<p>Hey..</p>
<p>''How to get into Williams?"</p>
<p>I know this is a simple question which is hard to answer!</p>
<p>Be awesome.</p>
<p>I'd tell you specifics, but then I'd have to kill you. Unless you happened to be really awesome...</p>
<p>Top 1-3%, 770& above sat1's and sat2's, good at sports or music, great recommendations, excellent essay...then you are almost in. I think Williams is not as crazy as Havard or Yale.</p>
<p>Do we have to be that perfect?..</p>
<p>D was accepted...she's not good at sports or music, and <em>only</em> had a 750 on SAT I CR.... However....there are lots of examples of people who have other interesting characteristics that get them in. But, yes, Williams admit is never a shoo-in, regardless of your stats.</p>
<p>My criteria are for "almost in," so they are almost perfect. In addition, 1-3% meant ranks of general public high school students.</p>
<p>Actually i'm an international student, will coming from a 'virtually' unrepresented country help? I have no music or sports..</p>
<p>jhl -- People will tell you their opinions, but no one really has any idea. The only people that know work in admissions, and they won't tell you.</p>
<p>Well.. I know.. but won’t there be any ‘traits’ among those who got in? Do the admin officers like a particular kind of applicants?</p>
<p>Anyone who had talked to those admin offs before? Or who were admin offs before..haha</p>
<p>You don't need to be perfect with 800's on SAT's, straight A's, valedictorian, etc. Scores above 31 ACT and 700 on SAT sections/SATII are sufficient. You do need to show intellectual curiosity - and know the difference between that and being merely intelligent. You need to show that you've taken some initiative in your learning. If you don't have to work during the summer to save for college, are you using your time to take additional courses? What are you giving back to your community? Are your EC's any good? National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta don't count for much as everyone who applies to a college of this caliber has one or usually both. If you serve as a club officer, have you been proactive and creative, taking your organization to higher levels, or have you merely been a placeholder for the next kid to take the title?</p>
<p>If you'd prefer this all straight from an adcom member at a highly competitive school, look at the Johns Hopkins site: <a href="http://hopkins.typepad.com/hopkins_insider/2007/03/introducing_an__1.html%5B/url%5D">http://hopkins.typepad.com/hopkins_insider/2007/03/introducing_an__1.html</a></p>
<p>As for admissions advantages at Williams - sorry, even the legacies don't get much of a break. And, if the rants from fellow alumni are to be believed, legacies are held to an even higher standard. I doubt that applying from an unrepresented country would give you an edge, unless your background is truly unusual (i.e., crown prince or raised in a yurt).</p>
<p>Do your best in school! I know it sounds so cliche, but seriously, they know it. I don't have top SAT scores, and don't even have a lot of extracurricular activities. But I've done my very best in my 3 years since I came to US. They probably saw it in my app. and decided to accept me. So work hard and do what you want to do for extracurricular!</p>
<p>My friend just got in today and her SATs were not spectacular at all, in fact, some high 500's and low 600's. </p>
<p>Just do really well in school, some EC's of course and shine in your essay. Portray your character well and I believe that's the key to any college, really.</p>
<p>Samgee - congrats! Cayumie, congrats to your friend! I should have been clearer in my previous recommendations; those were for the typical applicant. </p>
<p>I've been an alumni admissions rep for over a decade. My experience is that different groups are measured by different standards. An applicant such as a recent immigrant who has shown promise or a student from a socio/economically disadvantaged background is viewed differently than a typical middle/upper-middle class applicant with two college grad parents. It only makes sense that the former group is evaluated more on potential than their existing situation. Most of these students have struggled to learn English, attend under-funded schools or both. This group tends not to have the luxury of not working after school and/or have other family or environmental contraints on their ec involvment (i.e., no transportation).</p>
<p>The applicants from comfortable, educated backgrounds SHOULD score well and be well-rounded because they have had a myriad of opportunities available to them. They are compared against their peer group, so for this group, scores, GPA and ec's do matter more than potential.</p>
<p>How about someone from a public school in a tiny corner of the world who has never sent a student to a top US institution? What's look upon him? How do you know if he has taken all his chances...</p>
<p>Hey, jhl, where are you from? I am in the same situation... I am from Ukraine and really few people got to top schools from here. None from my school for sure though it is in top 10 schools in Kyiv (the capital city). I have almost no EC's or no sports... No students in my country do EC's or sports (well, of course there are few, but they are like 0,1% and schools don't provide for that) Well, I was an exchange student in California for one year and I managed to graduate there and pass a load of AP exams, get extremely awesome recomendations from 4 teachers from my school in CA and one from my school in Ukraine, but so far I was only waitlisted Cornell (HYP rejected) and still wait for Williams, Pomona and Bates decision.</p>
<p>I know an Uzbekistani from Russia got to Harvard (check Harvard RD decisions thread), so we do have some chances...</p>
<p>I'm from Brunei.. many times less well known than Ukraine!!..</p>
<p>Are you applying for aid?</p>
<p>At least you've got tonnes of AP.. All I have is 4 A levels.. my ECs.. dunno.. btw I'm still a high school senior (till Dec 2007 according to our system here..) so I'll apply in Nov this year..</p>
<p>Yes, I do apply for financial aid, and I need tons of it. My family's income is about 7k per year :( kinda ok for Ukraine.</p>
<p>I would advice you to try to get into ANY EC or sport, and later attempt to show passion about it in your application. Nearly everybody who posted their profile for top colleges had loads of EC's. Absence of my EC's and sports may be the cause of me being rejected by HYP (one can never know, butthat is what I assume). Or try community service. That is what I would do in your place. Oh, and start working on SATs and tests and stuff NOW - I had an opportunity to take SAT only in October, Nov, Dec and January. I took SAT I twice and SAT II twice also - I feel I took them couple more times I would get better scores. That's it so far.</p>
<p>Yea.. I'm doing a bit of these things you mentioned.. but I wouldn't say I'm outstanding.. I need plenty of aid too..</p>
<p>Where else did you apply?</p>
<p>jhl, I applied to HYP (rejected), Cornell (waitlisted), Pomona, Williams and Bates (these four - pending, and I am officially going insane, 'cuz it seems I am the very last person to hear the decisions - looks like everybody already knows theirs). Initially I intended to apply to more schools, but the un-availability of finaid to internationals shortened my list greatly. Well, of course, there are few more schools with need-blind admission and 100% need-based aid even for intl., But I found out about them after the deadline. 100% need is usually met by top schools, that are hard to get in, but there are many not-so-good school that are ready to cover your full tutition with a merit-based scholarship when you have your SAT over 1050 (check Adelphi college - they sent me an invitational letter asking to apply to their college, but I didn't. College and its name DOES REALLY matter to me.)</p>
<p>What? Adelphi would pay everything for you with a good SAT? Do you mean full tuition or including the living expenses as well?</p>
<p>Thanks...</p>