UNIGO SUMMARY
Hard-working, outdoorsy, athletic, and social, Williams kids are especially well-rounded.
Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan make up the “Little Three,” a group of small, New England liberal arts schools. All have top-notch academics, but Williams’ distinguishing feature is its athleticism. More than half of Williams students play a sport, and many hike, ski, and swim in the surrounding Berkshires area. Every October, President Schapiro declares one Friday “Mountain Day” and cancels classes so students and faculty can enjoy the outdoors. But the Purple Valley, where Williams is located, has its disadvantages: Williams can feel secluded and finding transportation off campus isn’t easy.
Williams offers only two graduate programs, so professors focus almost exclusively on undergraduates, fostering relationships outside of the classroom as well as in. Students can enroll in Oxford-style tutorials, in which two students meet weekly with a professor, allowing for intellectual discourse and special attention. Though Williams is statistically diverse in terms of race and ethnicity, students say there’s not much co-mingling and some report tension between groups.
UNIGO REVIEW
Williams College academics are all about the 1,997 undergrads. The focus is on teaching, not research, and professors form relationships with students that extend well beyond the classroom. “I will never forget the moment that my math teacher from last semester knew my name in passing BEFORE the first class,” writes a freshman majoring in Spanish. Williams takes its liberal arts classification seriously: students must fulfill distribution requirements ranging from social sciences to quantitative reasoning, and most relish the chance to gain a broad knowledge base. Job prep isn’t the aim, but it’s a side effect: “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,” writes a sophomore majoring in economics.
Tutorials and Winter Study, two unusual academic opportunities, largely define a Williams education. Tutorials pair two students with one professor (read: lots of individualized attention). The students meet with their professor each week and alternate writing papers or doing problem sets and critiquing their partner’s work. “Tutorials are a huge part of the Williams experience,” writes a senior majoring in linguistics. “During the meeting, the students present their papers and critiques, and then discuss with the professor. It's a completely different way of learning than other classes, but I've found that its one of the best ways to learn.” During Winter Study, the month in between the fall and spring semesters, students can choose from a wide range of off-beat classes, go abroad for the month, or work on an independent project. Though students are conscientious to the point of overachievement, they report that undergrads aren’t competitive—with each other, at least. “One of the best things about Williams is that there’s this taboo about discussing your grades. It makes for a really great and noncompetitive environment,” writes a sophomore.
The student body is mostly (64 percent) white, and many undergrads wish there was more diversity. “Williams is not a very diverse campus—majority white and affluent. However, the administration is aware of this issue and actively seeks to correct it,” writes a sophomore. Students report that while the campus is liberal-leaning, undergrads aren’t overwhelmingly activist: “the Williams student body likes to claim that it is liberal, but I found that it tends to be apathetic on social and political issues. Sort of like, ‘I vote Democrat, isn't that enough?’ or ‘let me sign your petition, but don't make me read it or think about the issues.’ Of course there are pockets of activism, but it is much more apathetic than I expected a liberal arts campus to be,” writes an alumna.
Williams’ surroundings emphasize its small size: though quaint and full of natural beauty, Williamstown is isolated. But the college compensates for the lack of off-campus social options with on-campus opportunities. “The school gives us plenty of ‘special’ traditions to bond us to the school and help us forget about the limitations of our location,” writes a sophomore. “It’s a small school that makes its size an absolute plus.”
Outside of academics, students are into sports and Williamstown’s outdoorsy offerings. “Sports teams are very popular on campus. Around 60% of students are varsity athletes, which doesn't include those who play JV, club, or intramural,” writes a freshman. The administration encourages athleticism—on Mountain Day, an annual fall tradition, President Shapiro cancels classes so that students can hike in the mountains surrounding Williams. “One thing I love and will always remember about Williams is Mountain Day,” writes a senior. “I can't think of anywhere else that does it, and it helps make me appreciate being in such a beautiful place.”
Since Williams has no Greek life and Williamstown’s nightlife is non-existent, the social scene revolves around athletic groups. Most students attend alcohol-driven dorm parties on Friday and Saturday nights. “It is incredibly hard for people who don't drink. I think I've become an alcoholic coming here,” writes a freshman. Other students write, though, that it’s possible to create a social life without imbibing. “You can definitely have Saturdays without drinking. Last weekend I danced while baking cookies,” a sophomore reports.
Students complain that the administration isn’t as responsive as it claims. “The administration is friendly and tries to be receptive to students, but often get caught up in some idea they think will better the community even though most students oppose the change,” writes a senior. Many students point to the recently-instated cluster system, which randomly assigns sophomores to one of four housing clusters, as an example. But students love some of the administration’s other ideas, like the entry system. Each group of 18 to 22 freshmen is given two Junior Advisors (JAs) who live nearby and help with the transition to college. “The best thing about Williams is the entry system. It allows for an instant closeness with other first year students and two juniors and you feel like part of the school,” writes a sophomore.