<p>but what am I supposed to write in my "update", if nothing really has changed? Just restate how much I really want to be there?</p>
<p>Same here lol</p>
<p>To answer your questions, we have gone to the waiting list for a small group and, based on how many in that group decide to enroll and how many regular decision admits who we've given extensions also choose to enroll, we could make offers to another small group of students this week.</p>
<p>We don't know at this point how many students we will be able to admit off of our waiting list, however, I can tell you that over 500 students who were offered waitlist spots remain interested. We do not rank our waitlist, and we have made, and could still make, offers to both American and non-U.S. citizens. We hope to make all waitlist decisions by the end of May; however, in past years, the process has, on occasion, stretched into early June, at which point, we will notify all non-admitted candidates.</p>
<h2>We will notify students directly by email or phone if we are able to make them an offer. Our committee tries to look at as many files as possible in making decisions among a highly qualified group of candidates. If you haven't already, please send us any updates on your academic and extracurricular achievements since you applied in January.</h2>
<p>That is what I got as a response ("Hello\goodbye" stuff omitted). Well, I can't say that I found anything new in this letter. But 500 waitlist candidates sounds kinda depressing.</p>
<p>And who are this guys "regular decision admits who we've given extensions"? I don't really understand. Dudes that deffered enrollment?</p>
<p>Oh, and if "Our committee tries to look at as many files as possible in making decisions among a highly qualified group of candidates." how the hell were this week's group admitted? I guess Williams has not reviewed every single application from waitlist yet, but admitted these guys.</p>
<p>So, "early June, at which point, we will notify all non-admitted candidates.", I guess, it pretty much means that if you don't hear from Williams until end of May - then you are through with it.</p>
<p>The best advice I have for you is this: fall in love with the school that actually wanted you in the first place. You were not Williams' first choice, and they'll let you in only if others don't want them. If you keep chasing waitlists for the next month, you run the risk of becoming disenchanted/unsatisfied with the college at which (in all probability) you'll ultimately enroll. If you get the nod and still want Williams, then you can stress about the decision.</p>
<p>One actually starts to lose a little respect for a school that seems to respond with "we dove into our waitlist and pulled out some names at random" since there is no ranking. Maybe we are just as well off buying MegaMillion tickets.</p>
<p>Wiliams does not make random offers, does it? I doubt it, because why would we send upadates on our activities if they did not care about our applications and decided everything with a lottery?</p>
<p>Absence of ranking means that they just review all the apps once again... I guess.</p>
<p>Maybe so, but the Williams reply stated "Our committee tries to look at as many files as possible". I'm not sure what "tries" means, as well as "as possible". Since they insist it is unranked, that certainly means that with their time constraints there are certainly applications they do not even bother to look at. You would think they could have spent the last couple of months at least ranking the first 100 or so. To me, it makes a decision that to one degree or another has to be arbitrary, even more so for the poor folks on the waitlist.</p>
<p>Nukezm, did you get into Williams? Are you on waitlist?</p>
<p>Perhaps, you are right. I guess, they won't look at some applications at all, but there must be some reasoning according to which they would decide whether this application deserves their attention or not. I say, they would not look at applicatons without updated information. Or something else.</p>
<p>So, I guess, bombarding them with the updates (1 essay "Why Williams wants me" per day, no less!!!) will get me noticed and my application looked at.</p>
<p>At this point, most small schools that go to their wait lists are looking to fill gaps or voids in the freshmen class. For instance, they needed 2 violinists for the orchestra and accepted 4 of 8 who applied, placing the remainder on the wl. If 3 of the 4 who were accepted decline, then they still need another violinist. They will call the violinist with the best academic credentials. The same applies for lacrosse players, theater gurus, potential physics majors, South Dakotans, artists, etc.</p>
<p>When I got my waitlist call on Friday (and called back Saturday morning), the admissions director I spoke to said that they sat in committee on Friday reviewing applications for the top candidates they wanted to offer admission to. I don't think they just pull names off a list, and I don't think it's random--and even if the list isn't ranked, admissions committee members probably have some idea in their mind of who is at the top of the list and who may not be, so they may sift through it that way.</p>
<p>Hey, did all of you that emailed the admissions office get a reply?</p>
<p>It isn't "random" but is a matter of reassessing what they continue to need/want, prioritizing, and trying to pull up the applicant who best fulfills that prioritized need/want list. And I believe that they read and pay attention to the updates that wait-listed applicants are asked to send in.</p>
<p>Good luck. The waiting is really hard. The odds are really long. If you've done your update and have done everything that ou can to try to get accepted, it's time to turn your attention to loving the school where you've been accepted, to enjoying the end of your senior year, and to letting the Williams situation be what it will be for you. I hope that, whatever the decision is, you'll find a way to enjoy the coming weeks and the transition into being a high school graduate. And on to college!</p>
<p>Crap! They must be overloaded with prospective Economics majors... and I want to major in Economics...</p>
<p>sphairistic, could you tell me anything else what you pulled out of the admission officer regarding admissions?</p>
<p>Erm... honestly, I was too excited about getting in to be caring much about the process anymore, haha. I kinda got the feeling that they're only doing a little at a time, though, because when the guy originally called he left me his cell-phone number to call him on (which I thought was a little odd, but also made me realize what the call definitely had to be about and made me excited). Basically all he said was that they met in committee on Friday and were really excited about my application and pleased to offer me a place in the class if I was still interested, and judging by the other people getting off the waitlist more recently than last Friday, it seems to be an ongoing process. Everyone they call won't necessarily go (I'm not even 100% positive I'm going yet), and they'll loose people when the Ivy waitlists start taking people off, so the only thing you can do is be patient, and like Grace said, start loving the school you're going to and hope for the best. When I didn't get into any of my top schools in March (4 waitlists, 3 rejections on Ivy!Day), I was extremely upset. I didn't really want to go to Duke or Georgetown (top two of the ones I did get into), mainly since I didn't want to go that far away from home, and started panicking about waitlists, trying to figure out the probability of getting off, what I needed to do, etc etc. Then, after visiting both and falling in love with Duke, I'd almost forgotten about the waitlist situation, already buying Blue Devil merchandise and planning out my classes next year. Getting off Williams was a huge surprise--and definitely a good one--but I've also gotten attached enough to Duke to consider still going there next year, even if Williams had always been higher up on my list, and if I'd gotten in there originally I probably wouldn't've even give Duke as much of a chance as I ought to have.</p>
<p>has anyone gotten off of the waitlist this week?</p>
<p>does anyone know about williams' yield this year?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?section=news&view=article&id=8955%5B/url%5D">http://www.williamsrecord.com/wr/?section=news&view=article&id=8955</a>
About 44% currently but may be 46-47% at the end.</p>
<p>"With 33 international deposits at this time last year, and only 24 the year before, the admission office has faired well with students from other countries. The office will probably go to the waitlist for five or six more."</p>
<p>Heh, intl's do have a chance... but only 5-6 places... oh...</p>
<p>does anyone know if people will be taken off of the wl this Friday like last Friday?</p>
<p>my friend got in off the wl today (SO happy for her). im still on it haha</p>