<p>I am an international student living in China. I was wondering if being an international student will put me at a disadvantage applying to Williams as less than 10% of Williams is international (i think)?</p>
<p>My main interests include: computer science, electrical engineering, and legal studies. Pretty typical for an asian student. Other interests of mine are: philosophy, art history, and theoretical/particle physics.</p>
<p>I will be EDing to Williams next year and would appreciate any and all advice!</p>
<p>The incoming first-year class at Williams is 8 percent international, which is substantially higher than most (but not all) liberal arts colleges. There are certainly plenty of slots for internationals – 46 non-U.S. citizens in the class of 2018. Williams is not need-blind for international students, so if you are applying for financial aid, you will need to be a particularly strong candidate, but applying ED can only help, and note that once admitted, the school will meet your full demonstrated need. </p>
<p>International students – particularly those who need a lot of financial aid – are at a disadvantage (compared to U.S. citizens) at all colleges. If you are a Chinese national, you actually may have an advantage at Williams. Williams doesn’t attract as many high achieving Asians as other selective colleges and universities that have bigger names or that are located in urban centers. </p>
<p>I don’t think I will need financial aid for college. I recently talked to a Williams alumni and he said that Williams has a strong math and physics program, is this true?</p>
<p>Would showing interest help my chances for admissions? I’m going to be in the Boston area this summer.</p>
<p>Also, I’m slightly worried about my SAT score, my reading score is not as high as it should be (CR: 730, M: 800, WR: 780) should I retake it?</p>
<p>Oh, how much does Williams care about extracurricular involvement and leadership?</p>
<p>Yes, Williams has very strong math and physics departments.</p>
<p>I believe that demonstrating interest by visiting would help, but that’s not Williams’ official position. </p>
<p>What’s important though is to visit and see if you like the place. Williams is located in a beautiful mountain valley, somewhat isolated from urban centers. To many this is a plus, but you need to see for yourself. Fit is a big factor in Williams admissions and it’s hard to imagine whether Williams would be a good fit for you without visiting.</p>
<p>Yes, Williams – and most selective colleges in the U.S. – care about ECs and overall profile… This doesn’t necessarily mean traditional ECs such as sports or student government, but more what you like to do when you’re not in school. You need to convey – indirectly through your essays, recommendations, resumes – what’s exciting for you, what interests you, what drives you and why.</p>
<p>To me, being an international applicant or living in a developing country can be an EC of sorts, but it’s up to you to communicate how your background and life experience could contribute to the campus community.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t retake the SAT, but others may feel differently. Use your energy to put together a knock out application.</p>
<p>First, I would definitely NOT retake the SAT. A 1530 is very strong, about 100 points above the Williams’ average, and the odds are you could only improve that a tiny bit, if at all, which is not enough to be determinative either way. Your testing already puts you on good footing. If you apply as an international, Earl Decision, without seeking financial aid, you certainly have a very good shot. I’d be more focused on writing a killer essay and also continuing to develop whatever non-academic attributes (whether that be community service, arts, athletics, political/issue engagement, deep intellectual engagement outside of your school curriculum, or other more atypical endeavors) that you will want to stress in your application and which will make you a well-rounded candidate. </p>
<p>Williams has an incredibly strong undergraduate Math and Physics program – the best overall of any small liberal arts school (with the possible exception of Harvey Mudd, which is of course totally science-focused). You can find lots of earlier threads about both here, but for starters, on the physics front, check out the list of Apker award winners, and for math, check all the departmental and individual honors (including multiple national professor of the year awards) that the math department has earned. </p>
<p>Being Chinese is certainly not helpful and of course it sucks to be an international student too. Most international students, by sheer numbers, are from China at every top liberal arts college. You should write very compelling essays: it will be extremely important for you to distinguish yourself amongst all those Chinese applicants. </p>
<p>Also I really don’t think financial need matters to Williams THAT much… I’m sure it’s just the few cases that warrant a closer inspection of finances and so usually if they want you, they want you and will admit and fund you. Williams admits about 96 internationals usually, I think? And about 40-50 of those enroll?</p>
<p>The Williams website indicates 7% of its students are international students. The latest available common data set (2012-2013) shows 31 non resident alien first year students in a class of 547 (5.6%). Other top LACs have higher percentages of international students including Amherst, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Pomona and Harvey Mudd.</p>
I was rejected from Williams. I will be attending Swarthmore next year, which is probably a better fit for me considering they have a fantastic engineering program!