Chances for Williams/Amherst

Colleges and Universities A-Z Williams College
1

<p>Hello, everyone! Well, I'm still a junior now, but I was wondering if I'm on the right track to Williams/Amherst, two of my dream schools.</p>

<p>Asian American female, competitive California school ~450 in class; unranked
SAT: 2330 - 800/770/760 M/CR/W Essay 10
SAT II: 800 BioE, Chem, MathII; 770 Chinese</p>

<p>9th:
Biology; Health/World Geography; Algebra II; Spanish II; PE; Orchestra; English
(all As)</p>

<p>10th:
Orchestra; Spanish III; AP European History: 5; English; Honors Precalculus/Trig; AP Chemistry: 5
(all As)</p>

<p>11th:
AP Biology (projected 5); Spanish IV Honors; AP Calculus BC (projected 5); AP Physics Mechanics (projected 4 or 5); US History; Teacher Aide; AP English Literature (projected 4 or 5)
(currently all As)</p>

<p>12th (projected):
AP Computer Science; AP English Language; AP Macro/Microeconomics; Organic Chemistry; Algorithmic Geometry (programming based course); Government/PE; Multivariable Calculus at local college</p>

<p>Summer Activities: JHU CTY Fast Paced HS Chemistry
UC Davis's YSP (summer research/internship program in plant biology lab)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars/Clubs:
Piano 11 years
California Scholarship Federation 9-11: Vice President
Science Bowl 10-11: President
Mu Alpha Theta 9-11: Vice-President
USA Biology Olympiad Club 10-11: Vice-President
Chemistry Club 9-11: Vice-President
Robotics 11
Science Alliance (elementary kids mentorship) 10-11
Speech and Debate 9-11: Varsity Lincoln-Douglas
Badminton 9-11: Varsity for 9-10
Organize/coach MathCounts at local middle school 10-11
Lawrence Hall of Science UC Berkeley volunteer ~50 hours</p>

<p>Interest/potential majors:
Chemistry mainly, or maybe physics with a minor in math?</p>

<p>Awards: USA Bio Olympiad semifinalist; Chemistry Olympiad finalist; AIME qualifier; MathCounts state participant</p>

<p>Most of my friends are pretty surprised when I say I want to go to an LAC, as my stuff is pretty science/math/engineering based. And, I'm Chinese-American - do you think that would hurt me?
Of course, I'm not applying yet, but I imagine my teacher recs to be relatively good, and my essays to be decent (probably not outstanding).</p>

<p>Can anyone give pointers into getting into Williams/Amherst? Much appreciated !</p>

2

<p>Wow, I think they will go for you.
You need a consistent theme in the ECs that reflect your eventual goals and your contribution to the Williams community. Community service is important, so that math counts and mentoring stuff is an essential part of your application. You have the rest of the package nailed.
Write great essays, have your recs comment on how much you do for others with your gifts, and you’re good to go.
Williams looks at Asian-americans as part of their overall diversity-that can go for or against you, depending how many other Asians apply. Female in sciences is your strongest point.
Good luck and nice job!</p>

3

<p>I marvel at these chance threads sometimes. Let’s see…2330 SAT I, twin 800’s on SAT II’s, straight A’s, solid ECs…and am I correct in concluding that you’re only a junior? And you’re asking people to chance you?? From what I can tell, you’re on track to have an excellent shot at getting into any school in the land. Surely you must know that.</p>

4

<p>I have a random general comment that doesn’t actually directly apply to this particular thread. I sometimes see in chance threads where students post phenomenal numbers comments about how top schools get plenty of applicants with stats like these, etc.</p>

<p>This always bugs me. There simply AREN’T plenty of applicants with stats like these. A 2330 puts the OP in the top 0.2% or so of SAT takers. With ~1.5 million students taking the SAT, that puts her in the top 3000 or so, nationwide. That’s about 1500 fewer than the number of students admitted to Harvard and Princeton last year and puts the OP in the top 25% of scorers at both Williams and Amherst. Now, obviously scores aren’t everything, but they sure do help, particularly if there aren’t any other glaringly weak areas.</p>

<p>So, OP, assuming you’re a real person, I suggest you skip the chance threads. You’ve got the kind of resume where the only reason CC posters can’t guarantee you admission to the school of your choice is that there are no guarantees at the most selective schools in the country. Beyond that, no one here is liable to have any clue.</p>

5

<p>Wow, I didn’t expect this from CC :O. But thanks, guys! Luck… I’ll probably need some of that. I guess part of the reason why I posted this up is because my ‘resume’ seriously pales in comparison to those of other students in my school. -goes to a stereotypically cutthroat competitive school-</p>

6

<p>Don’t lose perspective and keep up the good work. I’d be shocked if you don’t get into most places you apply.</p>

7

<p>You have a great shot. If Williams, I recommend mentioning that math is a possible major. You’ll wind up somewhere awesome unless you seriously stink up your essays :)</p>

8

<p>Hm… do you mind if I ask why mentioning math as a potential major would be beneficial? Thanks :).</p>

9

<p>These threads are incredibly stupid.
The vast majority of people posting here are high school/college students with little to no clue.</p>

<p>I will tell you though, that from my graduating class (around 600 people), amherst and williams typically have lower acceptance rates than any other school. Usually a max of 1 person got into each/year, where as schools like princeton and harvard accept 6+/year. </p>

<p>I have no idea if there’s any truth to this, but there were always rumors that the reason for this was that smaller colleges didn’t want more than a few people from each high school. As a result, no matter how great of an applicant you were, if you weren’t the top person applying from your high school, you wouldn’t get in.</p>

10

<p>for the record, I’m a Williams alum.</p>

<p>Kikuhana: I think interest in Math is a plus because Williams has one of the top undergrad math departments anywhere, it has far too few women, and it’s a source of distinction from Amherst (most of whose departments are at least the equal of their counterparts at Williams, I must honestly admit).</p>

11

<p>It is a good thing you are interested in liberal arts colleges: while being an asian female from California is a disadvantage anywhere, it is less so at, for example, Williams than some other elite schools (particularly Ivies). Williams is about 50:50 male / female, which is unusual for a top schools (most tilt more and more female), and is “only” (I put that in quotes because still far higher percentage than general population) around 12 percent asian-american, unlike the 20-25 you will see at some of its competitors. So your demographics, which honestly would hurt you at many schools, probably won’t really hurt or help at Williams, I see that as neutral.</p>

<p>Given your scores and your VERY difficult course load (a big point of emphasis at Williams) your odds are excellent, I mean it’s always less than 50-50 at these schools, but you stand a better chance than most applicants. If you applied ED, your odds would be especially good. </p>

<p>Williams has very strong math, physics, and chemistry departments, so if you emphasize your interest in scientific research and why that draws you to Williams in at least one of your two essays (look at the school’s website, a LOT of focus on scientific and math research opportunities), that will likely help. </p>

<p>Amherst, by the way, just announced that a 200 million dollar (!) science facility is forthcoming, which is fantastic news for Amherst’s long term science program (which currently lags behind Williams, both in terms of student interest and facilities), but may not be great in the short run since construction is projected to begin in 2013 and conclude in 2017, and I imagine will be pretty disruptive.</p>

12

<p>You have as good a shot at getting into these schools as just about anyone. Women interested in hard sciences is always a draw. To follow up on some of the other comments, one reason that acceptance rates are so low at top schools is that the same top applicants are getting admitted to multiple excellent schools-combine that with the explosion in applications from hopeful but less completive applications due to the common app. You clearly fit into the former group- I’d be shocked if you didn’t get in lots of places, assuming you write a good essay and your letters of rec are enthusiastic.</p>