How does class size compare between Cornell and Williams for undergraduate students?

Williams offers the much smaller undergraduate classroom experience. It is a small liberal arts college focused almost entirely on undergraduates, so most classes are discussion-based and taught in intimate settings, while Cornell is a large research university where undergrads encounter a much wider mix of small seminars, mid-sized classes, and large lectures. In practical terms, Williams students are far more likely to spend most of their time in classes where the professor knows them well by name from early on.

At Cornell, class size depends a lot on department and course level. Intro courses in fields like economics, biology, computer science, psychology, and engineering can be quite large, especially in the first two years, and discussion or lab sections may be led by TAs alongside the main lecture. As students move into advanced major courses, classes often get smaller, but the baseline undergraduate experience still includes more large-course exposure than at Williams.

At Williams, even introductory classes are often kept relatively small compared with a place like Cornell, and the college is built around close faculty access rather than graduate-student-heavy instruction. One especially distinctive feature is the tutorial system, where some classes are intentionally tiny and structured around intensive discussion, writing, and direct professor feedback. That creates a classroom feel that is much more personal and less anonymous.

So if by class size you mean what day-to-day learning feels like, Williams is likely to feel consistently small, professor-centered, and discussion-oriented. Cornell can absolutely offer small classes too, especially later in a major, but the average undergrad experience includes a broader range of class sizes and noticeably more large lecture courses.