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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Aren’t they the same size?  Both are relatively isolated so go with where your kid likes best. Econ is a strength at Williams.[/quote]

Bowdoin has an Amtrak station one block from campus.  Literally 15 minutes from Freeport, quick trip to Portland or Boston.  Small town Maine does not = isolation.[/quote]
Brunswick downtown is also a walk from campus. Williamstown has no downtown to speak of — 1/2 a block of retail, on one side of the street. They are not a wash in terms of isolation. Yes, they are isolated both, but Williamstown is way, way more isolated.[/quote]

It is small but more like two blocks, both sides of the street, hand picked to have everything a student will need.  Nearby North Adams has a big art scene, and grocery stores, etc.    To me, Maine seems more isolated but I think that’s just a function of it being further away, we were surprised how quickly we could get to Williams from Manhattan (4 hours door to door).  YMMV[/quote]

that big mountain looming in the distance makes it feel like siberia in the winter lol - it’s no joke in williamstown between November and March. At least Bowdoin is near the water, which to me always felt less smothering or trapped than I did in Williamstown[/quote]

Different strokes for different folks. To many, the big mountain looming in the distance means tons of skiing, which is very appealing. Williamstown is tiny. But it has a pizza place, Chinese, pub, etc. It would admittedly likely get claustrophobic, but do a semester abroad. What good does water do you in the middle of a Maine winter except make it more cold?

People can argue that the mentality that Williams is better is dated. And they might be right. But this is the mentality of people who graduated from HS in the 90s, and guess who is hiring now? These people. You can tell them all you want that they need to change their opinions, but they don't have to do anything. From my highly competitive HS in the 90s, the only person who got into Williams turned it down for Yale. I knew plenty of kids who got rejected or waitlisted by Williams (and Amherst) who got into Ivies. People who strongly wanted Bowdoin weren't even considering Ivies as they had no chance. Bowdoin was more on par with Hamilton, Union, Colgate, etc.

Two of the smartest (and nicest, most interesting) people I knew in my top tier MBA class went to Williams. I don't think there were any Bowdoin alums. This is a ridiculously small sample size as two years later it might have been reversed. But it makes a difference.

I know things have changed. But it is hard to unwind this in people's minds.[/quote]
I'd be surprised if most think of either, at all. They're good undergraduate colleges, but most I know just filter in the top 5 or so-Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, Amherst, occasionally Midd/Wesleyan/even Haverford depending on age and think of them all alike. These colleges really haven't changed all that much; there's a few who are higher than they used to be: Claremont McKenna, Denison, more people aware of Harvey Mudd because of the recent stem craze, even Grinnell. [/quote]

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