Williams College

Tailor-made for bookish types
You're not going to find a bunch of shopping destinations or nightclubs in Williamstown, but if you're the quiet, bookish type, you'll love it. Williamstown's the home of two museums -- the William...

Language classes
For a small college, Williams has impressive foreign-language teaching. The professors want students to be at the language level they'd get to at a larger college, so language classes can be partic...

Very alcohol-oriented campus
There's not much to do on the weekends if you're not into heavy drinking -- pretty much everyone on campus is drunk a couple of days out of the week. If you hang around a sober crowd, you'll probab...

Something for everyone
Even in a small college like Williams, there are tons of student organizations. (If you like a capella, let's just say you're in luck.) Minority/ethnic organizations flourish: there are clubs for m...

Student news and publications
The Williams Record is the student newspaper that operates independently of the college. They're usually looking for students to write opinion columns, so that can be fun if you enjoy writing. Sinc...

Could be better
Public transportation in Williamstown isn't ideal. There's a bus that goes as far as Pittsfield, but it doesn't operate very late and it's expensive -- $4.44 each way if you go all the way to Pitts...

Plenty of decent student jobs
If you're a financial aid student, you'll automatically be assigned a job your freshman year. There are also jobs for non-financial aid students, though you don't get your pick until after the fina...

Go grocery shopping out of town
Since Williamstown doesn't allow chain businesses, you're not going to find a Target anywhere in the area. Buying groceries, school supplies, and clothing can be a pain. There are a total of two cl...

Nicer than most colleges
After visiting/living at other colleges, I've got to say that Williams is far above average. If you're a freshman, you'll either be living in the Frosh Quad, which has plenty of big doubles, or Mis...

Expensive area but a few good spots
The Williamstown area has no chain restaurants or stores, which makes it kind of an expensive place to eat out or buy food. If you're a freshman and you eat out a lot, you're going to run out of mo...