Anonymous
10/13/2025 15:27
Subject: Williams College
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.
Anonymous
10/13/2025 15:02
Subject: Williams College
A lot of the same poster here. A tiny college like Williams doesn’t have that many parents here, yet somehow everyone’s able to comment quickly whenever acknowledges something the DCUM crowd doesn’t like.
Anonymous
10/13/2025 14:57
Subject: Williams College
Anonymous wrote:Lots of great information about Williams on this thread - I would add two things:
1) The arts community is large and extremely vibrant. WCMA, the Clark, and of course MassMOCA nearby. The Art History and Studio Art programs are very highly regarded. And performing arts rivals the athletics community in size (of course there is a lot of overlap!). There are probably 6 a capella groups alone, which is a lot for a 2000 student college. The '62 Center is amazing, not to mention the Berkshire symphony. It's a wonderful, creative place, and the arts are a big draw for many students.
2) I would think most students go to Williams "because of" not "in spite of" the location. If the rural setting gives one pause, they should seriously reconsider IMO- and probably spend a good amount of time on campus and in the surrounding area, talk to current students, etc., before deciding to attend.
If someone is looking for a serious art history department that is large and diverse, I’d look at Yale. Williams doesn’t really offer anything unique that you can’t get at any other college with its museum and art history department. It’s seen as a prized jewel on this forum, but that doesn’t at all reflect the industry.
Anonymous
10/13/2025 14:54
Subject: Re:Williams College
“When I came here as a freshman last year, I had heard about Chabad and Hillel at all these other schools,” Justin Schoenfarber ’28, a board member of the student Chabad organization, said. Hillel is another nationwide Jewish student organization, which does not have a presence at the College. “Seeing that we only had one thing here, when Arielle told me we could bring Chabad here, I thought that would be great, so all of these students could have multiple options.”
Anonymous
10/13/2025 14:32
Subject: Williams College
Lots of great information about Williams on this thread - I would add two things:
1) The arts community is large and extremely vibrant. WCMA, the Clark, and of course MassMOCA nearby. The Art History and Studio Art programs are very highly regarded. And performing arts rivals the athletics community in size (of course there is a lot of overlap!). There are probably 6 a capella groups alone, which is a lot for a 2000 student college. The '62 Center is amazing, not to mention the Berkshire symphony. It's a wonderful, creative place, and the arts are a big draw for many students.
2) I would think most students go to Williams "because of" not "in spite of" the location. If the rural setting gives one pause, they should seriously reconsider IMO- and probably spend a good amount of time on campus and in the surrounding area, talk to current students, etc., before deciding to attend.
1) The arts community is large and extremely vibrant. WCMA, the Clark, and of course MassMOCA nearby. The Art History and Studio Art programs are very highly regarded. And performing arts rivals the athletics community in size (of course there is a lot of overlap!). There are probably 6 a capella groups alone, which is a lot for a 2000 student college. The '62 Center is amazing, not to mention the Berkshire symphony. It's a wonderful, creative place, and the arts are a big draw for many students.
2) I would think most students go to Williams "because of" not "in spite of" the location. If the rural setting gives one pause, they should seriously reconsider IMO- and probably spend a good amount of time on campus and in the surrounding area, talk to current students, etc., before deciding to attend.
Anonymous
10/13/2025 14:19
Subject: Williams College
Anonymous wrote:The Jewish center at Williams is wonderful as is the rabbi.
Agree! The Jewish Religious Center at Williams is wonderful and welcoming to all - I know so many Jewish students on other campuses who do not feel welcome at their college Hillel.
Anonymous
10/13/2025 13:11
Subject: Williams College
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Williams lacks a Hillel because they have a privately funded Jewish center that hosts Shabbat and holidays, as well as other programs. The rabbi is lovely. They don’t need support from central Hillel.
That is correct that they are also getting a Chabad.
Students would like a Hillel. I don't know why you presented a half-view of the situation. Many students have all 3 organizations and even more for Jewish students. You want Jewish students silence. It's repugnant.
Your insinuations are what is repugnant. And, Jewish is capitalized (I fixed it for you).
Anonymous
10/13/2025 13:07
Subject: Re:Williams College
Anonymous wrote:We too are giving this college a good luok. But, we have heard that it is tremendously overpriced and that students can obtain just as goo, if not better, education at the less expensive schools. This post is NOT intended to be a knock against Williams. Rather, curious to know if others feel similarly that its just not wrth the mone?
If you believe that line I would quickly rule out any Ivies as well. Unless you want to major in engineering or CS you will get a far better undergraduate education at Williams (or other top SLAC) than you will receive at any R1.
Anonymous
10/13/2025 13:03
Subject: Re:Williams College
Anonymous wrote:Those of you who know both Williams and Bowdoin.... any differences? Comments?
Bowdoin has better food. Williams places better in IB.
The top SLACs are all more similar than different, especially the top NESCAC schools. A student considering them should really go by fit as any of them can get a kid anywhere that they want to go and the student profiles are identical. There are no significant academic differences between Amherst, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Middlebury, and Williams. Ranking differences are completely driven by endowment size, all have big endowments and the rankings are directly correlated to the size of their endowments which shows how much weight this factor carries in USNWR rankings. Athletics are important though the athlete/NARP divide is severely exaggerated by some on DCUM.
My kid was recruited by both schools but ultimately went to a different NESCAC with a better team. She like both and I have no doubt that she would have been happy at either school. Check them out, you cannot go wrong.
Anonymous
10/13/2025 12:47
Subject: Williams College
Anonymous wrote:My child goes to the Jewish center and is very active there. It functions exactly like a Hillel but is not associated formally with the Hillel organization. What functions is your child seeking that the Jewish center is not providing?
My recent grad was far more active in Jewish life than I would have expected in large part b/c of the rabbi and the fact that the JRC is independent.
Anonymous
10/09/2025 19:56
Subject: Williams College
Who is the turd in the punchbowl here? Clearly they know nothing about Williams. Trying to get everyone else not to apply so their kid can get in?
Anonymous
10/09/2025 19:48
Subject: Williams College
The Jewish center at Williams is wonderful as is the rabbi.
Anonymous
10/09/2025 19:18
Subject: Williams College
My child goes to the Jewish center and is very active there. It functions exactly like a Hillel but is not associated formally with the Hillel organization. What functions is your child seeking that the Jewish center is not providing?
Anonymous
10/09/2025 18:08
Subject: Williams College
Anonymous wrote:Williams lacks a Hillel because they have a privately funded Jewish center that hosts Shabbat and holidays, as well as other programs. The rabbi is lovely. They don’t need support from central Hillel.
That is correct that they are also getting a Chabad.
Students would like a Hillel. I don't know why you presented a half-view of the situation. Many students have all 3 organizations and even more for jewish students. You want jewish students silence. It's repugnant.
Anonymous
10/09/2025 18:06
Subject: Williams College
Williams lacks a Hillel because they have a privately funded Jewish center that hosts Shabbat and holidays, as well as other programs. The rabbi is lovely. They don’t need support from central Hillel.
That is correct that they are also getting a Chabad.
That is correct that they are also getting a Chabad.