Williams is a tight-knit and prestigious liberal arts college rooted in tradition. Williams is one of the only schools in the United States to follow the Oxford tutorial system, which demands depth and the development of true expertise. Students who are drawn to Williams are deeply curious, passionate, and true academics at heart. With a small student body of only a little over 2,000 students, you can’t hide in the corner of the classroom at Williams. Competition for a seat at the table is fierce. The acceptance rate for the Class of 2030 was only 7.4%.
Before you decide how you want to apply to Williams, it is very important to know that the only way to apply to Williams if you want to get in is early. Williams offers binding Early Decision, and applying ED comes with a major advantage. For the Class of 2030, Williams accepted over a quarter of ED applicants. So, this makes getting into Williams fairly simple. You need to have the grades. You need to have the scores. And you need to show Williams that you truly want to go there. The best way to do that is to apply early. First, though, you need to make sure that you have the grades and scores.
So, what numbers do you need? Williams does not have a required distribution of courses, a minimum GPA, or a minimum test score, but there are minimums functionally. They are, in their words, “truly test optional.” You do not need to submit SAT or ACT scores for your application to be seriously considered. However, the fact of the matter is that 61% of recently accepted and enrolled students submitted strong standardized test scores. To be a middle of the pack accepted student, you need an SAT of 1520, which means that you should be aiming higher. On the ACT, you need a 34+. If you cannot reach those scores, we do not recommend submitting them. What is unavoidable, though, is the need for an impressive GPA and a transcript that shows you taking the hardest courses you have access to.
Only 17% of accepted and enrolled first years for the Class of 2029 submitted class rank, but even that limited data pool is impressive. 88% of students were in the top tenth of their high school graduating class. Williams does not report GPA ranges for accepted students.
Once you have your numbers set, it’s time to get into the application. There, Williams serves up the unexpected. Working with an expert can be the difference-maker for a student who needs an edge with their Williams application. That’s where we can help.
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The Williams application is nonstandard. While most top schools have a supplement, Williams doesn’t really. Instead, they invite you to submit a piece of academic writing you have already done on any topic. This does not need to be graded, and it can even be a handwritten in-class writing assignment. You do, however, need to include a description of the assignment or prompt. We highly recommend picking a piece of writing that is relevant to your intended course of study. Longer, also, is not necessarily better as you have no guarantee that they will actually read the whole thing. We advise the writing submissions be under 6 pages, even better if they are under 4 pages. If you want to study science, though, you cannot send a lab report.
Now, you may be asking whether you could write something new for this because it doesn’t need to be graded. Technically, yes, and this may actually be a great option if you are at a high school that doesn’t emphasize long-form writing. You might not have something recent to submit, and it is fair game, then, to make something that will work. Since there needs to be a prompt, though, we recommend working with a history, social studies, or English teacher to generate a prompt or question that you can write in response to.
You can also submit a studio or performing arts portfolio in addition to the writing example, and they also accept scientific research abstracts. Now, if you want to submit a research abstract it is super important that this isn’t simply for a school science project. Williams is interested in “significant” scientific research related to an interest in a research or academic career down the line.
The Williams application forces you to stand on your own two feet based on what you have done, not what you aspire to do there. They aren’t interested in what makes Williams exciting to you, but instead are looking for evidence that you are already pursuing excellence in your academics, your extracurriculars, and your independent pursuits. The Personal Statement, then, plays a hugely important role in telling your story, more so than for nearly any other highly selective school. They want to get to know you through your personal statement, and you should leave them excited for you to find a home at Williams.
When we work with students on the Williams application, we don’t bemoan the lack of a supplement. Instead, we strategize about how to get everything they need to know about you into the options that are available. You may not be planning to major in art, but being an accomplished painter is reason enough to pull together an arts supplement. You may not have had research published, but undertaking a significant research project is reason enough to write an abstract.
Distilled down to the essence, this is what working directly with us is all about. You get personal guidance that steers you towards an impressive acceptance, not some cookie cutter formula that doesn’t even work most of the time. This is why our outcomes are so impressive — we are truly invested in your achievement and success, not just selling some sessions and then moving on to the next student.
If you are interested in getting the edge it takes to get into Williams, get in touch. We can help make an exceptional acceptance truly attainable.
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