Hey, before you guys say anything I know that admissions to top unis like Williams are a crapshoot but just listen.
First, about me (stats)
I’m an International kid from South Asia applying with FA
SAT:1510
GPA:4.00 (converted from british o/a levels)
Essays: very good (9.5/10?), councellor said she loved it and showed to some other people did too but never know.
Wrote a really personalized supplement.
ECs: President of a few clubs, debating exp, 2 sports,lots of community service hrs, 2 really prestigious internships, honor roll, merit scholarship for 2 years of HS. (Just a summary)
Reccs: took both from teachers who personally know me a lot and i know both of them were glowing reccs.
I applied ED to williams, poured my heart out in the application and supplements and it’s just kinda hard being downright rejected. I know there may be a lot of red flags like me being an INTL AND asking for financial aid. But is it really that important for such a rich university to downright reject me based on that? Just lowkey sad lol.
Maybe suggest me some ED 2, good RD unis lol im lost here. Was obsessed with williams
@CollegePerson23 – Rejection sucks. Especially when you’ve worked incredibly hard for a decade+ and poured your heart and soul into your app. You have very strong stats. Maybe consider LACs that have slightly higher accept rates and less competition perhaps from INT students, such as Colgate, Wesleyan, Trinity, Hamilton, Haverford, Oberlin, Kenyon. Hang in there and good luck!
Top schools are very hard to get into, and an International asking for FA makes it even harder. Rejection is, unfortunately , more likely in these circumstances.
It’s just lowkey disappointing about how I got rejected over factors I don’t have any control over. I wish I could change this. But anyways, I do know there are maybe a lot of other universities I can get into and excell in (maybe)
Macalester values its international students and is relatively generous with aid for international applicants. There are even some merit scholarships specifically for international applicants.
Be consoled that the competition is equally qualified and that any school like Williams is a reach for all.
Please don’t take it personally OP. Every year super well qualified students are rejected. My dd’s valedictorian with perfect standardized test scores and GPA, internships, awards, vol hours, etc… was rejected from two of his top choices as well, and still not as competitive as Williams… Do your best to move on and focus on the rest of your list. Some of the above posters have made some good recommendations for other schools to consider.
If you would like a fully candid reply, I think your stated obsession with Williams – though perhaps both hyperbolic and ephemeral – might signal somewhat of a lesser interest in the substance of academic exploration. However, I doubt Williams really would have held this against you, nor even arrived at a similar assessment.
Things could be going fantastically for you in the near future. Consider Vassar, Hamilton, Colby, Middlebury, Colgate. Denison could serve as a safer admit.
Definitely do not take this personally. Acceptance at top ranked universities in the US is very hard to predict. International students who need financial aid are in most cases at a huge disadvantage, and even academically perfect students from the US who do not need any financial aid are unable to predict their chances of getting into any one highly ranked university. Being from Asia is a huge disadvantage.
What is your budget? What are you looking for in a college?
@merc81 I understand what you’re saying, but I applied to Williams as economics major because of my interest in the amazing economics dept at williams. Prestige was a minor (albeit important) aspect of my reason for applying to williams. This, combined with a seemingly comfortable environment in a small rural setting with a personalized compact class were ne of my major reasons for applying there
@DadTwoGirls I need a lot of FA. My EFC is less than 10K annually.
The primary things I look for in a school, first its economics dept (my intended major), I really want a place where my research in the study of economics would be furthered and there’d be great professors overlooking it.
Furthermore and more importantly, I’d be comfortable with a small class size (maybe around 500-600 give or take)
Location and weather aren’t really dealbreakers for me.
Tldr: the ideal school for me would be one with a prospering economics dept and where my financial need is met.
You are learning the hard lesson about top schools. No matter how much you love them, odds are low that they will love you back. Move on, hopefully you have other schools on your list. If you “went wrong”, it was getting too attached to one school.
What were the internships?
In holistic, it matters how you present yourself. For the next apps, try to learn what matters to them, from what they say and show. And be sure your essay and any short answers are relevant.
You have no control over geo diversity or other institutional needs. I agree to look at some colleges less competitive, overall.
Skidmore is also on a list of colleges that tend to be generous with financial aid for international students. It jas a lot in common with Williams in terms of small college aspects and atmosphere. And its admissions are a bit easier than those of Williams. It is even easier to get there from an airport than it is to get to Williams.
Don’t be hard on yourself. It is a difficult process in which many qualified candidates are not admitted. It is a matter of admissions creating a balanced class and filling institutional needs… and, on top of that, international admissions are not need blind there.
I appreciate the responses. I’ll look into skidmore @TheGreyKing
I’d like to iterate that I’m dealing fine with rejection and it’s not the end of the world. I always knew Williams was a high reach and there are tons of other great colleges.
This post was mainly to ask for advice regarding any application flaws/colleges recommendations. Although I was obsessed with the idea of going to Williams through the process of applying early decision (and i think its bound to happen when you research so much about a school and write supplements about it and choose it to go as a binding option), I have found it easy to move on and look forward to the ED2 and RD round. Thank you all for the responses, any help would be appreciated.
They have a TON of money, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Certainly not easy to gain admittance to, but probably a tick easier than Williams. I’d also second Macalaster. Others to consider include Hamilton, Vassar, Middlebury, Bates …
Williams is not need blind for international. find schools that are need blind where you are at or above 75% tile SAT score. https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
