chances for ED ????

Colleges and Universities A-Z Williams College
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>im a rising senior at a prestigious high school (stuyvesant) in new york city. my average is an 89 (nothing to be impressed about) and most of my courses have been geared towards humanities. i've taken three AP courses so far (english language, spanish language and us govt) i didnt do that well on the exams (3's) and im taking two more AP courses for senior year (english lit, ap calc AB). </p>

<p>my regents for math and science arent spectacular (90's for math, low 80's high 70's for sciences) however, my english and history regents are better (95+)</p>

<p>my SAT combined is a 2020 (yet again, unimpressive; 690V, 700M, 630W)
im going to retake my SAT IIs this fall and im also taking the ACT this october.</p>

<p>my EC's are a little better though</p>

<p>FRESHMAN YEAR:</p>

<p>-volunteered at local hospital about 110 hours
-volunteered for a saturday sports summer camp as an instructor's assistant for volleyball. participated in sports day and attended field trip.
-joined the REd Cross Youth Group </p>

<p>SOPHOMORE YEAR:</p>

<p>-was part of an empowerment program called Chinatown Youth Initiatives (CYI). Participated in a series of leadership and empowerment workshops revolving around Asian American issues such as media representation, social justice, self and community identity, politics and government, writing and the arts...etc. We interacted with community leaders and attended an Asian film festival. i was also part of the yearbook and participated in their annual Chinatown Beautification Day as a team leader. There were over 350 people in attendance for that event and it was a record success for CYI.
-in school, i also became part of my school newspaper and wrote for the sports department. this was also the year in which i became part of the jv volleyball team at stuy.
-i also created my own awareness club in school regarding falun gong (and had a pretty hard time with it; i've been turned down by a couple of teachers when i asked them to be the club advisor since they didnt want to be involved with something that is viewed as a "cult" and i've also had my club meeting signs vandalised. there was a lot of negativity revolving that club and it's still ongoing.)
-Volunteer for Buddhist Temple during saturdays (cook lunch for senior citizens and chat with kids and elderly after lunch)
-second year at Red Cross</p>

<p>JUNIOR YEAR:</p>

<p>-part of Oxford Health Plans' SIP Program (Summer Internship Program).
I worked as a teacher/counselor at a summer day camp (worked from 8am-6pm, mon-fri). it was pretty rigorous work. a lot of responsibility and dedication was expected of me. i basically did the same things an elementary public school teacher did ( made lesson plans; taught math, english, science and history. planned recreational activities, gave proper attention in case of nosebleeds, insect bites, bruises, scrapes and falls. made up my own tests for my students, made up own homework and classwork and graded everything, took my students to breakfast and lunch, dismissed them, addressed parental concerns, supervised kids on field trips...etc.) there was a lot expected of me and it was a learning experience for both my kids and me. the SIP program also required the attendance of several community service events and training workshops in order to graduate (in which i met all requirements so yayyy =]).
-volunteered again for the saturday sports summer camp as instructor's assistant again. i was also the yearbook photographer and became part of their dragon boating team.
- appointed as Special Events Coordinator at Red Cross YG, and then this summer, i was promoted as the Special Events Executive Board Member for Red Cross YG
- second year as part of school newspaper staff
- contributed to school's departmental arts and literary magazine
- second year as president of my own club</p>

<p>i have a pretty good teacher recommendation from english teacher but a pretty average one for science. i plan on continuing with Red Cross and my club as well as writing for school newspaper for senior year. For Red Cross, I'm planning a new fundraiser for the 06-07 school year and i'm really hoping to see it happen.</p>

<p>I know I'm pretty average academically. What are my chances?</p>

<p>What are some other reaches, matches and safeties? Please give some suggestions! Help of any kind is appreciated! THANKS!</p>

2

<p>someone please help??? :(</p>

3

<p>Honestly, Williams is a reach for you, but still worth applying. Your numbers are definitely a little below the Williams average and you don't seem to have a huge hook, although your community service activity is exceptional -- I would make sure you stress in your application a few comm. services activities that you have demonstrated leadership or particular commitment to for several years, that may be your best bet. If you can get your SAT's up closer to the 2200 plus range your chances would certainly improve, as would a kick-ass first semester senior year. But it is important that your essay and activies section provide a more condensed picture of a long-term commtiment to a few activities that are really important to you, rather than a long running list of dispersed interests that come and go over your time in high shcool. </p>

