<p>Not only does ED give a slight advantage, it saves a HUGE amount of stress and money. Moreso for an international student. I would consider applying ED to your top choice be it Williams, Amherst or some other place.</p>
<p>Is it a huge advantage to be the only one from a nation applying to a college like Williams (ED) and that nation has never been represented before?.. Do colleges really want to increase their no. of countries represented?..</p>
<p>Yup, it surely is. But, of course, you have to reasonably qualified. I'm sure you are, though. Anyway, there are Singaporeans at Williams, and maybe they're all American, but I'm not sure. And truth is, there are students originally from more countries than you see in the viewbook, but they are American citizens.
I think in my class, Williams has the first Albanian, and he applied ED.
No matter, ED steps up your chances if you're good.</p>
<p>So if you're from a country underrrepresented, so to speak, or not at all, or if you're from a country whose students have performed excellently at Williams over the years, and you apply ED, good chance.</p>
<p>Sorry, jhl, I thought miraclezh posted the last question, hence my using Singapore as an example.</p>
<p>Thanks Jrock..</p>
<p>'Reasonably qualified'? Do you consider 2200 SAT, predicted 4 grade 'A's for A Levels (only 3A 1 B for school exams tho) as reasonably qualified?</p>
<p>Reasonably qualified and i'll have good chances?..</p>
<p>If you're doing 4 A-levs, you're more than prepared. 2200 is great. I'm sure your SAT 2s and ECs are solid too. Spend time ample time on your app and essay, and apply ED. If you get in ED, !!!, if you don't, brush it off and move on.</p>
<p>I think it is a mistake to advise international applicants that the chances of admission are "good".</p>
<p>International admissions into elite US colleges is incredibly competitive and I have not run across any information that provides a good handle on what makes one candidate more attractive than another. </p>
<p>If the applicant is at a major feeder school, such as Raffles in Singapore, the guidance office at the high school would probably be in the best position to access odds because they've seen many acceptances over many years and can probably spot some trends.</p>
<p>I have at least average understanding of what colleges look for and I would NEVER offer an odds assessment for an international applicant.</p>
<p>I'm international.</p>
<p>Most South-Asian students here I've met took 4 A-levs. And I honestly think they give you a solid preparation for college work, and in fact, you'll probably be able to take higher level courses.</p>
<p>And, I admit, I can't tell you what your chances are. Nobody can. But nothing you read here should stop you from applying here, if you want to.</p>
<p>Do any one know how many mainland Chinese students or Singaporean students there are in Willilams? </p>
<p>Jhl, you are from...? What you said makes me think that you are a Singaporean, but Williams certainly is not lacking Singaporean I think.</p>
<p>I think the figures you need are available in the latest Viewbook. According to the 2005-2006 viewbook, there are 13 such students. But there are many Americans here who are Chinese, but not that many who are Singaporean.</p>
<p>Miraclezh- I'm not from Singapore but my mum is a singaporean.. what makes you think that i'm one?so I won be competing with you i think.. hehe</p>
<p>Jrock- thanks for your advice..at least it encourages me.. i'll have a go for sure.. why not??? hehe where are you from?.. is it possible to get a list of the countries represented at Williams?</p>
<p>(will taking the SAT1 3 times jeopardize my chances?- I haven't achieved the 2200 yet (it was just a prediction))</p>
<p>I'm from Nigeria. The list of countries represented can be found in the early pages of the Viewbook. I have the 05-06 viewbook, but that's stale information. Numbers fluctuate over the years...but China/the Indian subcontinent/Jamaica/Korea/Canada are always very well represented.</p>
<p>For instance, according to my viewbook, there's only one student from Bangladesh, but in my class, 3/4 were admitted from that country. Also, 1 from Uzbekistan and another from Afghanistan.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if 3 times could jeopardize your chances. But 3 should definitely be the limit. I took it twice: first time 1420 [old one] and the second 2180. I badly wanted to scale the 2200 mark, too, but...you have your subject tests to do well in.</p>
<p>Im Uzbek from Afghanistan, and was born here.
So I guess now there's two? lol</p>
<p>thanks jrock.. did you apply ed?.. what were your composite scores?..</p>
<p>hmm.. I've taken twice (second time just now).. fingers crossed.. but i don't think i did so well..</p>
<p>jrock.. do you mind sharing with us a bit of your profile so that i know what it takes for an international to get into Will.. you could pm me too..</p>
<p>Well, stats don't really help much. It was very helpful for me to stay off CC for the five, or so, months during my application process and the waiting period, otherwise, I don't think I'd have ever considered applying to Williams.</p>
<p>So briefly:
SAT Reasoning: 760 M/710 CR/710 W - higher scores from 2 attempts.
Subjects: 770 Phy/800 Math II/660 USH [no previous experience]/710 French {2nd Attempt}
710 Writing/740 Phy/730 Math II {1st attempt}
TOEFL: 283/300
I took the West African secondary school certificate exam in 9 subjects [6-yr system]: 4A1's, 2B1's, 2B2's, and an E8 in French, but obviously this wasn't a reflection of my actual performance. The exam is fraught with so many irregularities.
GPA: Straight A student throughout, though my marks fell in my senior year due to an ulcer [maybe] and other distractions [romantic and academic], but of course, I mentioned none of these on my applications. Constantly winning first prizes in many subjects, but only 3 out of the ten I took in my final year.</p>
<p>Unique childhood experiences about which I wrote the short essay on the app.</p>
<p>TWO gap years.
Summer after graduation - worked at a school of music for 2 weeks. Helped a friend on weekends with technical drawing homework. Started learning to play guitar. Doing nothing much else most of the time except working very HARD on portfolio and applications to arch schools. In April, started self-studying for A-level math and physics. I was also registered to take Further Math, but I didn't study for it.
Math - A, Physics - B, Further Maths - U.
Taught a guy guitar.
Initiated a book drive to provide books for an orphanage - wasn't really a big thing. But I wrote about that in my short answer - ties to my childhood experience.</p>
<p>I had got in to USC School of Arch, WashU, IIT Chicago and Northeastern.</p>
<p>Left for Zimbabwe, summer 2005. Continued french classes and started learning German [1yr]. Took piano lessons for the first time. [I'm self-taught]. Played bass guitar and piano at church. Offered an 8-month unpaid internship at the US Educational Advising Center - super stressful but amazing experience. Traveled a little on educational outreach, biked a lot - 6hr weekend tours on my first bike, and walked the streets, hearing people's stories. Really thankful for that one year in Zim.</p>
<p>Applied this time to Syracuse, Cornell, Swarthmore ED2, Wesleyan, Williams, Connecticut College, WashU again. Got in to all except Swat [they lost my app till the last minute] and Cornell. Got great support and advice from the advisor the Center.</p>
<p>Embarked on an ambitious 1-yr reading project - 100 great books - before college. I had this info on my application. Only got through to 20/21 though.
Also did a lot of drawing and included a self-portrait in my applications.</p>
<p>No aid at Washu/Williams. 15k at ConnColl, Wesleyan. Tough choice for my parents to send me to Williams.</p>
<p>So that's it in a nutshell. </p>
<p>"What it takes" is different for each person, though. A few internationals I know here had 4 A-level As.</p>
<p>I heard recently at a conference from an Educational Advisor from Bulgaria, that students take the SAT 3 or 4 times to get the maximum score they're capable of...</p>
<p>Thanks for your info..</p>
<p>Jrock, your credentials are pretty amazing.. 4 languages, art, music, everything.. I feel so trivial when compared to you.. Should i apply? i think i have to reconsider..</p>