Got same email today 
I’m an international student and I have been WL at 9(!!!) schools this year. Williams has always been my top choice and I have really tried a lot to get off the waitlist. Now I’m considering about apply to Williams as a transfer student. Anyway, good luck to all of us!
Best of luck to all applicants who were not admitted as well as to those who were.
@TangerineTigger - I recommend going to the college to which you were admitted planning to stay there. Give it a chance! You may be very happy there. If you are just hoping to transfer to Williams, you may rob yourself of a wondeful college experience, because you will not make deep connections with people at your college, because you will be thinking you will be leaving… and then you may not be accepted as a transfer, either. Remember that YOU, more than any college, will determine what you get out of your college experience. Make it a happy and rewarding one!
I’m sorry but that is B.S.
So many kids worked hard and followed their hearts in choosing ECs and community service activities only to get their hearts broken by a broken system. Brilliant and exceptional kids got tossed aside because they didn’t do the right community service or the right ECs and weren’t “hooked” by virtue of their atheltic ability, race or social status. And they weren’t tossed aside, in many cases, for kids who were otherwise their equals. They were often tossed aside for kids that weren’t as high achieving. The lesson here isn’t hard work or being genuine. The lesson here is be “hooked” or make sure your high school life is contrived with activities that admissions folks want to see. And if you don’t know what that means, you better hire a consultant or have a parent read every college admissions book and website to find out what they are looking for. Be a unicorn or be contrived. And, if you don’t, be happy about being told you aren’t good enough. Nice.
I disagree with the above post. I think the better way to approach the process is that one should not fall in love with any one or any group of hyper-competitive schools. A quick look at the admission rates to these schools indicates that there is simply not enough room for all of the well qualified candidates. Getting admitted or rejected from a top tier school is not and should not be seen as a refection of one’s worth as a person or of one’s accomplishments in HS. Rather each school is trying to put together a well-rounded class (that includes some well-rounded applicants, some applicants with certain talents/passions, some applicants that fill an institutional need of the college etc.).
The best way to combat the competitive admissions is for each person to apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that he/she would be excited to attend. It is easy to fall in love with the prestigious reach schools, but IMO finding those match and safety schools that are great fits is an under-rated but critical part of the process. There are many wonderful schools out there where a person can have a great 4 year experience and get where he/she wants to go in life.
I agree that a person’s worth should not depend on the decisions coming out of a broken system and I also agree that a person’s happiness and experience are their choice and not the choice of their circumstance. But let’s not hide behind low acceptance rates. And it isn’t about having a well rounded class either. There are plenty of spots but many are filled by hooked applicants. What is left over is indeed scarce but how they are filled is based on, often, contrived resumes. I stand by my statement, be hooked or be contrived. That’s where we are. Look around this site. You see it everywhere. Look at the threads on “consultants” and tell me parents aren’t manipulating their kids and the system. It has become a game. The people making the rules are at peace because their goals are virtuous. But the end result is that a LOT of great kids get their hearts broken and may become discouraged. And many of the “winners” end up in therapy. Unintended consequences at it’s best. Don’t tell the affected to be happy about it. It only makes them feel worse.
This year’s waitlist has been closed, as per post #37, and no one has commented since 5/20. Therefore, this discussion is being closed.