<p>I'd say if you are looking at liberal arts schools, Williams, Amherst, Swat and Pomona would all be pretty substantial reaches. Ballpark schools would be more like Middlebury, Bowdoin, Carleton, Wesleyan, Haverford (you sound like you would really fit in at Haverford or Wes in particular). Some great liberal arts schools that you would be a likely admit at that perhaps don't get as much publicity as they deserve are Macalester, Kenyon, Bates and Grinnell.</p>

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<p>THanks a lot Ephman!! At this point, I'm still deciding which of the three (Wesleyan, Haverford and Williams ) I should apply ED to. My guidance counselor has really suggested me to apply to Haverford so I guess I should take Haverford into better consideration. Why do you say I would fit into Wesleyan and Haverford btw? Just curious :D</p>

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<p>i would not know if williams should be your first choice, strictly based on your boards and AP's. personally, i am rising senior, and have recieved 700+ on 5 of my tests, yielding an average score of a ~730 on my SAT and three other SAT2s, and have a 4 and 5 on AP history and latin lit respectively. i have worked put together decent extracurrics, while holding a very nice gpa. plus i go to a competetive NY HS (Trinity). williams seems to be a school that is not an easy reach for me, and although it isn't a stretch, i am sweating over whether i will get in. i am in love with williams though, and if you are as much as i am, and only will be happy there, go for it. ephman probably knows better than me (are you part of undergrad admissions?), so listen to him.</p>

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<p>First, not part of admissions.</p>

<p>Second, you should apply early to whatever your dream school is, whether that be Williams or somewhere else --- don't want to give up without at least trying, and you'll have plenty of good RD options. You don't want to always wonder what if, as long as you recognize that it's a long shot.</p>

<p>That is funny that you had also picked out Wes and Haverford. I mentioned them b/c I think you will have a realistic shot at admission to both, although both are still at the top of the range of likely options. You mentioned Williams, and both, in particular Haverford (which was my personal second choice) are pretty similar to Williams. Finally, you seem to have a real interest in service and activism, and Haverford has the whole honor code / quaker thing going, with really nice and well rounded kids, and Wesleyan, in a very different way, really pushes political and social activism and embraces diversity and kids who are passionate about changing the world for the better. The Falun Gong thing in particular seems right up Wesleyan's alley. Although many Williams students are very into local community service, it is not a place with a lot of political activism relative to many other college campuses. (Although Williams kids did start the push for Sudan divestment across numerous campuses, so there are those with political interests on campus, just not as ingrained in the student culture due to the purple bubble effect). I should add that Macalester is easier to get into than either Haverford or Wes due to its midwest location, but I think that in particular should also be very high on your list.</p>

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<p>Ephman:</p>

<p>That was a very well-written response with a lot of information between the lines. I had decided not to even try because I didn't think I could do the topic justice. Kudos! </p>

<p>I would only add two datapoints for consideration. First, Stuyvescent has not traditionally been a big feeder school for Williams, for reasons that Mini might be able to address (he was a Stuy grad who went to Williams in the 1960s). This may be offset partially by the school's recent push to increase socio-economic diversity.</p>

<p>Second, Williams does not enroll as high a percentage of Asian American students as some of the other top northeast liberal arts colleges.</p>

<p>BTW, if the student is a female, then I think several of the women's colleges (Bryn Mawr, Smith, Mt. Holyoke) would also be well worth checking out, both from an admissions standpoint and because I think they would value the sorts of things the applicant has been involved in.</p>

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<p>^^ out of the three he just mentioned, I recommend Smith the highest.. :)</p>

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<p>Being the Stuy Williams guy here (though from back in the Dark Ages), I don't want to go into a historical dissertation. Your difficulty stems from the fact that your regional admissions director is going to read your application and rank you against other Stuy applicants. If you can, even for yourself, come up with some convincing reasons as to why s/he should choose you over other Stuy applicants, you have a shot. Otherwise, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.</p>

<p>For the record, my d. was recruited and accepted at Williams, and chose Smith over it, as a better fit and stronger given her particular academic needs. (You are by no means a "shoo-in" there either.)</p>

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<p>does being on a jv girls volleyball sophomore year help anything?</p>

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<p>not any more than a regular club or something i don't think</p>

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<p>i'm a stuy senior as well, considering ED to willliams. my stats are only slightly better, 91.7 average, 2160 sats. EC involvement is probably a little less than nafeiniar's. does being an asian male help at all?</p>

13

<p>What's up with the low percentage admissions of Asian Americans?</p>

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<p>What's up with the low percentage admissions of Asian Americans?</p>