<p>rskibum,
If she hasn't already, your DD should get in touch with the softball coach to explore that avenue at Williams. Interestingly for your DD, she is also the Asst. Volleyball coach. Both of those teams did very well this past year, going very far in the NCAA DIII tournaments. If your DD is good at one or both, it certainly won't hurt her chances. Good luck.</p>
<p>interesteddad: How important is swimming at Williams? Just wondering how many slots might be available for the swim team. What scores would be necessary to be recruited......on the ACT and SAT for a swimmer who is faster than any of the current swimmers in two strokes....</p>
<p>I don't know how many slots are available for the swimming teams after the football and hockey teams get theirs. That's something you would have to find out from the coaches.</p>
<p>However, being faster than anyone on their current team in two different strokes would certainly make you an attractive recruit for Williams.</p>
<p>They allocate a total of 66 slots for recruited athletes with "below-average" stats. The stats are some combination of SATs and class rank/GPA so it's hard to give a precise number. But, just as a rule of thumb, these 66 "below-average" slots would be distributed according to some formula from 1200 SATs (old style) to perhaps 1400 SATs. The lowest-stat slots are generally reserved for football or ice hockey, since many of the other sports (such as swimming, track, tennis) attract strong athletes with higher academic qualifications. But, exceptions could be made for a true impact player capable of single-handedly winning a national championship. As long as this mix of 66 meets the agreed up distribution parameters, the athletic director has pretty much sole discretion in selecting the 66 for admission. This is a separate admissions track run by athletic department (although, of course, the admissions office is going to verify transcripts, test scores, and stuff in the normal way).</p>
<p>There are an additional 30-something slots for recruited athletes with "average stats" -- students who would be in the mix for admission on academic qualifications, but who get an added boost from being a recruited athlete. I'm guessing these slots cover the range from roughly 1400 to 1500 SATs. For these students, the official "tip" from the athletic department pushes them to the head of the line in the group of "average-stat" applicants under consideration in the admissions office. In most cases, I doubt that the athletic department would use one of these tips unless the student were committed to attending Williams, a committment usually expressed by an ED application.</p>
<p>Recruited athletes with above average academic stats don't receive a boost from the athletic department in most cases, other than being listed as someone the athletic department would like to have on a team. The logic is, why use one of the fixed number of slots on a student who will likely get accepted anyway? This group of recruited athletes ranges in size from 30 to 70 students, depending on the year and how many send their deposits to Williams instead of the other schools where they have been accepted.</p>
<p>I believe this summer's enrolled freshman class has 130-something students tagged as recruited-quality varsity athletes.</p>
<p>There are no applicants over which the athletic department has sole say over. The athletic department is able to push quite hard (tip) a small group of students (66), but the Admissions department has the first and last say on whether they get in. This number is one agreed upon by all NESCAC schools, although Williams actually voluntarily follows stricter restrictions. </p>
<p>If you're an athlete, but not a "tip," do not despair; like interesteddad says, there are a fair number of borderline athlete applicants who are bumped up and granted a spot at Williams because of their athletic talent. This type of admit differs little from the academically borderline talented musician, artist, or dancer who receives an offer of admission because of their exceptional talent.</p>
<p>Birdie - If you are very interested in attending Williams and are a great swimmer definitely contact the coach (Steve Kuster) ASAP. My son was an excellent swimmer (particularly in the off strokes, distance, and IM) and fell in love with Williams early on. He emailed (and then called) the coach the summer after his junior year and set up an appointment to visit with him, tour, and talk with a professor in his field of interest (Art). It was clear after that visit (two hours alone just talking with the swim coach!) that Williams was going to be his first choice. He made that very clear to the coach and the admissions office when he applied ED. His stats were a tad below the average at Williams but still very competitive. He was admitted ED, attended, was the swim team captain, and coached there a year after he graduated. The swim coach definitely has 'tip' ability with a few swimmers (maybe a half dozen??). Contacting the coach, expressing interest, visiting, being competitive both academically and in the pool, committing to Williams via an ED application go a very long way in the admission process there. Good luck!</p>
<p>sopranosmom, I love these stories of multi-faceted Williams kids! What has your son ended up doing in real life? Sports or art? Or something else all together?</p>
<p>Momrath -- my son is working in Boston for an architectural firm -- planning on applying to graduate school for architecture either this year or next. He still swims but has now combined it with biking and running and is hooked on triathlons. His girlfriend is a senior at Williams so he spends lots of time there, too!</p>
<p>sopranosmom, just the thought of a triathalon makes me want to sit down and read a book.:) Where do they get the energy?</p>
<p>I'm going to look forward to hearing about your son's pursuit of an architecture degree. My son is now just finishing up a month at Columbia in one of those introduction to architecture programs and he's smitten! He still has two years of Williams but will have to start learning about what comes next if he wants to eventually become an architect.</p>
<p>Williams is climbing up high on S's list, even though he won't get to visit until late September. He is being contacted every week by the coach, who is regarded as one of the top DIII coaches in the country in his sport. I really think Williams is the right fit for S, but I hope it won't feel too small and remote. He has been at boarding school, and wants an environment that feels different from that. I am impressed by the communications from Williams- both the written materials and calls.</p>
<p>Late September will show Williams at its best. Everyone will be back to their routines, the First-years will have acclimated, the air will be turning pleasantly cool, and the foliage will be turning. I think he'll be blown away by the students he meets (in the good sense)--which is what keeps such a small, isolated place from feeling too small and isolated.</p>
<p>MomofWC, Small and remote is what makes Williams Williams. Its not for everyone, but most of the kids (in fact ALL of my sons friends) consider Williams insularity to be its major draw. There are lots of breaks in the campus calendar holidays plus occasional weekends in Boston or New York so uninterrupted stretches of time in the Berkshires only really amount to a few weeks, but every time my son seeks out civilization hes always happy to get back to the purple bubble. It is the real world? Emphatically no! Thats the point. :)</p>
<p>MOWC, if your son liked Colgate, he'll find Williamstown almost cosmopolitan! I find the Berkshires far less isolated than upstate NY. I agree with driver that late September will show Williams at its best. And late September is still plenty of time to decide whether or not an ED application is appropriate. Lots of recruited athletes go the ED route at Williams.</p>
<p>MomofWC: Yay for your son for hearing from the Williams coach on a weekly basis! My D has had a few emails and a phone call, so she is not being as vigorously recruited as some, I guess. After a quick drive through Williamstown yesterday she has ALMOST decided that Williams is her #1 choice. We also toured Haverford and visited with the coach there a couple of weeks ago. D was very taken with both the academic and athletic programs, so that's still up there too.</p>
<p>Well- every coach is different. We'll see how it all pans out.
I am excited to visit in September. Yes, good memory JPar, he did like Colgate. However, he also liked Penn! I think Williams will be right up there and may well be the ED school. He starts sports camp tomorrow at the Ivy I don't trust with admissions, so we'll see how that goes. That coach has been calling, too.</p>
<p>Whoa, I have a son who is interested in Williams who loves Penn and has looked at Colgate. Small world? He is a two time all-American in his non revenue sport and has a 34 ACT. 760/740/650 SAT. Top 12% of his class-which we know isn't perfect. He is being actively recruited by most of the Ivy schools. We don't know which of the Ivy coaches to trust. He is a legacy at one. He has accepted three "official visits" but I would like him to narrow it to two. Which of the ivies is not trustworthy in promising a "leg up" in admissions for an athlete?</p>