Williams College is a small, private liberal arts college in the Berkshires, more specifically Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was started as a men’s college in 1793 (old!!), but became co-ed in 1970. Williams is known for their liberal arts curriculum, and their most popular majors include econ, bio, computer science, art, and English.
Williams is hard to get into, with a first-year acceptance rate of 14%. It’s even harder to get in as a transfer: last cycle, they had a 3% transfer acceptance rate. To state it more plainly, 17 out of 573 applicants got in, and 11 of them enrolled. This loooooow rate combined with the high yield tells us that people who like Williams, really like Williams. No wonder you want to transfer!!
Williams’ Requirements
The Williams’ website does not lay out eligibility in a very concise or clear way, but it seems like “complete at least a year of college credit prior to enrollment” is going to be the main one. Williams is also very vocal about wanting and accepting active military/veterans.
Here are their other requirements:
Transfer Common App
Essays (more on that later)
Two faculty recommendations (can be professor or TA)
School/College report
Midterm report
Official Transcripts (college + high school)
Optional requirements:
Test scores
Additional essays
Additional letters of rec
Research abstracts
More on their requirements and process for transfer applicants .
Pick the Right Classes
Williams doesn’t list out the classes you need to take in order to be admitted, but we know from experience how to build out your classes in a smart, thoughtful way to help your application. If you’re applying to study English, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to load up on non-English classes. Similarly, if you are passionate about 20th-century Southern Gothic works, taking classes on 19th-century Brit lit isn’t sending the right message.
Obviously, you have to take some prereqs, which not only helps get those credits out of the way for WIlliams, and shows your strong liberal arts foundation, but it’ll also help give you a safety net in case you don’t successfully transfer.
Get Really Good Grades
Williams is hard to get into – note the 3% transfer acceptance rate. If you want to prove to Williams that you will be good at college, go ahead and be good at college now.
To snag those top-notch grades, tap into every resource you've got. Hit up office hours (they'll be a lifesaver when you're chasing those recommendation letters), make use of the writing center, get some tutoring – the whole shebang. And maaaaybe don't sign up for classes you already know you'll struggle with. If Physics gave you a hard time in high school, maybe roll with Biology. No need to dive into classes that'll mess with your grades and probably your peace of mind.
Develop Your Niche
It’s not enough to take a few English electives and call it a day. You need to prove to Williams that you’ve done the work, outside of the classroom, to further your passion and interests. Some things you can do:
Researching with a professor
Joining (or starting) clubs
Writing for an on-campus publication
Getting an internship
Get involved in your school's community, because you're not just beefing up your resume – you're also crafting your own safety net in case the Williams plan doesn't quite work out.
Write Good Essays
Williams has one required, and two optional essays:
At Williams, students thrive when they are actively engaged in their academic and cocurricular lives. Please share how your prior experiences have informed your interests and how you hope to pursue those in and out of the classroom at your next institution.
This is sort of like the why essay mixed with the standard transfer prompt. We have a formula for it!
Origin story (your lightbulb moment for your major)
Declare your major
List 1-2 upper level classes + why they’re good fits for you
A professor or two you want to research with
Academic extracurriculars
Make sure to explain why you’re transferring (but keep the reasons academic), but don’t bash your current school. The trick here is to show some kind of metamorphosis – maybe you started out as a History major, but after taking a first-year English seminar, you fell in love with Mark Twain. Maybe you got super involved in a poetry club, or wrote creative pieces for the literary mag. If you have a significant reason for leaving your current school, and it’s not academic, there’s space for that in the optional prompts. More on this prompt here.
The optionals:
Students who are interested in submitting an example of their written work have the option of sharing an academic paper completed within the last year, ideally 3-5 pages in length. The paper does not need to be graded, and can be creative or analytical. Please do not submit lab reports. If submitting this optional paper, please include a description of the assignment or prompt below. To upload your essay, please navigate to the Documents tab within our Williams application.
Absolutely do this one. Williams loves academics, and this is a great place to show this off. Choose the paper you’re the most proud of.
You may use the space below to provide any additional information with details about circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application that you wish to share.
This functions as an additional information section. There are many non-academic reasons for leaving a school, ranging from personal, to medical, to traumatic, to some combination of all of these. If you feel this is important stuff to include, you should do that, but also reach out to us; we're sorry that you've had to go through that.
We hope these tips help you a) prepare to transfer and b) make that transfer application happen. Good luck with your Williams application and make sure to keep your grades up, get plugged into your community, and dive into your passions.
If you need help with your transfer applications, reach out to us today.