ED Chances?

<p>Can anyone give me my realistic chances?<br>
I'll be applying Early Decision next year to Williams.</p>

<p>I'm currently a junior at a competitive high school in bergen county, nj
I'm a white male</p>

<p>GPA-95.4 (no idea what that is in 4.0 scale)
Class Rank-unknown, school doesnt rank, but surely in top 10% of 231 class
SAT I- 2260 (780 m, 720 v, 760 w)
SAT II's-not yet taken, will take 3, certain I can get above 700 on each
8 AP tests, including 6 AP courses (doing micro and macro economics as an independent study)
-All other courses honors</p>

<p>EC's
-Varsity Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, and Football (average athelete but play 3 sports)
-Varsity Debate Team Captain
-8 years of piano including Carnegie Hall performance
-Peer Leadership
-French National Honor Society
-Business Club President</p>

<p>any and all responses will be greatly appreciated. thanks!</p>

<p>I think you have a great shot.</p>

<p>thanks, anyone else?</p>

<p>would my odds be significantly better if i went early decision rather then regular decision?</p>

<p>Are you the kid or the parent? I am confused.</p>

<p>the kid, sorry lol, didnt remember the autologin</p>

<p>Your odds would be much better if you went ED. Yes! Although nothing is for sure. We were all shocked at some of the folks who got deferred/rejected this year</p>

<p>damn ok, will the fact that i play 3 varsity sports help me in the admissions process. Also, my football coach is friends with the Williams offensive coordinator. Would asking him to help me out in the process be worthwhile?</p>

<p>YES, it will definately help. and YES it is worthwile
First, adcoms know that being a 3 sport athlete is difficult, this will show them that you can balance your time, are dedicated and bright.
Second, Williams LOVES student athletes.
Third, if you are good enough to play there that will be extra points on the app, and you may even be notified earlier.</p>

<p>Cough...</p>

<p>Your profile reminds me a lot of mine (go through my old posts if you want to see it) and I got deferred early from Williams this year. I think you have a great chance but be wary that Williams has certain needs to fill (athletic tips, legacy admits, Questbridge matches, underrepresented minorities, et al) and only ~200 spots to do so in the early round. From what I hear, they like to keep the early admit rate at equal to or less than 40% in order to maintain a selective atmosphere. The end result is that they have very few spots left over for the solid student like you or me in the early round. I was told after recieving notification of my deferral that I had more than two people involved in the admissions process, including someone on the committee, "pulling for me" but obviously that support was not enough.</p>

<p>You are a well qualified and well rounded candidate for Williams but please, please do not be shocked if you happen to get a deferral letter in the middle of December should you apply early. Williams is a fantastic school and my first choice (over several Ivies, some of which I could have gotten an extreme push from very influential people if I had applied early); however, I made my choice this past fall and can only hope for some good news from Williams next month.</p>

<p>damn ryeCT, your deferral kind of diminishes some of my hope, considering the fact that our stats are eerily comparable, our financial situation is the same, and both of us place a strong emphasis on athletics. Unfortunately, i dont have something such as deafness to separate myself from the pack. Do you think I should take the SAT again? (my first attempt from january) Also, how were your essays/recs?</p>

<p>So sorry, I did not mean to depress you. You are well qualified and a great candidate for Williams and remember there is still some flickering hope for me.</p>

<p>I really do not think there is any reason to retake the SATs because you broke 700 in each section and I think retaking SATs after getting such a high score shows some misguided obssession. On the other hand, we will never know if I would have gotten in if I had retaken the SAT and scored a few notches higher.</p>

<p>My essay was more than solid and my teachers actually asked ME if I wanted them to do my recs, so I assume they were stellar. You are not supposed to see your recs!</p>

<p>I have gotten early notice of my acceptance to some of the schools I have applied to in the regular decision round, though.</p>

<p>Both MrGules and RyeCT are exactly the sort of students who I, as an alum, think Williams should be enrolling: very talented in lots of different areas, and very well-rounded. I feel that lots of schools, in particular some of the name Ivies, have gone to the extreme that you have to be the "very best" at something: super athletic recruit, overcoming disadvantage, Westinghouse finalist, etc. Personally, I think what makes Williams special is that the kids there (including all of my friends) were so surprisingly well-rounded, the varsity athlete / art major / student leader type of kid; yes they weren't division I athletes are (generally) the top mathematician in the country, but almost everyone had a wide variety of talents and interests. Williams gets a ton of applicants like that, and while I think many still make it through, as RyeCT said they do look to fill certain desires, such as URM's, tipped athletes, etc., and particularly so in the ED round (for example, around 44 out of 66 tipped athletes get in early now, and most of the Questbridge kids are also part of the ED pool). After that, there are only so many places left (given the small class size) for the well-rounded multidiminsional star types, who apply to Williams in droves. </p>

<p>What I would suggest is put yourself forward as someone who is well-rounded and will contribute to campus in a variety of ways, but who has one particular area of excellence / intense interest that will stand out. Since it sounds like your athletic ability may not be enough to earn you a tip, music may be your best bet (assuming you are interested in performing / studying music at college -- if you're not, I wouldn't misrepresent yourself). But if you're good enough to play at Carnegie Hall, I imagine you are good enough to really appeal to the music / theater departments as someone who could make an impact on campus arts scene. Of course, if one of the coaches is very interested in you in one of your sports, that would also be a tremendous help. You still have nearly a year left to position yourself, through activities, recommendations, and essays, as someone who can really stand out from the ever growing crowd (around 6000 this year) of talented kids vying for around 1000 admissions offers. At the same time, don't lose the well-rounded skill and interest set that will serve you well not only in the admissions process, but once at college and later in life. You have as good a shot at Williams as almost anyone, and even if it doesn't work out, lots of only marginally less competitive places (in particular Carleton, Bowdoin, Haverford, and Middlebury) provide a nearly indistinguishable college experience. </p>

<p>As for RyeCT, good luck, you sound like a perfect fit for Williams and hopefully the admissions committee will recognize that!</p>

<p>ephman, thanks for your praises and clarification. i appreciate your insight.</p>

<p>any other insights/comments/suggestions?</p>

<p>anyone else?</p>