Williams College
Reviews

Extremely Safe Campus

There is a green light system, it is fairly remote and the town is very safe, probably one of the safest campuses around.

Professors Are AMAZING

All of the professors I've had are extremely engaging and really care about their students' learning experiences. They love going out to coffee, lunch or dinner with students to continue the fascinating discussion in class.

Great

There are both Macs and PCs available. Most students have their own laptops but the library computers are great and almost always open.

Shuttles Get Around

Williams is small enough that there's not much need for transportation around campus. However, transportation is needed to get for convenience stores, grocery shopping, and shopping in general. There are free shuttles that get to the basics, but often the seats are taken. There's also weekly transportation to/from Boston and Albany that's a very good price.

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.

Amazing Academics, Lacking Social Scene

The academics at Williams College are amazing, ranked highly by Forbes and U.S. News. The classes I have taken so far are interesting and the professors interact with the students a lot because of the small class sizes. However, the social scene at Williams is not the best because the parties are not good and it is hard to socialize outside of the entry system, which are groups of freshmen dorm residents. Williams has a freshmen orientation called WOOLF, which is quite unique because it allows students to bond doing outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking.

Enthusiasiam for Sports (Certain Ones...)

A lot of students at Williams are on sports teams. For a Division III school, Williams has a lot of student involvement in athletics. The teams are generally very good, ranking high in competitions. Fan support and school spirit vary according to the sport because there is a lot of support for more popular sports while not as much for the less popular ones. The athletic facilities at Williams are nice.

White Domination

It is not very diverse at Williams College because it consists mainly of white students. It is somewhat difficult to adjust to the social scene here because I came from a predominantly Asian high school. However, the people here are generally very nice, despite the lack of racial diversity.

The Freshman Housing 'Entry' System Is Awesome.

All the freshmen at Williams are divided into groups of about 20 people of different ethnic, religious, and socio-economic background. These other freshmen that you live with, as well as 2 Junior Advisors (JA's) who act as your big bro and sis, are your surrogate family.

Freshman Dorm

The Williams Entries are the best to help freshman make new friends.

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.

Beautiful!

our facilities are absolutely beautiful! all of our buildings are perfectly taken care of and always pristine. great gym facilities!

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.