Williams College is located in Williamstown, MA, in Berkshire County’s Purple Valley. It’s in Massachusetts’ northwest corner, on the border of Vermont and New York, and is home to fewer than 10,000 residents. Still, this quaint town offers up a variety of diversions for students. The sole coffee store in town, Tunnel City, is the ultimate off-campus college hangout for students. The store is famous for its creative cookies and is a regular spot for students on casual dates. The combination of the comfortable environment, delicious food, and intimate setting puts Tunnel City on the map as the top off-campus spot. Along Spring Street, there are many local restaurants with a diverse array of cuisines for students who want to venture off campus for a meal. Sushi Thai is popular among students out with friends and is also a good date spot, especially for the sushi sampling during the weekends. Spice Root, next to Sushi Thai offers Indian cuisine ranging from specialty naan to different biryanis. The décor is festive with multicolored walls, plates, and tapestries, and the plasma-screen TV constantly plays various Bollywood movies. There is definitely a sense of intimacy as the atmosphere is very warm and informal, encouraging students to hang out in a casual setting. There are two pubs in town that are often frequented by students: the Red Herring and the Forge, which are definitely crucial to the college experience at Williams. The Red Herring is consistently popular among students on the weekends, and people often host birthdays and other events there. The Forge is much further away and requires a 30-minute drive, but has its regulars as well. They have is a diverse array of beers, and students can earn a special card for drinking 50 different ones in a year. The Forge tends to be more of an upperclassmen hangout.

Williams’ 450-acre campus is located in Williamstown, MA, in the Berkshires. The student center, library and administrative buildings are centrally-located; athletic facilities are in the southeast corner of campus. The Paresky student center is definitely the most popular place for students to hang out on campus. Not only is it centrally with modern architecture and an atmosphere conducive to socializing and studying. Students can grab a quiet alcove to study and read on comfortable chairs, while others catch up with friends on the first floor couches or Snack Bar area. There are three prime places outside for students to hang out, especially when the weather is nice. The Paresky lawn is a perennial favorite; even as dusk settles, students continue to relax in the lush grass covering the lawn. Frosh Quad is also a popular place for students to hang out regardless of the weather. There are park benches along the quadrangle where students can relax, playing the guitar or just conversing amongst each other. The grassy area behind Poker Flats is also popular: people play Frisbee, soccer, or rugby, and a lot of students simply hang out on the patio area adjacent to the fields. Although Schow is technically a building devoted to science, its atrium is a popular place for students to escape studying for a few minutes. The area also hosts the Eco Café, where many students grab coffee or cookies during study breaks.

Williams College’s freshman housing is distinct from the sophomore and upperclassmen housing. The housing for freshmen is clustered in two areas of campus – Frosh Quad and Mission. Approximately 300 students live in the two residential buildings of Williams and Sage, two L-shaped dorms that form a grassy quadrangle in the center of campus. Students spend time in the Frosh Quad area throughout the year, playing Frisbee, doing homework on park benches, or engaging in competitive snowball fights. The 200 students residing in Mission Park are further away, down a small hill on the edge of campus. There are four main areas within the building: Armstrong, Pratt, Mills, and Dennett with four floors each. Although Mission is more secluded, it has its own dining hall in the basement along with spacious areas for students to hang out, watch TV, and play pool. Upperclassmen housing is scattered across campus, but divided into four distinct neighborhood clusters. The Odd Quad is home to students in the Currier cluster and contains Fayerweather, Currier, Fitch, and Prospect along with metal eye sculptures dotting the periphery of the residential buildings. Dodd neighborhood consists of smaller houses with around ten students each, which tends to foster a more tight-knit community among residents. Spencer is famous for its centrally located residential buildings, including Morgan and Spencer, as well as it spacious rooms. Wood has the old fraternity houses, which are great for large social functions, but its dorms are also the farthest from the rest of campus. For the lucky seniors who are able to snatch a high enough pick number for the housing lottery, co-ops are a great way to gain more independence without completely living off campus. The college-owned co-op housing requires students to cook and clean for themselves as a preview for life after college. Many co-ops are centrally located on campus, allowing students to stay in contact with friends still living in college residential buildings.

Williams’ sports teams, the Ephmen (or Ephs), compete in the NCAA’s Division III and the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Williams’ skiing and squash teams compete in the NCAA’s Division I. Since 1994, when Williams began competing in the NCAA, the Ephs have won three titles in men’s tennis, three titles in women’s crew, two titles in women’s tennis, two titles in men’s cross country, two titles in women’s cross country, and titles in men’s basketball, women’s indoor track and field, and men’s soccer. Williams also offers 13 club sports, from ultimate Frisbee to horseback riding. Williams’ student body is athletically-oriented: more than half of students play a sport and many hike, ski, and swim in the surrounding Berkshire area. Sixty percent of the student body is involved in a varsity, JV or club sport. As a result, students are extremely interested in both participating and watching sporting events. The most popular teams include football, soccer, basketball, and baseball.