Admissions

Try to meet as many people as you can the first couple of weeks of freshman year. People are friendlier during this time and more likely to want to make friends with other freshman. Don't just stick with your entry or you will miss out on meeting other people. Get help on subjects before it's too late: there's the Writing Workshop, Math science resource center, help from professors, and peer tutoring.

Be ready to hit the ground running if you're considering Williams. Williams is definitely a place that breeds an intellectual environment for everyone. The discussion-oriented courses are key as you develop relationships with your professors. Here, we take advantage of academic resources (tutors, writing workshops, math and resource center, office hours with professors, etc.). Every second of life at Williams is a learning experience that's makes your time well worth it!

Work hard to get in, because if you do, it is an amazing experience.

Don't be afraid to try new things and don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zones when choosing classes and extracurriculars. But please don't overwhelm yourself by joining too many clubs on campus. Most importantly, talk to professors and talk to the deans. The faculty on this campus want to help you so don't be afraid to use resources.

If you're looking to apply: Williams has a huge emphasis on community. It's almost sacred. It's good to have an awesome academic record, because everyone on campus is just as smart or smarter than you. Of course you could always apply just to see; I know plenty of people who did not have the best grades and are doing great here.
If you've been accepted: Move-in day was especially hard for me because I had never visited the campus. Even if money is tight, go visit! The campus roads are meandering, and they don't really go where you expect them to. I almost passed the college going down Route 2 on move-in day... Don't worry about not fitting in. No one here fits a stereotype.

Be sure to visit the school before making the decision to go to Williams, but the visit experience should not be the entire determining factor of whether or not you choose to attend Williams. Connect with people (especially people from your area) who are also going to Williams and get to know them before going off to college.

Be prepared to study hard and become close to the relatively small population of students. Also, take advantage of all the small activities the campus has to offer because without it, Williams life can become mundane quite fast.

When applying to Williams, please visit it and express as much as you can how much you want to go here.

be yourself in your essay. come visit the campus to check for your gut-feeling component of your college search if you can - it can feel isolating for some which is completely opposite of a city. coming from near a city, the rural surroundings for me was actually perfectly complementary and enjoy the scenic views.