Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades
Encyclopedia
The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades is a men's
junior
trade college
located in Media
, Pennsylvania
, 14 miles away from both Philadelphia
and Wilmington
, Delaware
. It was founded on December 1, 1888 and is not affiliated with any religious organization, although it does subscribe to a "Judeo-Christian
" belief system.
Williamson is the only trade college in the United States of America that gives all students full scholarship
s to cover tuition
, textbook
s, and room and board. The school uses their endowment
to cover two-thirds of their student costs each year, with the rest coming from private fundraising
. The college and its students do not accept federal financial aid.
Programs of study are offered in carpentry
, masonry
, horticulture
, landscaping
, turf management
, machine tools, painting
, and power plant technology. Upon graduation, students receive Associate's degree
s in their chosen fields, unless they opt for a lesser diploma
in carpentry or masonry. The term of study at the college is three years.
The majority of Williamson 250 students come from the Southeastern & Central Pennsylvania regions, which the school considers to be its preferred area to draw from when selecting new students. Approximately 95 new students are offered admission to the college each year. To be eligible for admission, students must be unmarried and no more than 20 years of age.
All students are required to live on-campus in supervised dormitories
, attend a daily chapel
service, and follow a dress code. Students must also participate in at least one official student activity each year; choices include team sport
s, the student newspaper
, and student government.
The Williamson athletics teams, which compete in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association
, are known as the Mechanics. Sports offered are football
, cross country
, basketball
, wrestling
, soccer, lacrosse
, baseball
and tennis
.
Williamson is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology
.
Men's college
Men's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions whose students are exclusively men. Many are liberal arts colleges.-United States:...
junior
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
trade college
Vocational school
A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...
located in Media
Media, Pennsylvania
The borough of Media is the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania and is located west of Philadelphia. Media was incorporated in 1850 at the same time that it was named the county seat. The population was 5,533 at the 2000 census. Its school district is the Rose Tree Media School District...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, 14 miles away from both Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. It was founded on December 1, 1888 and is not affiliated with any religious organization, although it does subscribe to a "Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
" belief system.
Williamson is the only trade college in the United States of America that gives all students full scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s to cover tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...
, textbook
Textbook
A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
s, and room and board. The school uses their endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
to cover two-thirds of their student costs each year, with the rest coming from private fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
. The college and its students do not accept federal financial aid.
Programs of study are offered in carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
, horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, landscaping
Landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:# living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.#...
, turf management
Sod
Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
, machine tools, painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, and power plant technology. Upon graduation, students receive Associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
s in their chosen fields, unless they opt for a lesser diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
in carpentry or masonry. The term of study at the college is three years.
The majority of Williamson 250 students come from the Southeastern & Central Pennsylvania regions, which the school considers to be its preferred area to draw from when selecting new students. Approximately 95 new students are offered admission to the college each year. To be eligible for admission, students must be unmarried and no more than 20 years of age.
All students are required to live on-campus in supervised dormitories
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
, attend a daily chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
service, and follow a dress code. Students must also participate in at least one official student activity each year; choices include team sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s, the student newspaper
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
, and student government.
The Williamson athletics teams, which compete in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association
National Junior College Athletic Association
The National Junior College Athletic Association , founded in 1938, is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is held as Divisions and Regions. The current NJCAA holds 24 separate regions.-History:The idea for the NJCAA was...
, are known as the Mechanics. Sports offered are football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
, soccer, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
.
Williamson is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology
The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges is an organization in the United States that provides accreditation to non-university postsecondary colleges. Based in Arlington, Virginia, it is recognized by the United States Department of Education as a private, non-profit, independent...
.