How do class sizes compare at Emory University and Williams College?

Williams College will provide the more consistently small, discussion-centered classroom experience. Its undergraduate enrollment is far smaller than Emory’s, and most Williams courses are taught as seminars or small sections rather than large lectures. Close faculty access is built into the residential liberal-arts model, including in introductory courses.

Students commonly prepare for and contribute to every meeting, with professors getting to know their writing, questions, and academic interests closely. The tutorial program is an especially distinctive option: two students work with a professor, alternate writing papers, and discuss one another’s work in a highly intensive format.

Emory also offers small, participatory classes, particularly after the first year and within majors such as the humanities, social sciences, and many pre-health-related fields. However, its larger undergraduate population and research-university structure mean that introductory courses are more likely to include larger lectures, sometimes paired with smaller discussion or lab sections. Class size can vary notably by school and major; sciences may involve larger core lectures before moving into smaller advanced courses.

For a student who learns best when discussion is the default rather than something mainly found in selected courses, Williams has the clearer advantage. Emory can still feel personal, but students may need to choose sections, professors, and upper-level opportunities more deliberately to create the same consistently intimate academic setting.