UNC or Williams College

I've weighed in on undergrad decisions a bunch in my prior posts and have talked about the top LAC vs "Public Ivy" debate in the past.

I think in general, the comments above pretty accurately lay out how you should be thinking about things.

Williams is a "better" school and I think it's hard to argue against that. It's elite level in terms of acceptance, academics, career/grad school placement, etc. Alums are all over the business world and pull hard for their own. If you maintain decent grades and show an early interest in banking, you'll place into whatever you want. The student body will be among the best undergrad students in the country. With regards to culture, that's really up to you to decide. Williams won't be nearly as fun as UNC in the traditional sense. There won't be any excitement around the sporting events, the local area isn't that exciting in terms of nightlife, and I believe greek life is fairly non existent as well. It'll be more dorm parties, broader campus events, etc.

UNC is also a great school, and is highly recognized not only for undergrad programs, but also for graduate programs, which will give you some opportunities and resources that are unavailable to what you'd get at Williams. It's also just be a lot more fun, more students to meet, more clubs, bigger parties, big Greek presence, and off-campus stuff among other things. It'll be the traditional college experience. UNC, especially Kenan Flagler, will also be similar in terms of recruiting to Wall Street as Williams, assuming you can be at the top of your class. For the most part, the opportunities will be the same; however, I'd imagine there might be a few more unique opportunities that could arise from Williams given its brand.

At the end of the day, it's your decision to make. At a high level, the range of outcomes right out of school won't be materially different. Both could place you into banking, consulting, etc with the right execution. Each school will give you a different experience and you'll have to think about what you want out of your college experience. The only real edge I'd give to Williams is brand/prestige, which is tough to put a price on. If you seek out people who have made this type of decision in the past, it's relatively split. Some bemoan the fact that they turned down insert Ivy League in favor of a full-ride at insert non-target as the brand of your undergrad will stick with you forever. Others saved the money, went to the non-target, hustled, and still ended up in with a banking gig and would probably tell you they were rubbing shoulders with all the Harvard guys in their analyst training class, but were 200k richer and potentially even better suited for the job on day one. It can cut either way.

As people size you up throughout life, saying you went to Williams will most likely raise more eyebrows than UNC, especially as you move up the ladder. At the same time UNC has a broader alumni base, is still a great school, and will save you ~$150k, which is nothing to scoff at.

So that's really what it comes down to. I went to a LAC (non Amherst/Williams) and despite the fact that I've loved how things have worked out for me, I sometimes think about how I should have considered schools like UVA/UNC/Michigan for undergrad as they would have probably been more fun, easier, and could have potentially made my path easier. With that being said, my first job came through an alumni connection. It was extremely unique to me as there were few alums at this company, and I know this guy pulled hard for me. I took a circuitious path to PE, but am in what would be considered a pretty enviable position. Would going to UVA have put me in a better position? Impossible to tell.

So that's my rant, sorry for not keeping it more concise and best of luck with the decision. If I had to give a slight edge to one, I'd probably go 60/40 in favor of Williams, assuming that finances aren't a massive issue. Williams is on par with the HYPS of the world, hard to turn that down.