Williams College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

Oh this doesn’t sound like something dd would want. Isn’t the purpose of LACs to escape this personality

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

Oh this doesn’t sound like something dd would want. Isn’t the purpose of LACs to escape this personality

Amherst is also two streets, but more old timey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

Oh this doesn’t sound like something dd would want. Isn’t the purpose of LACs to escape this personality

Amherst is also two streets, but more old timey.

The rural environment is nice, though there is more in the Amherst, Northampton, South Hadley area. It's the intense, academic personality. DD got a lot of that in high school and desperately wants to have a more relaxed college experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

Oh this doesn’t sound like something dd would want. Isn’t the purpose of LACs to escape this personality

Amherst is also two streets, but more old timey.

Amherst is a regular town, with lots of eateries etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

Oh this doesn’t sound like something dd would want. Isn’t the purpose of LACs to escape this personality

Williams seemed like a mini-Harvard to us. Both good and bad. It did have a snobbish vibe compared to the other WASP schools, which felt more laid-back and friendly. The main issue was the remoteness though. We ended up liking Pomona and Amherst the best. Swarthmore felt a little more intense, but the students were friendly.

[Anonymous]

We were impressed by Williams and thought the campus site was spectacular. Kids rarely get in from DC’s magnet school (maybe only recruited athletes) and DC was worried about feeling too isolated in the winter, so decided to focus on other SLACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

Oh this doesn’t sound like something dd would want. Isn’t the purpose of LACs to escape this personality

lol no. There are plenty of intense, striver-culture LACs. There are also plenty that aren’t. You pick what suits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

What does calling your kid “pre-law” have to do with anything?

[Anonymous]

I know a few kids at Williams now. Each is very different from the other (one is an athlete, who I know the least, and the most fratty of the three, but still a nice kid). I find them to be very down to earth, comfortable in their own skin, humble, not at all stress cases - one has some of those tendencies, but not a lot.

By choosing Williams over Ivies (which most effectively did), they are proving that they are not super status conscious because they are subjecting themselves to a life of "I never heard of it" from random people that they wouldn't get going to Ivies. I know that those who know, know, but many don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

Oh this doesn’t sound like something dd would want. Isn’t the purpose of LACs to escape this personality

This illustrates the point that many students and parents romanticize the small school (LAC) experience. Easy to do because it is easy to understand. The reality can be quite different from the romanticized dream version.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

What does calling your kid “pre-law” have to do with anything?

DP

My guess is that some view Williams College as an intense pre-med environment and Amherst as among the very best for getting kids into elite law schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a few kids at Williams now. Each is very different from the other (one is an athlete, who I know the least, and the most fratty of the three, but still a nice kid). I find them to be very down to earth, comfortable in their own skin, humble, not at all stress cases - one has some of those tendencies, but not a lot.

By choosing Williams over Ivies (which most effectively did), they are proving that they are not super status conscious because they are subjecting themselves to a life of "I never heard of it" from random people that they wouldn't get going to Ivies. I know that those who know, know, but many don't.

In what way? Williams is relatively prestigious and is known for its students going into the number one career obsessed with prestige- IB.

I don’t really see anything inherently down to earth about going to the number 1 lac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the type A, really stressful environment vibe from Williams, which made DD take it off her list. Beautiful campus and school, but if you aren’t wanting that intense vibe or are looking for access to life beyond 2 streets, we chose Amherst. To be fair, DD is pre-law so the decision was made prior, but the campus visits really demonstrated to us that you needed to be a certain kind of student for Williams.

Oh this doesn’t sound like something dd would want. Isn’t the purpose of LACs to escape this personality

This illustrates the point that many students and parents romanticize the small school (LAC) experience. Easy to do because it is easy to understand. The reality can be quite different from the romanticized dream version.

It's important to visit because each has a slightly different vibe. But the vibe can vary based on a given class cohort as well, so no guarantees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a few kids at Williams now. Each is very different from the other (one is an athlete, who I know the least, and the most fratty of the three, but still a nice kid). I find them to be very down to earth, comfortable in their own skin, humble, not at all stress cases - one has some of those tendencies, but not a lot.

By choosing Williams over Ivies (which most effectively did), they are proving that they are not super status conscious because they are subjecting themselves to a life of "I never heard of it" from random people that they wouldn't get going to Ivies. I know that those who know, know, but many don't.

In what way? Williams is relatively prestigious and is known for its students going into the number one career obsessed with prestige- IB.

I don’t really see anything inherently down to earth about going to the number 1 lac.

PP simply means it doesn't have the name-brand recognition Ivies do. That's obviously true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a few kids at Williams now. Each is very different from the other (one is an athlete, who I know the least, and the most fratty of the three, but still a nice kid). I find them to be very down to earth, comfortable in their own skin, humble, not at all stress cases - one has some of those tendencies, but not a lot.

By choosing Williams over Ivies (which most effectively did), they are proving that they are not super status conscious because they are subjecting themselves to a life of "I never heard of it" from random people that they wouldn't get going to Ivies. I know that those who know, know, but many don't.

In what way? Williams is relatively prestigious and is known for its students going into the number one career obsessed with prestige- IB.

I don’t really see anything inherently down to earth about going to the number 1 lac.

PP simply means it doesn't have the name-brand recognition Ivies do. That's obviously true.

That is fair, but once again, that doesn’t really mean anything in the context of the discussion. There are certainly people who are snobbish about going to Williams.