<p>hey congratulations tophe! since you've already posted pledging to turn down HYP, i guess that means we'll definitely be seeing you on campus this fall?</p>
<p>effulgent: WOW, you guys are really lucky! most of my friends didn't even apply RD to williams, because they assumed the chances of w. admitting more than 2 bangladeshi students into the same class were slim...i guess it works differently for U.S. students? anyways, congratulations to you both!!</p>
<p>I just got the early write packet yesterday. Did anyone else get a personalized letter of acceptence? That seemed really cool to me. Congratulations to everyone else who got in, and good luck to everyone still waiting to hear from Williams.</p>
<p>wow, Williams must really be stressing about yield this year to send so many early writes...</p>
<p>Decisions are being sent out as they are made, rather than all at once. More than half of the students admitted regular decisions will have heard before the actual RD notification date.</p>
<p>Congrats metsfan - you've gotten some great acceptances so far!</p>
<p>"Decisions are being sent out as they are made, rather than all at once. More than half of the students admitted regular decisions will have heard before the actual RD notification date."</p>
<p>this is an unusual practice for a college that does not have rolling admissions. the official notification date for most elite colleges is in April. This tactic is simply a way to increase yield. Research has shown that personalized notes and an indication that you were a "top applicant" gives most students the warm and fuzzies, and increases their interest and propensity to matriculate at a given school. Most NESCAC schools have been sending out early notifications to top students and URMs for years, but I've never seen it on this scale.</p>
<p>Def. a neg impact for those of us who haven't heard--agree?</p>
<p>The perennial problem, and it's no fault of their's, is that AWS financial package cannot compete with HYP's. Where money is a serious issue people accept HYP's offer over AWS'.</p>
<p>In what way do AW financial aid packages not compete with HYP? That's not my understanding. Those accepting HYP over AW are doing this for reasons other than financial aid. [No slam on Swarthmore - I'm just not familiar with Swarthmore's practices].</p>
<p>I have in my hands actual awards for candidates where, with the identical set of financial facts, HYP beat AWS by a country mile. Of course, people choose HYP over AWS for other reasons.</p>
<p>That's news to me.</p>
<p>Of course, it's a tactic to increase yield!!!! For the most part the admissions staff knows exactly who they are going to admit on the first read, so why wait until April 1???</p>
<p>Do international applicants receive early writes by regular mail or e-mail? Probably the latter, I suppose? Because I would really like one right about now, please! :)</p>
<p>That's news to most people . . . if true.</p>
<p>Williams has one of the highest endowments per student and provides significant Financial Aid. As a parent I put the same numbers into the calculators at Dartmouth, Williams and Princeton. Williams and Princeton were similar with a slightly better package coming from Princeton. Both were much better than Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I suspect it really depends upon some of what they look for when they say that they provide for 100% of financial need. Each school defines that number differently.</p>
<p>I dont know about other LACs, but Williams' finaid (at least for internationals) is as good and in some cases, better (no loan below a particular income, although Pton has a complete no loan package but i am not sure if HY got that) than HYP's. Also Williams gives return tickets each summer to home countries for internationals. </p>
<p>But of course, people choose W over HYP for other reasons.</p>
<p>That's absurd... Financial aid at Williams is one of the best in the USA. Also, at Williams, you don't need extra money, since there are no hidden costs. Since January, I managed to live with only a single twenty dollar bill. My textbooks were all borrowed from 1914 library or covered with voucher. Williams gave me a check every month to buy necesities, and paid for my air tickets for break periods.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure Williams isn't sending out more early writes this year than they usually do--it just seems like more than usual on this board are among those lucky enough to receive one.</p>
<p>Financial aid at Williams is among the most generous in the country. It's easy to find anecdotal examples of HYP packages better than Williams' packages (or A or S), but these don't reflect a trend of any sort; Williams is no less generous than HYP with aid. I'd be surprised if many students choose HYP over Williams for reasons other than reputation.</p>
<p>Not exactly true Haon. The division between regular RD admits and early writes is becoming blurred. Admissions officers are meeting once a week, making decisions, and subsequently sending the decisions to admitted students.</p>
<p>I believe that our family friend was notified in late February. This kid, however, is TRULY exceptional for a variety of reasons.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I have in my hands actual awards for candidates where, with the identical set of financial facts, HYP beat AWS by a country mile. Of course, people choose HYP over AWS for other reasons.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That was certainly not the case for us concerning awards.
Even though my son is attending Princeton the offers from Amherst and Williams were about identical to Princeton. Amherst was actually the most generous by a little over a grand. There were no loans in any of the packages
and we weren't penalized for home equity by the three.</p>
<p>BTW...Columbia's award was 1/3 less!</p>
<p>W00T I got one yesterday (in Texas). I know this is late and not too exciting for other people lol, but I'm sure excited.</p>
<p>I was pretty worried because Williams never sent me an (unsolicited) application (or even after I requested one lol), contacted me for an interview, emailed me that my application was complete, etc etc. So this is pretty much the first I've heard from them!</p>