Admissions – Williams College

Facts and Figures

Williams is much more than the sum of its statistics, and so we try not to place too much importance on them. Still, we suspect that you are curious about a few numbers, so here they are.

Our Mascot:
Purple Cow
Derived from a 19th-century nonsense poem about a mythical purple cow, the Williams mascot is a good metaphor for the Williams community: humble, understated, and unique.

Comparative Data

Rank of Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst, and Brown among other colleges most considered by students admitted to Williams

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Percent of first-years for whom Williams was their first-choice college

Rank of Williams among national liberal arts colleges in number of current National Science Foundation Grants held by faculty

Rank of Williams among national U.S. colleges and universities in percentage of undergraduates participating in paid summer science research

Williams’ rank among all colleges in The Wall Street Journal‘s list of colleges and universities whose graduates attend elite business, medical, and law schools

Number of times in the last 15 years Williams has been awarded the NACDA Directors’ Cup, given to the top athletic program in Division III

History

Established

1793

First Black student graduated

1889

Winter Study initiated

1967

Coeducation adopted

1970

Tutorial program doubles in size, expanding to 60 courses per year

2002

Campus

Acreage of main campus

450

Outlying acreage, including Hopkins Memorial Forest

2,500

Number of buildings

112

Number of academic buildings

Number of residence halls and houses

Number of dining halls

Miles to Albany, Boston, and New York City

44, 135, 165

Students

Number of students

2,173

Ratio of men to women

48:52

Percent of students living on campus

Percent of American students of color

Percent of students from other countries

Faculty

Number of faculty members

305

Percent of full-time faculty who are tenured