Williams College

Williamstown, MA · Private

Official website

Navora's full analysis of Williams College — where an applicant's profile stands against the published cohort, requirements tracking, essays and deadlines — is free with an account.

See the full analysis — free

Admission rate

Williams College admitted 8.3% of applicants university-wide (1,272 of 15,411).

CohortAdmit rateAdmittedApplicants
University-wide8.3%1,27215,411
Early Decision (binding)23.3%2491,067
Men8.0%5827,280
Women8.8%6387,256

Early Decision applicants were admitted at 23.3%, vs 8.3% overall — ED is a binding commitment.

Of 1,272 admitted students, 547 enrolled (43.0% yield).

Williams College Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections C1–C2 · 2024Published cohort admit rates — context, not an applicant-specific probability.

Test scores and GPA of admitted students

SAT (mid-50%)
1500–1560
ACT (mid-50%)
34–35
GPA (mid-50%, 4.0 scale)
3.754.00

Testing policy: Test-optional (considered if submitted)

Williams College Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections C9–C12 · 2024Published admit stats reflect the entire incoming class unless explicitly labeled international-only.

Cost and financial aid

Published cost of attendance: $92,460/yr.

Out-of-state tuition$68,560
Fees, housing, food, books & other$23,900
Sticker cost of attendance$92,460/yr

Average net price by family income (US, federal aid data)

$75k–110k$3,030
Over $110k$49,594

U.S. Dept. of Education · College Scorecard — average net price by family income (Title IV, from IPEDS) · 2023

US applicants

Need- and merit-based aid available.

  • Williams College GrantVaries (Need Based)

International applicants

Meets full demonstrated need for internationals.

  • Williams College GrantVaries (Need Based)

Williams College Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections G–H · 2024

Application requirements

US applicants

  • Common Application, Apply Coalition with Scoir, or QuestBridge Application
  • School transcript and mid-year report
  • School counselor recommendation and two teacher recommendations
  • Early Decision Agreement Form
  • SAT/ACT scores (optional)
  • Academic writing supplement (3-5 page paper) (optional)
  • Studio/performing arts portfolio (optional)
  • Scientific research abstract (optional)
  • Application fee

International applicants

  • Common Application, Apply Coalition with Scoir, or QuestBridge Application
  • School transcript and mid-year report
  • School counselor recommendation and two teacher recommendations
  • Early Decision Agreement Form
  • SAT/ACT scores (optional)
  • Academic writing supplement (3-5 page paper) (optional)
  • Studio/performing arts portfolio (optional)
  • Scientific research abstract (optional)
  • Application fee
  • English proficiency (IELTS/TOEFL)
  • GPA credential conversion
  • Predicted Class XII marksheet
  • Financial documentation (I-20)

Williams College · Application requirements (official admissions pages) · 2025

Essay prompts

The Common App personal essay is required (one of 7 shared prompts), plus 1 college-specific supplement:

  1. Please upload your essay below.2000 words · Optional

Draft these in the free Essay Coach

Prompts from the Common App member feed · verified Jul 3, 2026

Graduate outcomes

Median earnings
$88,665
Median earnings · 10 years after entry
Graduation rate
93.6%
Within 150% of normal time
First-year retention
96.9%
Return for year two · CDS Section B
Median debt
$12,761
At graduation

Williams College · U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2023 release) · 2023Earnings and debt figures are federal data for aid-receiving graduates — cohort outcomes, not a guarantee for any individual student.

Published rankings

  • U.S. News Liberal Arts: #1
  • WSJ: #108
  • Forbes: #7
  • Niche: #40

Deadlines

  • 2026-11-15Early DecisionBinding early round
  • 2027-01-06Regular DecisionStandard deadline

Williams College Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections C21–C22 · 2024

Academics and campus

Largest degree fields: Social sciences (22%), Mathematics & statistics (13%), Computer & information sciences (9%).

Student–faculty ratio: 7:1 · 71% of class sections have under 20 students.

Williams College Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections E, F, I · 2024Published institutional figures for the reporting year — descriptive of the current student body, not a prediction about your experience.

Similar colleges