GEORGE WILLIAMS CLINIC President of the United States Dressage Federation and USEF National Youth Coach, George Williams is a prominent figure in international dressage competition.

Williams College is a private institution that was founded in 1793. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,962 (fall 2020), its setting is rural, and the campus size is 450 acres.

During the 20th century, the college “was a national center for the development of group work as a profession. It was also an early pioneer in the idea of holistic health, with the integration of body, mind and spirit that was key concept within the YMCA movement.”

Williams students are typically athletic and/or outdoorsy, competitive, confident, intelligent, and multi-talented. In my experience, the freshman entry system at Williams does a great job of promoting interactions between students of different races, social classes, religions, sexual preferences, etc.

George Williams College of Aurora University
Williams Bay/Colleges and Universities
Together, students, faculty, and staff comprise a distinctive community, dedicated to a century-old mission of “serving those who serve others.” Located in Williams Bay, on the shores of Geneva Lake, GWC is one of several campuses that comprise Aurora University, which is an inclusive community dedicated to the …

Sixty years later, the Montreal YMCA relocated to its current location on Stanley Street in Downtown Montreal. In 1926, the education program at the YMCA was re-organized as Sir George Williams College, named after George Williams, founder of the original YMCA in London, upon which the Montreal YMCA was based.

There are definitely parties on the weekends – some are school sponsored and some take place in dorms – but after a few weekends of homogeneous partying a lot of people choose to stay in with their friends.

Aurora University is a four-year, private, nonprofit, accredited higher education institution offering students an excellent education. We were founded in 1893 in Mendota, Illinois, as a seminary college, before moving to Aurora in 1912. We also have campuses in Woodstock, Illinois, and Williams Bay, Wisconsin.

12.6% (2020)
Williams College/Acceptance rate

Although lesser known as a liberal arts college, Williams is one of the best non-Ivy colleges in the nation, with majors ranging from economics to political science, government, and history.

We offer seasonal lodging and meeting spaces for groups in a beautiful, picturesque lakeside environment. Sydney Sanders of Beloit, Wisconsin, and Hannah Schlanger of Poplar Grove, Illinois, were recently named George Williams College of Aurora University’s 2021 Presidential Scholarship recipients.

Sitting before a campfire on the shores of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the three men conceived of a permanent, professional YMCA training school. Lake Geneva — rugged and pristine — was an ideal setting for the program’s mission. Land was purchased in Williams Bay, and in 1886 the training camp, which would become George Williams College, was founded.

The college was an expansion of a summer camp founded by the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) on the shores of Geneva Lake, Wisconsin in 1886. The college remained in Hyde Park from its founding in 1890 until 1965, when it moved to Downers Grove, Illinois. The Hyde Park campus was demolished in 1989.

The Lake Geneva campus served as a “college camp” used for retreats. Then as now, George Williams was distinguished by its educational emphasis on social and humanitarian service. As the Class of 1913 motto states: “We are born not for ourselves, but for the whole world.”