Williams College (Williamstown, MA, United States)

University overview

Editorial View

Location, editorial summary, and verified institutional context.

Often ranked as the #1 liberal arts college in America, Williams College is an outstanding institution located in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. Williamstown, the home of Williams, is a quintessentially beautiful, small, New England college town. You could go for a bike r...

Visit official website

Colleges Like This

Admissions

Verified Data

Selectivity, enrollment funnel, and reported test score ranges from verified federal data.

Institution type

Private nonprofit

Carnegie

A Liberal Arts College or College with an Arts & Sciences focus

Setting

Fringe town

Admit rate (9%)

Yield estimate (52%)

Applicants

12,452

Admits

1,099

Enrolled

574

Academics

Verified Data

Enrollment scale, calendar structure, and outcome-linked academic signals.

Total students

574

574 students

Calendar

four_one_four

Academic calendar

Graduation rate

94%

Reported outcomes

Retention rate

97%

First-year retention

Carnegie classification

A Liberal Arts College or College with an Arts & Sciences focus

Cost and affordability

Verified Data

Tuition, net price, and aid signals sourced from federal reporting where available.

Average net price

N/A

After grants and scholarships for in-state students where reported.

In-state tuitionN/A

Out-of-state tuitionN/A

Institutional grant aid$52

Pell share20%

Compare affordability

Campus life

Verified Data

Culture percentile bands describe student life intensity across common fit dimensions.

Campus culture bands are not yet available for Williams College. Theme attributes and athletics may still appear under Special Features.

Rankings and recognition

Verified Data

CollegesRef does not invent magazine-style ranks. This section surfaces verified classification data and editorial context only.

Carnegie classification

A Liberal Arts College or College with an Arts & Sciences focus

Institutional classification used for academic peer grouping.

Athletics

NCAA Division III

NCAA division where available from verified imports.

Editorial spotlight

Williams College — editorial overview (Williamstown, MA)

Outcomes and after college

Verified Data

Verified outcomes from imported federal datasets. Editorial interpretation may supplement these facts elsewhere on the profile.

Median earnings

N/A

Median earnings where reported by federal outcomes data.

Retention rate

97%

First-year student retention.

Graduation rate

94%

Students graduating within 150% of normal time.

Student reviews

Editorial View

User-submitted reviews are not fabricated for launch. This report card summarizes verified data signals until moderated student voices are available.

Data report card

Admissions selectivityA

Graduation outcomesA

RetentionA

Editorial depthB+

Williams College

CollegesRef matching

Find colleges like Williams College

Compare similar schools by admissions, cost, outcomes, and campus fit — with explainable scores, not black-box rankings.

Special features

Verified Data

Curated theme attributes and athletics context that distinguish campus character.

Strong Athletic ProgramNeed-Blind in AdmissionA Liberal Arts College Like a "Little Ivy"Has a "Pre-Professional" FeelIs a QuestBridge Campus

Athletics

NCAA Division III

Sources and data freshness

Verified Data

Legacy CLGS import

CollegesRef separates verified federal and institutional data from editorial interpretation. Personalized AI matching is available via Colleges Like This.

Similar schools