hi guys! i’m a prospective international student from a underrepresented nation who’ll be needing A LOT of aid. My parents can only afford 7-8k annually. Amherst is need blind to internationals whereas Williams isn’t. The international student population receiving aid at Amherst is also significantly higher than Williams’. However, both of these colleges are ranked amongst the top institutions that provide extremely generous aid to internationals (~58k average). Where should I apply? Provided that I have decent standardised test scores and grades, meaningful ECs and leaderships, and excellent recommendations.
Why not just apply to both? Williams, if they admit you, will give you full aid, although it may be slightly more difficult to get accepted as an international seeking full aid. Still, both schools are random enough in who they decide to admit or deny that there is no way to predict, so best to try applying to both and see what happens.
Oh I’m sorry! I forgot to mention that the dilemma was on which one to apply early. Early decision is the best gamble for int students because of its higher acceptance, that’s what people say here. so which one should I apply to early?
Apply to both: in a similiar situation, D got rejected by Amherst and accepted by Williams
hey! please read #2. where should i apply to under ED?
Do NOT apply ED to either school if you’re not sure. Williams’ inflated ED acceptance rate is due to the high number of recruited athletes, all of whom apply early and always get accepted because they talked to the coaches beforehand. Considering about a third of each class is made up of varsity athletes, the acceptance numbers look significantly higher than they actually are for the typical student. The ED acceptance rate is only slightly higher than the RD acceptance rate at most schools, and this is true at Williams and Amherst both. You absolutely should not apply ED to any school if you’re not 100% sure where you want to go. If you’re a good applicant, both schools will accept you regardless of when you apply or your financial situation; 60% of all international students at Williams are on financial aid.
The quality of education at Williams and Amherst is about equal as is their global name recognition (or lack there of). There are fine points of environment which may not matter too much in the scheme of things if you’ve never lived in or visited the US.
I wouldn’t put too much weight on Amherst’s need-blind status. From clues in your application – like your home country, your parents’ occupations, your essays, your high school profile – Amherst will be able to figure out your ability to pay fairly accurately even without seeing your financial aid application. And indirectly, your ability to pay will be a factor in admissions, even at so-called need-blind schools.
At the end of the day, at all US colleges/universities you’ll be competing with other international applicants. Under ED Amherst accepted 15 for the Class of 2019 and Williams 16. I couldn’t find Amherst’s RD figure for international admits, but last year it was 116, and this year Williams was 102. So the number accepted is similar; however we don’t know the number of internationals who applied.
My guess (and I stress this is only a guess) is that Amherst attracts a larger pool of international applicants than Williams because of the perceived advantage of Amherst’s need-blind status. Thus, you might have a slightly greater chance at Williams. (I’m a bit surprised that “the international student population receiving aid at Amherst is also significantly higher than Williams’” What’s Amherst’s percentage?)
The real question that you need to answer is “What is your demonstrated need?” In other words, will Williams and Amherst assess your estimated family contribution at the $7-8K that you can afford? International families may not be able to get an accurate indication of their EFCs from the colleges’ net price calculators . My advice would be to run the NPCs and see where you end up, then communicate with the financial aid departments to make sure your conclusion is correct.
If need-based aid works for your family, then either Williams or Amherst is a good option as are other schools that guarantee to meet demonstrated need.
However, if your estimated family contribution turns out to be considerably higher than $7/8K, then you’ll have to move on to colleges that offer merit aid, which in most cases means a different list from colleges that only offer need-based aid.