<p>Hi, so I have a Canadian passport and I've lived in Europe for the past 15 years so I'm definitely international... so now I've applied to Williams and my counselor told me that it's really really really hard for international students to be accepted to Williams. Does anyone know why, or if that statement is even true? Thanks so much! Oh, and I don't need financial aid if that even matters - is Williams need blind?</p>
<p>Williams has been need-blind for domestic applicants since I-don't-know-when, but has just turned need blind for internationals, as well. While about 17% (I'm not sure what current figures are) of regular applicants get accepted, less than 10% (is it 7%?) of the international applicant pool get in. It is a bit more competitive on the international scale, and of course, there are fewer spots.</p>
<p>wow....less than 10%!?! Lol there goes my confidence. Oh well, who knows...I could be part of that 10% (I'm an optimist) :)</p>
<p>hi! I am an intl applicant and did get accepted under ED and received full aid. As far as I know, Williams does not have a separate competition for intls. In fact, it strives to attract students from various backgrounds, so being an intl is probably more an advantage, than a disadvantage. If it at all matters :)</p>
<p>wow, thanks! Good to know :)</p>
<p>Piratemonkey, it seems that we're both applying to Williams and Amherst. To what other schools are you also applying?</p>
<p>^ I don't know what fightEr1375 means by 'a separate competition for intls', but I'm almost sure that Williams(and every other school I know) does have a separate pool for international applicants. Moreover, this pool can be especially competitive due to the limited number of spots for internationals; I guess intl's account for about 7 to 10% of the Williams community; that would mean at most 50 intl admits a year. And, considering that approximately 1000 international students apply annually(Williams</a> College | Admission | Info for International Students) would yield a 5% acceptance rate. </p>
<p>While all this is a rough estimate, it should give you an approximate idea of how hard it is for intls. By the way, the admission rate for 2012 intls ED-ers was about 13.5%(figure derived from the Record's articles on this years' early admissions)</p>
<p>Indeed, Williams does strive to attract students from various backgrounds and experiences, but you never know how relatively 'special' you can be for a certain pool, or what type of students is the Admission Office looking to accept this year, or whether there are so many 'you'-s in Williams that you'd just be redundant. From this point of view, I would have to disagree with fightEr1375.</p>
<p>hmmmm....ok. Wow, I always thought being international was an advantage, but perhaps not. Well, who knows what will happen. Thanks everyone for presenting me with both sides of the argument. </p>
<p>danielcarp17 - yeah, Amherst and Williams :) I somehow feel a bit guilty for applying to both since they're rivals but they really are quite similar schools and I can see myself at either of them. I was deferred from Brown ED (that hurt) and besides Amherst and Williams I'm applying to Yale (I'll never get in but they have a great history program so I couldn't help myself), Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Dartmouth, McGill and Queens. And yourself?</p>
<p>It's more like 90 international admits.. 9% admission rate.. not 5%.. and yields around 40-50 a year..</p>
<p>ok, that's slightly better but still worrisome since i didn't realize it was much harder to get in as an international. Is this the same for other top US schools?</p>
<p>Pirate- The only two colleges that are shared on our lists are Williams and Amherst. I DO need financial aid, so I'm pretty much limited to LAC's (not that I'm complaining though). So I'm applying to a big list of liberal arts colleges, and I'd be more than happy to attend any of them.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>wow, sounds like a win-win situation!</p>
<p>Good luck to you too.</p>
<p>I too am applying to Williams and Amherst, and a load of other colleges. The need for aid really restricts where you can apply to. I too am not complaining though, for I want to attend small schools.
Win-win situation. How? The need for fin aid will kill us all.</p>
<p>well, i meant being limited to a variety of small liberal arts colleges - most of them are pretty great. But how does needing financial aid restrict where you can apply to? I would think larger schools would be able to offer more financial aid?</p>
<p>Except the ivies and some other large unis, most of the larger schools do not provide int'l applicants with full or near-full aid. The liberal arts college are on the lookout for diversity and are much more generous.</p>
<p>I think most of the Ivies don't give need-based aid to internationals. </p>
<p>Without LAC's, attending a college in the US would be nearly impossible. Most large universities will not give much aid, and if they do, the scholarships will only cover tuition. Housing, if I'm not mistaken, usually costs more than 10 grand. For students from "developing nations" that's a lot of money. Basically if you need aid, LAC's are the only choice. But as skunk and I already said, that's not a bad thing. LAC's seem to be awesome. Of course, competition for us is extremely tough, except in the international "need-blind" colleges like Williams.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think most of the Ivies don't give need-based aid to internationals.
[/quote]
They all do give aid. Yale, Harvard, Princeton offer need-blind admission as well.</p>
<p>danielcarp17,</p>
<p>In my sense, considering LACs only with regard to their seductive financial assistance demeans the very intricate character that these institutions share. You'll see lots of kids around(internationals too) that prefer Top LACs to other Top schools or even Ivies.</p>
<p>Indeed, your practical spirit - "Basically if you need aid, LAC's are the only choice." - is admirable, but I would kindly suggest you to explore something more about the schools where you are thinking to apply; don't just see it from a materialistic point of view.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>I get what you say, but you misinterpreted me. When I said "I'm not complaining" that's because I'm really not complaining. LAC's seem great. They're everything I could want for. In fact, most of the international students I've been in touch with through this site applied to one Ivy League school, but I didn't. Why? After researching so much about LAC's I realized I wanted to attend one. They are very attractive and I'd truly be happy to attend any of the colleges I'm applying to. Of course, I do have my favorites...</p>
<p>Anyway I didn't mean to say that I'm only applying to LAC's because of financial aid. I'm also obviously attracted to their strong sense of community, academics, open-mindedness, etc. Otherwise, I'd have chosen to study in my native country, where education is much cheaper.</p>
<p>danielcarp, I didnt apply to any Ivy either.:) I was put off by the extreme competition that plagues the ivies. The only ivy that I even considered applying to was Dartmouth, and that too after the deadline had passed:D</p>