Chance me

Colleges and Universities A-Z Williams College
1

<p>I applied ED (I hope that gives me an edge), and I never thought this day would come, but I can't stop thinking about getting in. So, please chance me.</p>

<p>Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Asian
School: Large public school (1,400 students) in Massachusetts</p>

<p>Rank: 8/329
GPA: 4.1 weighted GPA
Rigor: I took every AP course offered except AP Stats. (APUSH, AP English Lit, AP English Lang., AP American Gov., and AP Calc.) plus two other AP courses online. (AP Spanish Lang. and AP French Lang.)</p>

<p>SAT: CR-710, W-690, M-660 (I know these aren't that great, but my scores are in the top 1% of my school. Hopefully that will be a factor)
SAT II:
-Spanish with Listening- 780
-French- 690</p>

<p>ECs:
-Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy- four week immersion program sponsored by Middlebury College. I attended in 2009 for French and 2010 for Spanish
-Student Council (9-12)
-NHS (11-12)- Vice President (12)
-Massachusetts Boys' State- leadership program. June 2010
-Varsity swim team (9-12)
-Rec. swim team (9-12)
-Local orchestra (9-12)
-WPI Math Meet team member (12)
-Student tutor (10-12)
-Subway Restaurant employee (10-12)
-Church Youth Group member (9-12)</p>

<p>Awards:
-Foreign Language Award for French and Spanish (9-12)
-SWE Award for Excellence in Math and Science
-AIC book award</p>

<p>Recs:
-Counselor's rec. has a lot of praise and lists my accomplishments, but I don't think it's anything extraordinary.
-Teacher rec. from my Spanish teacher and NHS adviser. I've never read other people's recs. to gauge the quality of recs., but I think it's safe to say that this rec. is amazing.
-Teacher rec. from my English teacher. Also amazing and very specific. She wrote about some specific assignments of mine that she especially liked.</p>

<p>Essay:
-Common App- I wrote about my being Asian does not mean I excel in Math and Science. This essay also explains why some of my Math grades aren't spectacular, but how I still take the challenge. My English teacher with a Doctorate in English said it was amazing.
-Supplement- I wrote about using Spanish at work on a regular basis. It's a pretty good essay for 300 words.</p>

<p>Be brutally honest.</p>

2

<p>“brutally honest?” Most likely a deferral but possibly a straight rejection. SAT scores and, to a lesser extent, class rank are too low. Might have a slim chance if all your APs are 5s or if Williams would consider you low socio-ec (means neither parent has a BA).</p>

<p>Sorry.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for being honest. My SAT score’s being 200+ points higher than the average score at my school won’t mean anything? And what separates me from the first in my class is three tenths of a point. He took the AP Stat. class, and my two AP courses online don’t factor in to my GPA. My father didn’t go to college, and my mother has a BA, but it’s from a lesser known university in South Korea.</p>

4

<p>I hope you are admitted daniel, and you do have a chance. Your class rank is fine IMHO, but your SAT seems a little low for Williams. It will be very good for a number of other fine schools, however.</p>

5

<p>I think that you have a decent chance of being admitted. Your SAT scores are a little low for Williams but the rest of your application looks strong. I applied ED as well.
Good luck!</p>

6

<p>I’ve always wondered why some people know exactly what their recommenders have written. Aren’t you required to waive your right to see recommendations for Common App? At my school, teachers refused to write recommendation letters unless we waived our right to see them. My school also uses Naviance, which definitely prevents any chance of reading them…</p>

<p>And hello, fellow non-mathematical Asian (:
I agree about the SAT score, but I think a great essay can make up for it.
Also, I don’t know about the significance of your rank and scores – if your school’s average SAT score is low, and you’re near the top in both scores and GPA, it might seem like your school is just less challenging than others.
I think your interest in languages will help you the most, since it’s obvious that it’s your strength and it seems like you’ll pursue it in the future.
Definitely a decent chance, though I can’t do percentages and whatever b/c I don’t know how those work. Good luck!
I’m waiting to hear from Williams, too (:</p>

7

<p>Your best bet is to “forget” that your Mom has a BA — maybe your Mom’s degree is more equivalent to an AA in the US? — and then present yourself as a socio-ec admit. Be sure to check the need financial aid box and request to wave the application fee. Did you apply ED? You should have. More background reading here:</p>

<p>[More</a> Socially Mobile : EphBlog](<a href=“http://www.ephblog.com/2009/05/08/more-socially-mobile/]More”>http://www.ephblog.com/2009/05/08/more-socially-mobile/)</p>

