Williams College Admits 1,205 Students to Class of 2023

Media contact: Gregory Shook, director of media relations; tele: 413-597-3401; email: [email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 19, 2019—Williams College has extended offers of admission to 1,205 applicants for the Class of 2023. They were selected from a total applicant pool of 9,715.

“We are thrilled to invite this incredibly talented group of students to Williams in the fall,” says Sulgi Lim, director of admission. “We know they will enrich our community—both in the classroom and beyond—with their talents, interests, and perspectives.”

The admitted students represent 893 high schools, and their academic profile is exceptional. Ninety-two percent of the students who submitted high school rank are projected to graduate in the top 10 percent of their class. Average scores on the SAT are 733 in evidence-based reading and writing and 749 in math. The average super-scored ACT is a 33.

The students possess a remarkable range of perspectives and interests, both academic and co-curricular, that are as varied as their bios. The admitted class includes talented visual and performing artists, athletes, student government representatives, entrepreneurs, volunteers, and community leaders and activists.

Of the admitted students, 134 are international students representing 52 different nationalities. Among American students, 58 percent identify as students of color. Thirty-seven percent identify as white and five percent opted not to identify. Twenty percent are first-generation college students, and seven percent have a parent who attended Williams. A total of 515 identify as men, 597 as women, three identify as trans or transgender, four as non-binary, and six as another identity. Eighty did not respond to an optional question about gender identity (but did answer a required binary question that appears on the application).

Admitted students living in the U.S. represent the following geographic regions: 29 percent hail from the Mid-Atlantic; 22 percent from the West; 17 percent from the Northeast; 14 percent from the South; ten percent from the Midwest; and seven percent from the Southwest. Four students come from Puerto Rico and 14 percent are currently living overseas.

The college has long been committed to admitting the most qualified and compelling students from across the socioeconomic spectrum. Among those admitted to the Class of 2023, nearly 30 percent are affiliated with a community-based organization focused on college access. Of that group, 254 students are affiliated with QuestBridge, an organization with which Williams has partnered since 2004 to identify high-achieving, low-income high school students. Additionally, 139 students admitted to the Class of 2023 participated in Windows on Williams, a selective, college-sponsored program that provides high school students from low-income backgrounds the opportunity to visit campus during the fall of their senior year.

Williams’ strong financial aid program is critically important in encouraging outstanding students to apply. Sixty-seven percent of admitted students applied for financial aid. Admission decisions are need-blind for U.S. students, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need of every student. Williams students graduate with debt levels that are among the lowest in the country.

Students who choose to come to Williams say they were attracted by its academic reputation, size, academic facilities, and the attractiveness of the campus, in addition to the personal attention and co-curricular opportunities it offers.

The target size for the Class of 2023 is 550 students, as it was last year. Two hundred sixty-seven applicants were admitted to the class through the QuestBridge Match program and early decision, and another 23 will join the class after taking a gap year. The remaining admitted students received their acceptances on March 18 and have until May 1 to decide whether to enroll. All accepted students are invited to attend the Williams Previews program held on April 17 and 18 to explore the college and meet many of their future classmates.

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Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college’s 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students’ educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions on U.S. applicants are made regardless of a student’s financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.

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Published March 19, 2019