<p>I just got a phonecall from a Williams admission counselor welcoming me to the class of 2009 :)</p>
<p>Congratulations!!</p>
<p>That's so cool you live in Wyoming! You'll certainly add diversity to the class.</p>
<p>This is a new twist on the "early write" yield-boosting device.</p>
<p>Do you sense they were, in some way, trying to gauge your reaction or to push for some kind of informal commitment? Was there any hint of advantages (housing preferences, financial aid, etc) that might be available in exchange for a deposit check?</p>
<p>With Williams's admissions policy, there is no advantage in exchange for an early deposit check. For example, I have a friend who was waitlisted last year, got an enormous single in East College, and ample financial aid to boot. Very simply Williams is a college of their word. It does not matter when you're admitted, you'll be on an equal footing with all the others in the class. I find it quite interesting that you would insinuate that this kind of activity occurs.</p>
<p>I really didn't sense any of that at all. They just said congratulations, to expect a letter, and that they were offering to fly me down for their admitted students weekend and that was about it. </p>
<p>Mainly just lots of congratulations.</p>
<p>I am "insinuating" nothing. I am merely intrigued by the expanding use of "likely letters" - now escallated to "early write" letters with follow-up telephone calls - in order to get a recruiting "edge" on the competition.</p>
<p>The next step, I predict, will be a return to an earlier device utilized by some of the "Little Ivies" in years past: namely, the "exploding admission letter" - which grants admission subject to a binding commitment to enroll within a short window - say 10 days.</p>
<p>The goal of the "exploding admissions letter" - like ED admissions - is to lock up the applicant before he or she finds out about possible admission to other schools.</p>
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<p>And so Lindsay: they offered to fly you from Wyoming for visiting day? Did they ask if you were willing to accept this offer? And what did you say?</p>
<p>Ooh, that is tricky. Those crazy Little Ivy people!</p>
<p>They just told me to be excited, told me a little bit about it, and told me not to worry about retaining any of the information because it would be in the letter I was going to be receiving soon anyway. Mainly, it was just a call to say congratulations. I just said thank you a lot. </p>
<p>I didn't tell them I'd already be in the area so they wouldn't need to pay to fly me down, although that is the case. If it turns out that me matriculating at Williams is an actual possibility in April, then I will go for visiting day. If not, I'll be visiting other schools.</p>
<p>Byerly--</p>
<p>Williams hasn't expanded the use of early write letters in the past several years. The goal of telephone calls (which I believe have happened in past years as well) isn't to get an "edge" on the "competition"--Williams wants to do everything possible to let prospective students make the best possible decision. Obviously, the more contact with current students prospectives have, the more they will understand about the school. </p>
<p>As I said in a previous post, all EW and other accepted students should come out for one of the Previews weekends. They're tons of fun, and are great opportunities to get a decent "feel" for Williams. I still keep in touch with a bunch of the students I met at Previews.</p>
<p>
[quote]
to let prospective students make the best possible decision.
[/quote]
That's just an euphenism for "convince them to pick Williams." After a school picks its class, it becomes almost a contest among the colleges to see who can achieve the highest yield.</p>
<p>Sorry, but I don't buy your altruistic argument that Williams is merely trying to help students "understand about the school" by going out of their way and making personal phone calls. They are trying to gain a competitive edge, plain and simple. Let's call a spade a spade, eh?</p>
<p>That said... I see nothing wrong with trying to gain an edge!</p>
<p>If schools keep trying to gain a competitive edge over the competition by admitting applicants earlier and earlier, offering free air flights to campus, etc., where does it all end?</p>
<p>Surely Williams and others (such as Dartmouth, with its 500 likely letters) cannot assume that the "competition" will sit idly by,for ever and ever, complying with the "official" April 1 notification date?</p>
<p>Of course not.</p>
<p>Other schools will respond in kind to the efforts of those seeking an "edge" and the April 1 date will cease to have any significance.</p>
<p>The end result may be rolling admissions, with schools seeking to "sign up" promising students earlier and earlier.</p>
<p>Just as the NHL "drafts" 14 year olds, will colleges start sending "early admit" letters to Jr. High students on the basis of their scores on PSAT test?</p>
<p>When schools start trying to play games of this sort, where does it stop?</p>
<p>Williams may start admitting students in early March, and offer free plane trips to campus, but what if Yale throws in a free weekend in NYC, or Stanford counters with 3 nights at the Top of the Mark with restaurant privileges?</p>
<p>An interesting point and a valid concern, Byerly. I retract my: "I see nothing wrong with trying to gain an edge!"</p>
<p>That said, I don't necessarily see this as a trend - as it has been pointed out, William's EW numbers haven't increased in recent years. Also, offering free air flights is hardly new (many schools already do this, including the ivies). So far, no schools that I know of have tried to win over cantidates with promises of random luxuries (like the examples you mentioned). I would venture ot say that that is the fuzzy line that has been drawn with respect to incentives.</p>
<p>raven001-- you assume that it is the admissions office or students affiliated with the admissions office who will be calling admitted students. This is not the case. The admissions office does the organizing (as they have all of the information about admitted students), but it is current students who call admitted students. These current students are not paid--they are just students who are volunteering several hours of their time to aid prospective students in the admissions process. The exact wording of the email soliciting student volunteers said: "Remember when you were a pre-frosh? Remember all of the questions Ephs answered for you about Williams? We need motivated students to return the favor." As I said previously, these phone calls are primarily for informational purposes. Sure, I would hope that the more prospective students find out about Williams the more they want to attend, but if these phone calls increase yield in any way it'll be more a function of Williams being a great school than Admissions pulling any tricks to bump yield (as you seem to imply they are doing).</p>
<p>Haon - It was an admissions officer who called me to welcome me to the class of 2009, not a student.</p>
<p>With rare exceptions, the free airline tix are offered only to URM acceptees.</p>
<p>Dear NYCFan,</p>
<p>Williams has been "early-writing" and having adcoms call early writes for as long as anyone can remember. Early-writes are unique because they are given to students who are not brought to committee. Their candidacy is deemed so exceptional that bringing them to committee would simply be a waste of time. However, beginning last year Williams started to notify the "non-early writes" in the middle of March. Letters are sent as decisions are made. This IS a new yield tactic.</p>
<p>P.S.</p>
<p>IDad is correct. The tix are given to URMs and students whose financial situations are so dire that they could not be expected to fund their own transportation to campus.</p>
<p>if i did not receive phone calls or mail from williams recently...is my chance low?? Are admission officers done telling ppl about acceptance for early write round now???</p>
<p>are the dates of visitation different for those who got the phone calls and early decision students??</p>