Hi! I’m a senior who applied to Williams and Amherst. I posted a chance thread here a month ago.
I am applying from South Carolina and was wondering if applying from here gives me a slight boost/advantage?
http://admission.williams.edu/files/student-profile.pdf
Based on the geographic distribution, SC seems to be quite underrepresented. Based on the information, I was wondering the following:
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If not that many SC students apply to these particular schools.
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If Williams and Amherst do not want many applicants from SC.
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And if it is an advantage or disadvantage to be applying from South Carolina?
Thank you for your answers!
Both schools obviously don’t discriminate based on state, that would be ridiculous. They both are looking for varied, multicultural, diverse student bodies, so restricting the number of students from an area or state just wouldn’t make much sense. With that being said, I also don’t think they shoot for any kind of quota per state or anything, as that would unnecessarily deprive supposedly better applicants. If you had the same application as someone from, say, Connecticut, I’d guess that they’d let you in over that person if you were both on the bubble, but I’m sure it won’t significantly affect anything one way or the other.
You probably have a slight advantage over someone with the same credentials who applies from an area with a glut of applicants. Similar is you are applying to a program that has fewer applicants in general compared to those applying to a program that most students are clamoring for.
When Amherst visited our school, the admissions officer said that they actively sought to admit a diverse class. She said, specifically, that this meant diverse in the homes of students, as well as their backgrounds, incomes and other “intangible” factors. The advice was that what was important was to “stand out” in some way. That can obviously include where you are from.
@sadovaya I see. I was wondering this since, looking at the student profiles of both Amherst and Williams, they only admitted 2 students and 5 students from South Carolina respectively. Plus, given the fact that I am a first-generation college kid and a foster kid, I was wondering what that meant for me as a hopeful applicant.
@ASJU9511 The fact that you are first-generation and a foster kid will make a substantial difference. I assume you have ensured that these factors are flagged in your application and/or essays. Most universities, and especially the most selective ones, are very keen to identify students that have done well despite facing significant obstacles. I personally think you would make a very compelling applicant.