Reply to does athletics dominate SLAC's like Amherst, Bowdoin, etc?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Williams grad. I felt out of place NOT being an athlete. Especially true freshman year when the teams had been together already for two weeks. I started a sport just to try to make some friends. Honestly it was a bit hard. [/quote]

If I may ask, where do you wish that you had attended college/university if you were accepted to any school of interest to you ?

I ask because I think that Williams College deserves its top ranking among LACs, and I am attracted to many aspects of the school, but I also attended a rural LAC and really regret the experience (even though I was very athletic).[/quote]

I should have gone to somewhere closer to DC, with more options than drinking for fun. Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Swarthmore? I was rejected from Princeton. [b]The rural aspect of Williams has some shades of Deliverance in the winter.[/b] It can be pretty isolating without a strong friend group. [/quote]

As the parent of a current Williams student, no, it's not like Deliverance. Not at all. Have you ever been Williamstown?

I do think it's important that a Williams student be able to enjoy the outdoors, appreciate the natural beauty of the setting, and not hate winter. My DC is more a city mouse than a country mouse, but he made a conscious decision to go to college in a rural setting, knowing that for his working life he'd probably be living in a big city.

ANY college experience is going to be "isolating" without a friend group. Of my 4 kids' college experiences, Williams made the most effort to ensure that freshman have a good social support system. I will say, though, that my DC, who works within that system, has noticed that this year's (2022) freshmen are more immature and less confident - they needed more "hand holding." DC thinks that may be because of the Covid school disruptions - but that's another discussion.[/quote]

I'd be really interested in hearing more about your son's experience. My DD is putting together her college list and she's intrigued by Williams. She loves the outdoors (she loves to ski, we're a pretty outdoorsy family all things considered) but she is a city mouse in all senses of the word - born and raised on the UWS of Manhattan. Like I said she's intrigued by spending her college years in a place so different from NYC but it would be quite different! So I'm curious to know how your son settled in.[/quote]

My DC took a gap year, so he was really, really ready to go to college when he started. The freshman entry program worked for him and his closest friends are still those he met in his entry. He's involved in several activities - clubs, sports, arts - and has both athlete and non-athlete friends. Most of his friends seem to be from NYC, Boston, SF, LA and DC, and I won't lie, they miss being in a city sometimes. Just being able to go to a different restaurant or to wander through shops or see a concert. This year has been better, both because the Covid restrictions have been lifted, but also because friends have cars and can drive to more urban places on the weekend. So he's gone a couple of times to Boston for concerts & to stay at a friend's house. And they have gone to Amherst, Northampton and up to Vermont for the day.

Academically, the school is hard and demanding. My kid for the 1st couple of days at winter break was tired in a way I'd never seen him before. But by the time he went back, he was ready to go. I guess for some kids Williams wasn't the best choice, but it has been for my kid.[/quote]

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