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The best things about Williams are its location in the beautiful Berkshires & a gorgeous campus, great classes and professors, great division III athletics, small-town community feel where you are always running into people you know. It's definitely a small, remote place but it's also not too hard to go to Boston or NYC for a weekend when you need to be back in a city for a few days.

Williams students are proud of their school but the reaction from people who find out we go here varies from "wow! what a fantastic school!" to "... you mean Williams & Mary?" But, anyone who spends time here knows what an amazing place it is.

There are some problems of course - complaints about the new "cluster housing" system limiting students' choices for where on campus they will live are a good example - but overall the quality of student life is great.

One thing I love and will always remember about Williams is Mountain Day, when classes are cancelled one Friday in the fall so that students, faculty and staff can go out on hikes to enjoy the beautiful fall in the mountains. I can't think of anywhere else that does it, and it helps make me appreciate being in such a beautiful place.

Classes are small and professors make a point of getting to know you and being available to answer questions. Participation is common and often required for many classes.

Students study quite a bit and tend to be highly motivated and hard working, but generally competitiveness is never an issue. There are lots of opportunities to spend time with professors outside the classroom, from dinners to softball games to ice cream socials. The academic requirements are very reasonable and allow a great amount of freedom in choosing classes. The liberal arts education CAN be used as a direct route to a job such as iBanking or consulting but for most students it is an amazing opportunity to learn about all kinds of different things just because they are interesting.

Williams students are from all over the country and foreign countries as well, but a large number are probably from New England, New York and California. The school is working hard at creating a diverse student body but this goal hasn't yet fully been acheived - a lot of kids here are WASPy prep school kids and sometimes minority groups might feel out of place. However, my friends of all races and backgrounds seem to be enjoying the school immensely, regardless of its composition. Williams kids are pretty liberal overall but there is a small minority of republican-minded students. The atmosphere on a day to day basis is friendly, casual, accepting. Students don't get too dressed up for class - jeans and a sweater or hoodie are most common but sweats are perfectly acceptable too.

A huge part of life at Williams is spots, whether it's Varsity, JV or club. Sports teams tend to practice, play and party together, sometimes living together as well.

Big events are Homecoming and Spring Fling, but there are school-wide events throughout the year. Most common are parties hosted by a bunch of friends, a house, or a dorm, either for a birthday or some theme. Frats and sororities don't exist here and I think that is a huge plus for this campus.

The dating scene consists of either long-term couples and random one-night hookups - there isn't much in between. Casual dating - for coffee, dinner, get-to-know you stuff - is pretty rare since the school is so small.

The school brings in a ton of amazing guest speakers, but with so much going on these are not always well-attended. Still, this doesn't take anything away from the enjoyment of those who do go. There are also lots of theatre and dance events which take place in the brand new '62 Centre for theatre and dance and these are often very popular.

jock school

true for part of the school and anyone seeking to avoid this type of atmosphere can easily do so