College admissions is competitive,

-Best thing about Williams is the totally chill atmosphere surrounding drinking on campus and in the dorms which is a product of kids not abusing that right and cleaning up after themselves as well as staying under control.

-I would make Williams closer to the city, and/or farther South. Although the mountains are beautiful and the proximity to ski locales is great, there's only so much cold and outdoors stuff you can take before you just want some sunshine and a decent city to shop and party.

-Size is all based on what you want, I think the size is an attraction for Williams, but it can seem a little small at times. Going some place, like dinner or the weight room, and being able to just see people you're friends with is a big convenience in comparison to the kids at big schools who have to call people before they go anywhere unless they want to eat or lift alone.

-People have either never heard of Williams or they are impressed when they hear I go to Williams, the former being regrettably more common than the latter.

-Where I spend my time is entirely individual and in no way a reflection of what other people will do with their time if they went here beyond the fact that there is a lot of work at Williams.

-Williamstown is not a college town.

-The administration is competent.

-There have been many controversies on campus. While each one is talked about as something that is of great importance, I'll merely say they keep things interesting. The latest controversy was a racial slur (the really bad one) written on the wall in a dorm building. There was a large response from the campus and administration and the actual controversy is more a matter of whether or not people are overreacting to the incident.

-It's a matter of who you ask, in certain groups there is a lot of academic pride, in others a lot of athletic pride, and some have both or neither.

-Williams is unusually full of talented individuals.

-Students complain about food, although it's really good, mostly because they're always changing policies and doing something weird. But all in all there is nothing really wrong with the food and the policies are probably necessary to keep the value, (quality relative to price) of the meal plan constant.

-Professors usually memorize names so that by the second day of class they know every student's name.

-Favorite and least favorite classes all depends on your personal interests and what professor you get for that subject.

-Students study before exams but they do homework and reading for their classes probably once or twice a week and the time commitment all depends on the class. In general there is a lot of work.

-People participate, and sometimes it is required (graded).

-There is not a competitive atmosphere, but there is a sort of paranoia as far as abiding by the honor code goes, which of course can be both a good and a bad thing.

-My Asian art-history survey class was pretty unique.

-My Physics department is pretty cool, it's pretty tight due to the amount of time we spend together working on problem sets. The economics department is not so close as far as the students go. As far as the professors go, it's really a matter of how much time you put into going to talk to them because they are all helpful and nice if you do take the time. Some professors do invite students out to eat lunch or go bowling, and that depends more on the professor than the department.

-Williams academic requirements are geared towards a well balanced liberal arts education but they give you enough room to focus in on one area if you so choose or to double major if that is something that interests you. It definitely is learning for the sake of learning, pure academics, but that's not to say that you won't be prepared for a job. The whole liberal arts education theory is that we are just as prepared if not better prepared for real jobs, specifically the business world as somebody who is majoring in finance or business right now.

-Not much experience in that department although they are all here and actively attended from what I understand.

-A dumb student would feel out of place at Williams. It may sound stupid but that's pretty much it, everybody else could definitely find other students just like themselves.

-Depends on the student, their race and their culture, but it really doesn't matter.

-Through the entry system everybody interacts with and meets people of all different backgrounds and interests.

-There are two tables, the football-type athletes sit together and everybody else sits together. But the tables often bleed together (for most people) and it's more divided during the season of the respective sport.

-Most students are from the US, but there are many from other countries and as far as within the US goes, its pretty even with perhaps a few more from New York and Mass.

-It's hard to say, finances aren't exactly discussed but if I had to guess I'd say the distribution is pretty much even between wealthier and less privileged students.

-Kids are aware of politics but It's not a hot topic amongst most students.

-No that's just stupid.

-Rugby, Crew, and Football teams are all pretty big while there are so many clubs/groups/organizations that it's hard to say if any are more "popular".

-The purple bull investment club is a sweet group of students that discusses the market, invests in an equity portfolio, and shares there respective knowledge of investment strategies with one another. (It is not affiliated with the school for a bunch of reasons.)

-Some kids leave their rooms open, but theres a common room (sometimes multiple depending on the dorm) with a TV on every floor in every dorm so kids can hang out together whenever they want to.

-Depends on the sport, the homecoming football game is big as well as any sporting event against Amherst. The crowds are pretty much what you'd expect depending on the team.

-I'll make it to a few guest speakers a year, if they sound like they'll be interesting and I'd say the popular ones will attract a couple of hundred students (out of 2000 that's a lot). The same goes for theater.

-A few kids date, but most get to know each other in other ways...

-I met many of my closest friends through other close friends, through my team, and through my entry.

-I'm doing homework, without a doubt.

-Homecoming, a bunch of dances, "QueerBash"-a party put on by the QSU, and a bunch of others.

-People generally party twice a week, Friday and Saturday, but if you have a group of friends that just want to party with themselves, no day is off limits. Many kids will stay in on a Friday or Saturday if they get bogged down with work.

-No frats/sororities. Parties are put on by the neighborhoods, of which there are four, and they have houses with dance floor where they usually get dj's and serve to people of age. A lot of partying is done in the dorms themselves as well, and off campus cooperative living/seniors often throw pretty good parties.

-You can go to a play or musical performance (acapella), drive to a movie, go to a jazz concert or go to a party and just not drink.

-Not much going on off campus, there is a mall though...

Many people think we have a lot of nerds and that we don't know how to party. Some people also think of Williams as a very liberal school.

Williams does have a fair amount of nerds but there is definitely a strong representation of people with all different types of interests. There are many well-rounded students as well as academically focused or athletically inclined (meat-heads) students and amongst every type of student at Williams you will find those who like to party and those who don't. As far as the political spectrum is concerned, there is a fair representation of both republicans and democrats on campus, but surprisingly, although there is a strong intellectual atmosphere at Williams, there is not a great amount of political debate that goes on.

The dorms are pretty sweet, it's pretty easy to get a single. The facilities in general are really good and they're in the processing of building a couple of new academic buildings and a new library which should be done by fall 08 and fall 09 respectively.