Hall of Shame

Ephman
Mon, 19 Dec 2005 12:31:35 +0000

You guys have amazing accomplishments and really are just victims of a number game. Williams is as you know a very small school, and after taking the true academic superstars, musical/artistic superstars, recruiting athletes, highly-qualified children of alums, and URM’s / disadvantaged applicants through Questbridge, there just aren’t all that many spots left for the sort of very solid, well-rounded type of student-athletes like those posting on this thread, all of whom would really excel in the Williams environment. In some ways, because Williams attracts so many of those types of applicants, even though you are a perfect fit, you are competing with a huge pool, whereas some of the less traditional type of applicants – e.g., high achiever from a difficult urban background – is able to catch the attention of the committed as more unique in the Williams universe. Thanks to US News and the college-age population boom, Williams applications numbers, especially early, have really shot up over the last five to ten years, I know my profile was nowhere near as impressive as some of those deferred and I never would have been accepted today. Small consolation, I know.

Fortunately, there are tons of schools that provide a very similar type of undergrad experience to Williams that aren’t quite so brutal to get into: Bowdoin, Haverford, Carleton, Macalaster, Wesleyan all quickly come to mind. I’m sure you guys will have a great experience. The rejection as opposed to deferral for Reyk. is particularly puzzling, who knows why but certainly you were not overshooting in applying to Williams, and I’m sure you’ll get into plenty of top-15 LAC’s with your profile.