Reply to what's the difference between Williams and Davidson?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why is everyone talking about Williams now? It is a decent school, but people talk of it like it's Princeton or something.[/quote]

Ha, my top wo choices years ago, and well before US News was ranking each #1 in their respective categories.  They used to have a lot in common, before Princeton got so STEM-y.

Davidson probably still has a more regional feel, but another great school.  Could definitely see people who are a bit unsettled by the current reputations of Princeton (grind & bicker clubs) and Williams (jocks headed for Wall Street) opting for Davidson as a good alternative.  [/quote]
Princeton is the one that got stemy?
The top majors at Williams are all stem majors. The college is known and has carved itself into a niche of mathematics and economics (mathematical, not social science). The humanities departments are running thin on majors, and Econ, math, CS, and now stats (just became an independent department) are EXPLODING. Even art history is being majored in less and fewer students are taking courses in art history.

It’s Williams that has become STEM.[/quote]

Williams parent whose kid is an art history major. There are 30+ art majors (one department for studio and art history with concentrations in studio, art history, or a combination of the two). This page lists the average number of majors per year over 4 years https://communications.williams.edu/media-relations/fast-facts/ 
Among the most popular majors are:
Econ 112
Math 59
CS 56
Bio 56
Psych 55
Poli Sci 52
English 49
History 45
Art 36

These humanities and social sciences numbers aren't too bad given the trend at many SLACs. Among my kid's friends, there are double majors in Math & Religion; Math & Political Science; Econ & English; and Anthropology and Studio Art.[/quote]

Not bad at all! Fwiw Bowdoin's numbers look very different, so it does vary. But [b]SLACs do tend to attract more "life of the mind" kids who don't have a hyper-narrow focus.[/b] My own kid will be attending a WASP school, selected in part because they want to double major in STEM and humanities plus do a little music. We also really liked the intellectual curiosity of the Oberlin students we met on our campus visit--nearly all double majors and one who was a triple major!

OP, look up this kind of info, which is readily available OL. It will give you a sense of the academic climate at each school and whether they are more alike than different.[/quote]

Regarding the bolded portions: LACs are liberal arts schools, so, yes,they do attract students who have less of a pre-determined career goal or path. In many,maybe most, instances they need to go to grad school in order to proceed through life.

I respond because the "life of the mind" comment is not a compliment in my view--it just means that one is somewhat directionless and needs to grow & mature further in order to find a career.

In my experience, students at the elite National Universities and in public university honors colleges tend to be brilliant, motivated and determined.

Different environments for individuals with different preferences and in different places in their lives.[/quote]
That’s such an insane reading of life of the mind to me. Most people do not finish in the same career they started. Most people don’t commit to a single path anymore at all. These are 18 year olds, not everyone is going the boring safe path of being an accountant. Being stubborn and “mature” about careers when you haven’t worked a corporate job a day in your life is called being an idiot.[/quote]

+1000

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