Williams or Amherst Admission - Realistic Chances

amfreborg
Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:52:09 +0000

Open question to all forums on the realistic admissions chances for my son to Williams and/or Amherst.

His SATs are 740/710/720

Though he doesn’t participate in school team sports, he is a 2nd dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and practices Kendo & Iaido. He has a strong interest in Japanese language and culture, and has studied Japanese in school since 8th grade.

He has also played classical bassoon for 8 years, and been in our city youth symphony for 3 years.

He is currently in his Junior year. This summer he is selected for an exchange program where he will attend high school in Japan for 6 weeks.

His main interests lie in English/Japanese as a double major.

My question: Is it worth applying to these two very selective colleges. His grades have been straight As, but this year he’s gotten a couple of Bs with two AP classes. His counselor has told him without straight As, forget about highly selective colleges (like these).

Also, I know Williams and Amherst like athletes … My son likes martial arts, but isn’t by any means a jock.