I’d say B+s are counted as Bs. We didn’t find that Williams put as much emphasis on foreign language study as some of its cohort.
I don’t know what to make of the adcom’s comments on applying ED. If Williams turns out to be your daughter’s top choice then you should consider it. My understanding is that Williams financial aid is generous, ED or RD, but for sure if she applies and is accepted ED you’ll never know what kind of aid – need or merit – you might have received from other schools.
I believe ED was the best choice for my son. He attended a small international high school in a far away country. Although students from his high school regularly admitted to top colleges in the US, no one had attended Williams for as long as any one could remember. He applied ED and was admitted which was great for all involved. (We weren’t eligible for need based financial aid anywhere and didn’t expect to receive merit.)
What happened afterwards made us glad that he had applied ED. First, the first semester of senior was his worst ever, more Bs than As for the first time, but he was already admitted by the time these grades came out. (Ironically the second semester of senior year which no one was looking at was his best ever.)
Secondly, unbeknownst us one of the top students in his class targetted Williams. He was the Sal, all As, perfect scores, 2 sport athlete, multi-lingual, played the trombone and was an all around great kid. I really think that had my son applied RD Williams wouldn’t have accepted both. Who knows?
The point is that there are risks in applying ED and risks in not applying ED.