<p>I've got about a 3.9 gpa, and about a 2000 sat, and an average amount of extra-curriculars. I know that I'm normally not up to Williams' standards, but does my legacy status help any? Do I have any chance at all? If so, what can I do to help my chances? Thanks a bunch:)</p>
<p>Adcoms are usually willing to discuss this with leacies before they apply.</p>
<p>Contact Williams. Identify yourself as a legacy potential applicant. Arrange an on-campus meeting with an admissions officer as a legacy. The school does not want disgruntled alumni, so it offers this opportunity for college counseling for alumni children. The admission officer will suggest other places that might be a better fit for you if he or she doesn't think your chances are good at Williams. You should also discuss applying ED if you think you are interested in Williams -- it's the obvious way of showing how strong your interest is.</p>
<p>Lots of discussion on this topic at EphBlog.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ephblog.com/archives/002649.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.ephblog.com/archives/002649.html</a></p>
<p>Short answer is that being a legacy is worth about 50 SAT points.</p>
<p>Tough to tell about your case without more details. Aggregate SAT score is useless since writing score is largely ignored. What was your verbal? How competitive is your high school and where do you rank in it? Where did kids with similar ranks from last years's class go to college?</p>
<p>Writing is largely ignored? Ouch, I got 720 on the writing, 660 on reading, and a 620 on the math. My high school is not very competitive, I'm about the 30th in a class of 400. Last years students with similar ranks went to schools like Tufts, BC, Colby, Oberlin, and a few got into Harvard (I go to high school in Cambridge--Harvard loves the local kids and always accepts about 10 of us). If being a legacy is only worth about 50 sat points at Williams my chances don't look super. Shucks, why didn't my parents go to slightly worse schools?</p>
<p>1) Talk to the admissions people.
2) Re-take the SAT.
3) Do well on your SAT IIs.
4) Consider taking the ACT -- some people who don't do well on the SAT ace the ACT. There is at least one incoming frosh whose SAT scores were WAY below his ACT scores (there's a conversion table somewhere -- Google for it) and that seems to have served him well. If you don't do well on the ACT, no one important ever has to know.
5) It's a package. Athletics, service, arts, and other passions add to the mix. Rethink and retool those extracurriculars. For instance, if you write well, try to win an essay contest, get more involved in something like a literary magazine, get a part-time job at a newspaper, write a regular column, etc. Hit the jackpot on several of those endeavors and, looking back, they may combine very well with what you've done to date. A lot of students suddenly find themselves blossoming during their junior and senior years. I'm not suggesting stuffing your resume or doing things just to get into college; I am suggesting creatively seeking out and committedly pursuing opportunities in areas where you have an interest.
Good luck.</p>
<p>I spend a lot of time around Williams as a local and an interested applicant. Here's what I've heard from admission information sessions (i've attended three this summer...since they all provide somewhat different details) </p>
<p>It doesn't to help be a legacy anymore. Last year...they only took legacies that were going to be admitted anyway. Part of the problem is that they have significantly more legacies applying than ever before. So unless your parents will be donating a building...</p>