@BestOfLuckYall
Thanks, good luck to you too! I don’t think Williams tracks demonstrated interest though.
@kalons
Thank you for the advice and congrats on being accepted into your first choice ED!
@MWolf
Williams is my top choice by far. I also like Dartmouth, Brown, and Amherst, but these are equally competitive schools and I would probably fare the same at all four of them. My next choice would be Bowdoin, which is marginally less competitive and probably easier to get to into ED. If I wasn’t so hung up on Williams, I would apply ED to Bowdoin. I believe that Bowdoin offers both ED1 and ED2 whereas Williams only offers ED1, so thats probably going to be my back up plan if Williams straight rejects me early round.
I just took a look at my school’s Naviance for Williams. We’re a competitive public in the Northeast but interest is mostly in UCs and Ivies, so there isn’t exactly a wealth of data. There seems to have been one recruited athlete who got in, but the four other people who got in over the past six years had above 3.94 UW and above 1500 SATs. Which isn’t exactly reassuring.
@Publisher
Why Williams:
- Community; small class sizes, tutorial style instruction, isolated location, dorm entry system, and interesting traditions contribute to a tight-knit community feel, which also translates to a strong alumni network. This is probably the biggest factor.
- Location; the Berkshires are beautiful and I would love to spend a lot of time in nature. Lends itself to cool traditions like Mountain Day. Also I like the Massachusetts/Boston areas.
- Academic rigor; strong focus on undergraduate teaching. Williams is an academically rigorous school without being overly obsessed about grades or cutthroat. Fantastic grad school placements.
- Some other cool academic quirks like the Oxford exchange program and winter studies.
Some other schools I’m looking at are Brown, Amherst, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Smith, Grinnell, and Tufts.
@RockySoil
I do think that I’d enjoy going to Williams (see above for “Why Williams”), though I haven’t been able to visit because of the pandemic. Re: the sports culture at Williams – I feel like this would be a good thing because it would push me to join an intramural sport. I’m currently considering some of the schools you mentioned but will take a look at Carleton, Haverford, and Hamilton. Thanks for the suggestions!