Williams College
#1 in National Liberal Arts Colleges
Overview
Williams College is a private institution that was founded in 1793. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,152 (fall 2022), its setting is rural, and the campus size is 450 acres. It utilizes a 4-1-4-based academic calendar. Williams College's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #1. Its tuition and fees are $64,860.
Williams College – located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, at the foot of Mount Greylock in the Berkshires – is one of the oldest colleges in the country. The school was originally a men’s college; women were first admitted in 1971. The college’s fraternities were abolished in the 1960s. The school’s traditions include a semiannual, schoolwide trivia contest and a Mountain Day each October when students hike Mount Greylock. The Williams Ephs, named after the school’s founder Ephraim Williams, participate in NCAA Division III varsity sports in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Williams is also part of the unofficial Little Three athletic conference with Amherst College and Wesleyan University. The school requires almost all students to live on campus.
Williams College has three academic branches – arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and mathematics – and graduate programs in the history of art and economics. Williams has small class sizes, with a student-teacher ratio of 7-to-1. The school also has Oxford-style tutorials, which rely heavily on student participation. The college has seen many firsts: Its alumni society is the oldest in the world; it hosted the first intercollegiate baseball game; and its class of 1887 was the first in the U.S. to wear caps and gowns at graduation. The school has a tradition at each graduation to drop a watch from the top of the college chapel. If the watch breaks, tradition holds that the class will be lucky. Notable alumni include Elia Kazan, director of "On the Waterfront" and "A Streetcar Named Desire"; John Frankenheimer, director of "The Manchurian Candidate"; and Prince Hussain Aga Khan, whose father is the spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.
Williams College is a private institution that was founded in 1793. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,152 (fall 2022), its setting is rural, and the campus size is 450 acres. It utilizes a 4-1-4-based academic calendar. Williams College's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #1. Its tuition and fees are $64,860.
Williams College – located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, at the foot of Mount Greylock in the Berkshires – is one of the oldest colleges in the country. The school was originally a men’s college; women were first admitted in 1971. The college’s fraternities were abolished in the 1960s. The school’s traditions include a semiannual, schoolwide trivia contest and a Mountain Day each October when students hike Mount Greylock. The Williams Ephs, named after the school’s founder Ephraim Williams, participate in NCAA Division III varsity sports in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Williams is also part of the unofficial Little Three athletic conference with Amherst College and Wesleyan University. The school requires almost all students to live on campus.
Williams College has three academic branches – arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and mathematics – and graduate programs in the history of art and economics. Williams has small class sizes, with a student-teacher ratio of 7-to-1. The school also has Oxford-style tutorials, which rely heavily on student participation. The college has seen many firsts: Its alumni society is the oldest in the world; it hosted the first intercollegiate baseball game; and its class of 1887 was the first in the U.S. to wear caps and gowns at graduation. The school has a tradition at each graduation to drop a watch from the top of the college chapel. If the watch breaks, tradition holds that the class will be lucky. Notable alumni include Elia Kazan, director of "On the Waterfront" and "A Streetcar Named Desire"; John Frankenheimer, director of "The Manchurian Candidate"; and Prince Hussain Aga Khan, whose father is the spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.
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At-a-Glance
Setting
Rural
Tuition & Fees
$64,860
Undergraduate Enrollment
2,152
Acceptance Rate
8%
2024 Rankings
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Admissions
Cost
Tuition & Fees
$64,860
Room & Board
$16,300(2023-24)
Average Need-Based Aid Package
$65,134
$14,739
$14,739
Tuition & Fees
$64,860
Room & Board
$16,300(2023-24)
Average Need-Based Aid Package
$65,134
*Average cost after aid
Academics
88%
7:1
72%
Popular Majors
MAJOR
% OF GRADUATES
ALUMNI STARTING SALARY
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
21%
N/A
Political Science and Government, General
13%
N/A
Psychology, General
13%
N/A
History, General
10%
N/A
Mathematics, General
10%
N/A
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* In cases where salary data at the specific major level is unavailable, a general salary for the major category is displayed.
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Students
2,152
Graduate Enrollment
53
Total Enrollment
2,205
Full-Time Degree-Seeking Students
2,092
Student Diversity
Gender Distribution
Ethnic Diversity
40%
Minority Enrollment
40%
Minority Enrollment
48%
White
14%
Asian
13%
Hispanic
9%
International
8%
Two or more races
5%
Black
4%
Unknown
Not Specified is not included in this breakdown due to an enrollment of 0%.
Campus Life
Housing and Dorms
Types of campus housing available:
Student Activities
66+
Sports Teams
N/A
Fraternities
N/A
Sororities
After College
Graduation Rate
88%
Graduating Students Who Have Borrowed (any loan type, 2021)
32%
Average Debt at Graduation
$13,341
$45,107
$45,107
Graduation Rate
88%
Graduating Students Who Have Borrowed (any loan type, 2021)
32%
Average Debt at Graduation
$13,341
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Undergraduate data are based on the 2022 school year.
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