Interesting. Does that Harvard study test the schools that say that ED does give an advantage or the ones that don’t?
Momrath–Thanks for the suggestion about Williams. I agree that it offers lots of the things that I’m interested in, but I’m worried that it will feel small after 4 years because the town only has about 4K people and there are only 2k undergrads. Has your son or any other students he knows felt claustrophobic there?
Gardenstategal-- I forgot to mention that I have legacy at Williams. Do you think that that helps very much?
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=229 says that Williams does use “relation with alumnus” in frosh admissions.
[quote=HSsenior78Has your son or any other students he knows felt claustrophobic there?
[/quote]
No, my son, and as far as I’m aware his friends, really enjoyed their time at Williams. They’ve all gone on to get graduate degrees in their various areas of interest and have good careers, mostly based in big cities all over the country.
During their time at Williams, students manage to get to New York or Boston once or twice a semester, with a class field trip or for a social event. Many study abroad junior year or take advantage of Winter Study travel opportunities.
Small LACs, especially those in small towns, are not for everyone, but if you like what they have to offer, you won’t feel bored or confined. For my son Williams’ small, insular community and rural close-to-nature environment was a major positive.
Since you are a Williams legacy, you’re probably familiar with the culture. 
But if it doesn’t excite you, don’t apply ED.
@Postmodern I can tell you for a fact that those numbers are a lie. Or, less dramatically stated, misleading.
They may consider 71 of the ED accepted athletes as being “given preference” in admissions. But there’s a whole slew of other athletes admitted ED that have academic numbers high enough to not be considered to have received preference.
It’s a big number. They don’t make it public (IMO because people wouldn’t like it) but it’s way more than people think.
To wit, just the men’s football, hockey, track and cross-country teams are 220 or so members. There’s many other teams, plus all the women’s teams. There’s probably 700+ varsity athletes at Williams, most recruited and a lot ED. That means they need close to 200 new athletes each year.
Are all 200 ED? No. But way more than 71 are.
My guess is of the 244 total admitted ED, around 140 were athletes, and almost all of those were “pre-read” (I.e., pre-cleared) by admissions prior to submitting the application.
@hssenior78, YES! Legacy at Williams will help, especially ED. If you want to go there, ED is the best way to take advantage of your status.
@8bagels I am not saying I disagree – in fact I am inclined to believe you – but can you point to some evidence that this is true?
If 1/3 of the entering class of 550 are varsity athletes, (consistent with the gen pop) and ALL are recruited or tipped/preferenced in some way, that still would be only 165, right? Assuming every single athlete is ED.
This would mean there are still 80 non-athletes admitted ED, and then 100% of the RD class of about 300 are non-athletes.
Without knowing anything about your profile it’s difficult to guide you with ED suggestions
@HSsenior78 : The researchers independently analyzed data obtained regarding applications to 14 “selective schools.” Considering the schools’ self-evaluations of their admissions practices would have been counter-productive to the purpose of the study.
@ClarinetDad16 – I have slightly above average stats for all of these schools, lots of extracurriculars but not many leadership positions, and good teacher recs. What else would be helpful to know about my profile?
@momrath - Thanks for the info. I think that Williams sounds great for my interests.
OP, an admissions committee will review your application. What will make you stand out?