Williams College
Reviews

Excellent Financial Aid

Williams College is very generous with financial aid and I got a significant amount of aid. Also, the financial aid office is pretty friendly so you can always talk with them if any problems occur.

Campus Housing

The best freshman housing out of anywhere I visited.

Awesome

Professors cater to students' needs, open their doors all the time for people to stop by and ask questions, and seem to care deeply about intellectual enrichment.

Winter Wonderland

The fall weather is absolutely gorgeous. Some people complain of the cold that follows, but the snow merely adds to the campus's beauty.

Limited

The few places to eat out on Spring Street include Thai (Asian mix more accurately), Indian, etc., but someone accustomed to a bustling city like New York would find the offerings paltry.

Gotten Better in the Past Few Years...

There has been more of an emphasis in the past few years to increase socio-economic and racial diversity and it has been paying off. But, the school is still largely white, upper-middle class.

Surprisingly Spacious

Since it's such a small town, a majority of the students will be living on campus. Freshman year housing is great - you get to live in a central location and the rooms are pretty nice. As for the upperclassmen, it all depends on your lottery number, and your neighborhood. Each student is placed in a neighborhood (Spencer, Currier, Dodd, Wood) that corresponds to the location on campus, and your lottery number will depend on your class year. Thus, seniority matters.

Great!

Most likely due to the fact that the town is so small, Williams College really caters to its students. The athletic centers (I love the pool!) are top-notch, as is the relatively recently built student center, aka Paresky. There are two main libraries, located in great locations.

If You Force Their Hand, They Will Respond

The school realizes that you are at college and that you (for the most part) will act like an adult, so they rarely step in and keep their hands off. Only when your actions can affect the safety and well-being of the other students will they step in an take action.

You're a Part of It If You Want to Be

As far as alcohol goes, it's pretty common and the only time security really comes is if there is a complaint about noise but it's cool and for the most part in a controlled environment. As to other drugs I'm sure it happens but its not something you hear about a lot.

Housing Is Not the Best but Very Decent.

Housing is pretty good at Williams. We have 4 neighborhoods to pick into but its all random with upperclassmen having first go. Each dorm is really different. Spencer is a great neighborhood, then Wood, then Currier then Dodd. The picking system can be confusing and when the day comes it is super stressful.

Transportation

Considering Williams' bucolic setting, the administration does a pretty good job of giving us transportation resources to get to places. There are free shuttle buses that take students to the Berkshire Mall (a large commercial mall 10 minutes away from the school with every brand-name store) or North Adams (a small town 5 minutes from Williamstown where there are more shopping centers). For all vacation breaks and long weekends, Williams offers really comfortable, private Coach buses which will take you to either Boston, NYC, or the Albany airport (45 minutes from the campus) for a very low cost when compared to the Greyhound or Peter Pan buses. There are also taxis that the school offers.

Health and Safety

Crime is rarely ever seen on Williams' campus. The biggest crime I have witnessed was a friend's bicycle that was stolen, but then returned an hour later. Campus Security is very accessible, and the community is very inclusive. Students have access to every dorm and facility on campus with the swipe of their ID card, which speaks volumes as to how much we tend to trust each other.

English

The English department at Williams is phenomenal, offering numerous courses in comparative literature, criticism, and literary histories. In addition, there are many gateway courses offered in which the critical, analytic methods used in English classes are applied to other subjects. For example, I took an English class which studied contemporary fiction of the environment after the 1970s. All of the professors are extremely approachable and accessible, allowing me to receive some of the strongest recommendations I have ever had for internships.

Tutorials

Williams offers Oxford-style tutorials, which are incredible. There is nothing like meeting one on one with a professor and another motivated student for an hour a week. This greatly improved my writing and academic engagement.

Nearly Nonexistant

Previous reviews are wrong: there is certainly a smoking culture at Williams college. However, it isn't a particularly interesting one, nor is very widespread. Drugs are very expensive here and if you want anything stronger than weed, it will be fairly underground. Some of the rich kids can afford Cocaine, but it's not a big thing at all.

Singles!

Freshmen get placed into two different types of housing - Frosh Quad, which is made up of Sage and Williams, and Mission, which is made up of quite a few different dorms. After freshmen year, you can be placed into a bunch of different options - Greylock Quad, Dodd Quad, Currier Quad, and an assortment of buildings around campus. One of the best things about housing at Williams is that most freshman (about 60-70%) have singles, and so do many upperclassmen. Most of the rooms aren't bad at all, but you can definitely find some real gems and some not so great ones.

Dining

For a small student population, we have 5 dining halls. Every hall has different options, and are all vegan and gluten-free friendly.

Facilities

All of the academic facilities are really great and state of the art. Sports facilities could use some work, but are slotted to be renovated soon. The library is under renovation, and the dining halls are fabulous!

Williams College

Williams College is an excellent school where the professors really care about the students inside and outside of the classroom. Students are very serious about their academics but this does not impede the social life.

One of My Best Decisions Ever

I love Williams. Its not perfect and there are times when aspects of the college frustrate me, but on the whole there is not much I would change. The people are interesting, the faculty are so smart and approachable and the scenic location is unbeatable. Highlights: My entry, winter study, outing club, professors, tutorials, mountain day!

Cute and Quiet

Williamstown is a pretty small New England town, and while it has all the essentials there's not a lot else going on besides the college. Most everything closes by 8pm and most students hang out primarily on campus. If you like small towns its great, but if you come looking for a happening city you'll be disappointed.

What Rules?

Really, the campus strictness is NOT a problem. Campus safety rarely crack down on underage drinkers (unless they have hard alcohol). They do crack down on people climbing buildings and such, since those people are in immediate danger. The Williamstown Police force is worse than Campus Safety since nothing bad ever happens in WIlliamstown and the town police need something to do.

Awesome Range

From rain to snow to sunny days, Williams has it all! You will never get bored with the weather.

Super Safe

The campus is probably one of the safest places I have ever lived.