome this remoteness to be extremely successful. It is great for some people. And awful for others. You seem to only see it in one direction and refuse to admit that others might see things differently.

[Anonymous]

Williamstown is extremely remote. One key component of college is having an enjoyable experience. Vandy is located in one of he most desirable cities in the country in the fastest growing region warm weather and well rounded students. The academic differences is is negligible the fun divide is huge. Only lefties would go to Williams.