Student Profile
Rahul
- Class: Senior
- Major: Government
- Gender: M
- High School: Wahconah
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
If you like a small, elite college that is obsessed with providing its students with the best possible educational experience, come to Williams. By having no graduate school, Williams students are the center of the attention. If you like nature, you are in the right place. Williams is at the base of a mountain and has truly beautiful surroundings. We have one of the best golf courses in the country and hiking is a fun activity. Winters can get tough - they are cold and long, but if you like skiing, you will enjoy it. The social scene is a little tough. Being a small school with no bars, a lot of students party on campus. This is great to get to know people, but if you are looking for streets lined with bars and clubs, Williams isn't the place for you.
Academic Life
This is the true reason to come to Williams. Most classes are under 20 students, and you are taught by the professors themselves, not TA's. All professors at Williams have extremely flexible office hours and really try to know their students on a personal level. If you want a liberal arts education, Williams is phenomenal. Be warned: a lot of Williams students in recent years seem to find themselves going into consulting/finance, law school or medical school after graduation. If you don't fit in one of these molds, it is a little tough to do well (aka you want to enter marketing or something). While not impossible, it is a little odd that Williams seems to funnel students into particular fields. To avoid hate mail from other Williams students, I am speaking generally and not to every Williams student, but it is a growing trend.
Student Body
Kind, respectful and a true team atmosphere. There is no competition among students, and I really like that. If you are having problems in or out of the classroom, most Williams students tend to help each other out. This extends to our very loyal alumni base who are extremely open and work hard to help students find jobs on Wall Street, etc. You can see the "culture" of Williams most clearly in the party scene on weekends. If you show up at a party randomly, you will almost never be thrown out and people will be kind and offer you a drink even though they have no idea who you are. That is pretty cool and definitely something that is not found at larger schools!
The Best Things
Academic experience
The Worst Things
The neighborhood system (process by which upper-class students are assigned to housing)