<p>Williams does not much care what your SAT score is relative to your school. It cares about your socio-ec status. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

8

<p>I did apply ED, therefore it’s too late to change my application. Maybe Williams won’t really consider my mom’s BA legitimate because I couldn’t find the CEEB code for her University. Thank you for all of the information though. All I can do now is wait.</p>

9

<p>Good luck. You might consider updating your common ap accordingly. Williams may not have looked at your application yet. Being socio-ec 1 is a non-trivial advantage.</p>

10

<p>I hope we are not recommending dishonesty, especially because folks from Williams may be reading these posts.
My gut reaction-deferred. Probably not unique enough with those scores.If you were going to swim, maybe. Or if you are actually poor.
The problem is that you need a fab essay AND the great grades, AND the great scores, or be very interesting in some way and “qualified”
Consider taking a non-language SAT2 in December…</p>

11

<p>“I hope we are not recommending dishonesty, especially because folks from Williams may be reading these posts.”</p>

<p>Sort of depends on what you mean by “dishonesty.” </p>

<p>Do you know the TRUTH about whether or not a degree from an second (third? fourth?) tier college in South Korea is the equivalent of a BA or an AA in the United States? I don’t!</p>

<p>In fact, the main “dishonesty” (or, depending on the poster, ignorance) on college confidential generally comes from the people responding to questions. For example:</p>

<p>“The problem is that you need a fab essay AND the great grades, AND the great scores, or be very interesting in some way and “qualified””</p>

<p>Is that really the whole truth? No. It is highly misleading unless you know the secret code, i.e., that 95% of “interesting” means URM or recruited athlete.</p>

12

<p>^^^^^ I’m a dentist, but I didn’t go to college because you don’t have to go to college before you enter dental school, medicine, or law in Mexico. I think that it is the same way in many countries (I later obtained a license to practice in the US, but that’s a different story.) Do you think my S could have claimed to be 1st generation college? It would be a technicality covering up a lie, wouldn’t it?</p>

13

<p>Keep in mind that “1st generation college” means different things to different people and that the preferences for Williams are not the same as those for other schools. Read the EphBlog discussion.</p>

<p>Summary: If your S reports no college (or higher) degrees for his parents and checks the financial aid box, he will have an advantage at Williams. If he doesn’t, he won’t.</p>

14

<p>Whoa, dkane, I disagree, and see no reason to insult me personally. Interesting is not always a minority or a recruited athlete. It means interesting-an accomplished musician, a passionate activist, a talented artist, a dedicated scientist-doing something more than the average very bright person. I don’t advocate “forgetting” your relative has a degree if they have one. I would be ashamed to do so, or advise it as a strategy. These things have a way of turning up eventually.</p>

15

<p>If you think that stuff like “passionate activist” or “accomplished musician” plays a meaningful role in Williams admissions for applicants with academic rating less than 2, you don’t understand Williams admissions.</p>

<p>I am not “advocating” anything. I am explaining how the process works. If you don’t like the process, complain to Williams, not me.</p>

16

<p>Brutal honesty: Out.</p>

17

<p>It’s funny how people tell me that I’m going to be rejected from Williams, but people say that they will be surprised if I don’t get in to Wesleyan. Their admissions criteria aren’t that much different, are they?</p>

18

<p>Hi, Daniel.</p>

<p>I’m going to be brutally honest as well.</p>

<p>I think you have a fantastic chance! My SAT score was pretty similar (2150), and honestly, if you score above a certain point (the mid 50% level), they don’t even weigh it in as a considering factor. I work in the admission office as a tour guide, and I think you’re going to be quite competitive as everyone else who applied early this year. If you’re really confident about your essays and think you’ve really told the admission committee: “Hey! This is who I am!” I think you shouldn’t worry about it. I wish you the best of luck, and hopefully (cross-fingers, knock on wood!) you’ll be enjoying the Berkshire scenery with me next year :slight_smile: </p>

<p>All the best to you.</p>

19

<p>Thanks, wjdeogus. I really hope I get in. One of my friends works in the Admissions office for her work study. Her name is Krista, so if you see her, tell her Dan says hi! I was also reading some of your other posts, and I saw that you are Korean. I’m Korean too! Haha hopefully I’ll see you soon.</p>

20

<p>sorry to post something off topic, but wjdeogus, you seem to know what you’re talking about…do you know anything about the arts supplement? I submitted an arts resume, arts recommendation from an acting teacher, and video of me performing contrasting monologues. Do you know how admissions views this?</p>