• Percent of students for whom Williams was their first-choice college
• 93
• Rank of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst, and Brown among other colleges most considered among students admitted to Williams
• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• Percent of first-year Williams students who strongly aspire to "develop a philosophy of life"
• 60
• Percent of first-year students who deem it important to become "an authority in my own field"
• 93
• Percent of Williams seniors who feel that their Williams education has contributed significantly to their ability to think critically and analytically
• 95

If there is a unity to the people of Williams College, it's most often expressed in a love for participating in a community where ideas, art, politics and discourse of all sort can happen at any moment of the day. Learning is a collaborative enterprise here: students regularly bounce ideas off of one another, simultaneously performing the duties of critic, teacher, student and colleague. People will be far more interested in your take on a book than your grade on a paper.

And you won't find many people here who prefer the indoors. Whether you're hard-core about hiking or Ultimate or just someone who likes to read under the shade of a maple tree, our magnificent 450-acre campus and surrounding National Forest and State Park is paradise for those who appreciate the natural environment. A small town in a beautiful location, saturated in culture, attracts an eclectic student, faculty and town population, all of whom mix throughout Williamstown in the cafes, at the theatre and movies, concerts, and even on the Appalachian Trail. The cohesiveness of all who live here has been a cherished part of the quality of life for generations.

While you might think our academic reputation and New England pedigree might leave us with a high opinion of ourselves, one of the most important facts of life at Williams is the deliciousness with which we poke fun at ourselves. Consider this: our mascot is the Purple Cow, and our marching band is open to any and all musical instruments (think harmonica and kazoo). Academic pretentiousness and smugness are mocked, not practiced at Williams.

All of these things give us common ground without homogeneity. Students, Faculty and Staff come here with polar opposite life histories, from markedly different high school backgrounds, and with an amazing range of talents and passions. It's a combustible mix that keeps things interesting. Conversations are unpredictable, perspectives are broadened and improbable friendships between people whose lives pre-Williams couldn't have been more different, occur every year.