The large Japanese war fan has been crafted into a piece of artwork that hangs above our piano. The family crest of swans is represented throughout the folds of gold paper that depict bending bonsai trees and white winged birds flying through berries. Beneath this piece are three small dolls that sit atop a piano littered with Beethoven’s music. Carefully brought over from the southern hemisphere, the dolls and their colorful robes and festive flowers are the epitome of...

Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be the other student in the class, and why? (300 words). I would choose Brandon Stanton to be the other member in my tutorial class. Stanton is the creator of the humanities social media page and blog “Humans of New York,” which is a growing catalog of over 5,000 residents of New York City and their stories. Not all of the stories are aphorisms of...

"Since 1855, Bates College has been dedicated to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts. Bates educates the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. With ardor and devotion - Amore ac Studio - we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action. Preparing leaders sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world, Bates is a college for coming times." Aside from...

Explain your extracurriculars: We load the lift, ski bags on one shoulder, race skis on the other, awkwardly sitting on the frosted chair as my hamstrings instantly freeze up and remain cold. We dismount the lift and trickle over to the starting arena as the orange mesh that marks our pit fills up slowly with fancy equipment and extra jackets. Today is race day. Today is different. The entire scene is absolutely stunning. White chipped pieces of braids circulate in...

University of Colorado: Boulder I believe I am a good match for UC Boulder because I hold a variety of passions and interests. At UC Boulder I hope to find a school that allows me to explore many subjects simultaneously. I love that the school fosters an education that promotes critical thinking and exploration and develops students who are knowledgeable and well rounded in many areas of study. Through my high school education I have learned to think critically and...

Harvard (rejected): An intellectual experience (course, project, book, discussion, paper, poetry, or research topic in engineering, mathematics, science or other modes of inquiry) that has meant the most to you. At the beginning of my senior year, I attended Utah’s annual Lake Effect High School Writer’s Conference. Lance Olsen, a local poet known for his experimental style, was speaking about his newest novel Theories of Forgetting. This novel has no front cover and instead has two back covers,...

Brown (Waitlisted did not pursue): We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. (150 word limit)Words entered: 0 I am part of Rowmark Ski Academy, a group of 30 students who compete at an elite level in alpine racing.We work year-round training and pushing each other to succeed in fitness and speed while managing the schoolwork we miss from...

For my personal statement (Common App essay) I actually started out writing five different essays as my counselor suggested. Each one took a slightly different viewpoint but all were equally important to "my story." I found a way to kind of combine them all into one and edit the pieces that I thought were super key.

All of the courses I wouldn't normally take have been...

Brilliant, compassionate, athletic, individualized, hard-working. Everyone at Williams is incredibly bright but no one is...

I'd definitely try to make the school more...

There are always going to be people smarter than you at something. Just because you're not as...

Definitely would have focused less on titles. Just because a college has a good...

I interviewed for Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown. The interviews are not meant to be intimidating at all! I met...

I would just say find something you're passionate and stick with it. Colleges like...

I ultimately chose Williams because it ended up being the perfect fit for me. I was looking to race NCAA in college and Williams offered me...

I was super freaked out about living in a rural environment at first because I am used to a...

I reached out to all of the ski coaches for every school I applied to and visited. My recommendation would be to be persistent. Coaches are...

I applied for a few scholarships. There are so many out there that it is impossible to apply for them all simply because of...

If you know you want to go to Williams but don't think you can necessarily afford it check out WOW. This is...

Ask early! No one likes last minute jobs. Also ask someone that has really gotten to...

I chose to ski NCAA in college because I absolutely love this sport and have competed all my life. I cannot tell you...

Its funny because the majority of people at Williams are athletes of some...

I used my school counselor. We met a few times with my parents and I had about 5 or more private sessions with him to check in throughout the year....

I declined other schools because I realized that I had chosen a few of them for their titles. It's funny because when I first toured I thought Williams was my...

I knew I wanted to ski in college so that limited my choices a lot. Secondly, I knew that the majority of colleges on the west coast didn't have the academics I was looking...

The Williams version of a "Why Us" supplement involved choosing a partner for an Oxford-based tutorial class. I chose someone that I didn't necessarily know a ton...

I have not had experience with transferring schools. Though I do know a few friends who decided to transfer after their first year at their school. Here is some of their advice: Give yourself...

I think the only thing that set me apart from other applicants was simply...

I hope to take one or two years to work and...

I did not...