Yale Showcase Day 6 Report
By Benny Lin
28 Jun 2010
We drove for over 2 hours to Williamstown where Williams College is located. Our drive to Williams was really unique because we passed many small or should I say very, very small towns. We also drove for over than an hour on small roads off highways – basically there is no highway to get to Williamstown – a very small town. Although being located in a very small town, Williams is the No. 1 Liberal Arts college in the US. I am not sure which town is smaller Amherst or Williams but I can safely say that if anyone goes to school at either one, there will be no distraction at all and nothing to do except studying :-)
Being from Hong Kong, our kids may have some difficulties adjusting to the life style here but if education is their priority, I must say Williams and Amherst would be the perfect places. For some reason most of our kids like Amherst better but in my opinion both schools are quite similar in many ways. As for the campus, although Williams is also located in a very nice area and has a great campus, Amherst’s campus is just too beautiful, clean and yet has a lot of history.
This was our first trip to Williams and it was really good for us to visit and see the campus for future reference.
In the afternoon we drove to New York City for about 4 hours as the next 2 days we will have meetings with coaches from Columbia and NYU in New York City. Our last meeting will be on Wednesday with Princeton coach before heading back to Hong Kong. As we had difficulties booking hotels in New York City I decided to stay in Newark area which is about 45 minutes drive from New York City.
In yesterday’s report I had a typo: “I think what they are doing is great because choosing a college is a big and important decision. The college you choose will shape the future of your kid, that’s why family support and decision is nevertheless very crucial. Sometime our kids could overlook the kindness or sincerity of the coach for the name of the school. Of course we all want our kids to go to reputable schools like the Ivy League schools but I can tell you it’s not always the best decision. Schools like Amherst, Williams, John Hopkins and Wellesley are sometime overlooked because they are not as famous as the Ivy’s back home although their education is just as good if not better than some of the Ivy League schools. Also, there are things to consider such as if your kid will play tennis or sit on the bench? Some kids got in to Ivy’s just to sit on the bench for the first 2 years while they could play at top 6 for schools like Amherst. These issues need thorough consideration from both players and parents."
Pictures have been uploaded at website Gallery.
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