Williams College

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Oct 5, 2017
214
43
Western Indiana
Ok friends, I need some help.

I have a player that is interested in Williams College as her primary choice for education and would like to entertain the idea of playing softball. So question is what are the chances of a walk on opportunity? I have heard that admission requirements are high also.

She is a sophomore (2020) planning to study psychology. Currently 9th in her class with a 3.875 GPA. Penciled in to start as varsity catcher this coming season. She does plan to attend their camp in January.

I would like to do some information gathering before I email the coach.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
My DD as well - Williams is on her top college list :)

Williams is D3 so technically it is all walk on as there is no athletic money.

Coaches will talk guaranteeing roster spots and help give an admission push (and a hint on where to get more financial aid), but they don't have any actual scholarship money themselves.

If the girl hasn't already, SAT and/or ACT ASAP. She needs to know where she stands and where she needs to get to.

Academic requirements are high and important to these sorts of schools and in general the coaches wont talk opportunity until they see a clear path to being able to meet their academic admission standards. Then it becomes how financially it can be afforded. Williams has a detailed financial aid section on their website. Williams has traditionally had a pretty good softball program, so there is a level of play they are looking for as well.

... and the first email comes from the girl which you can then follow up on as her coach.
 
Oct 5, 2017
214
43
Western Indiana
Yes I forgot about DIII. My wording was incorrect but meant that would there be an opportunity for her to try out.

I believe she has emailed them already to begin the communication but will double check on that.

Thank you
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,409
113
Texas
She needs to get on Coach Herman's radar. She does a great job of sending out letters and communications to PSA's. Tell your player to first fill out the recruiting questionnaire and start sending emails. Williams has a strong softball program, and I am not sure the coach would be interested in a player that is just "entertaining the idea of playing" in her program. Has she taken the ACT or SAT? If not, she better start NOW. Also, you shouldn't email the coach...let the player do it for now. DIII's can openly communicate back and forth. Coach Herman will basically tell the player to keep her up to date on her progress for the next couple of years. Send grades, scores, videos and of course softball updates.

NESCAC schools offer no merit or athletic monies, only blind need based. Have the player's fill out the forms on the Williams financial aid website to give them an idea of what the Expected Family Contribution will be. That could be a deal breaker for many families. Fyi, 9th in her class might not be strong enough, especially after only one year in HS. Gotta be realistic.
 
Oct 5, 2017
214
43
Western Indiana
Ok my brain is not working well with wording and all your points are helpful.

She is scheduled for SAT after Christmas break. She is an Honors student and has two A- that hit her GPA.

When I said entertain the idea I understated it. She wants to play in college and is on a TB team (small team in Indiana, so not much exposure yet) She even has been offered the opportunity of playing in Taiwan during the Christmas break (she was excited when she told me today) But she has priorities of education first and was wondering about her chances of playing at Williams.

To be honest it looks as if she may need to look elsewhere after the information that you all have shared.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,409
113
Texas
Your player can still have Williams on her list of schools. I would suggest that she add another 9-15 schools based on her skills and academic abilities.
 

TMD

Feb 18, 2016
433
43
As was mentioned above, Williams is a very high quality program, making it to the final 4 in last season's NCAA Championship. Even though DIII doesn't have athletic money, most schools absolutely do active recruiting so getting seen by the coaching staff is still critical. I do see that Williams has a winter camp in January...if your daughter can get there it would be a great opportunity to both visit the school ("demonstrated interest" is a significant admissions factor with many schools) and get seen by the coaches.

edit - embedded link isn't working, but you can find the camp info on the Williams softball site on the More -> Team Links page.
 
Last edited:
Aug 29, 2011
2,581
83
NorCal
If it is truly her dream school, her first choice and it is something you can afford, then consider Early Decision application. The acceptance rate is much, much higher. The draw back is if you are accepted it is supposed to be binding and you are supposed to withdraw your applications to other schools.
 

TMD

Feb 18, 2016
433
43
If it is truly her dream school, her first choice and it is something you can afford, then consider Early Decision application. The acceptance rate is much, much higher. The draw back is if you are accepted it is supposed to be binding and you are supposed to withdraw your applications to other schools.

Early Decision is technically binding if accepted, but you can still back out if the financial package (merit, grant, aid) doesn't work for you. I've also heard that Early Decision can negatively impact merit scholarship offers since the school pretty much knows that you will attend if accepted. Every school is different, and I'm not sure what Williams has for merit $, but it may be worth asking. When we went through this at other pricey private DIII schools, we asked about this and one flat out told us that ED applicants would likely be offered less merit scholarship money.
 
Sep 22, 2013
48
0
Williams is a very competitive DIII school and the academics are top notch. Look at their roster and see how many players they have from CA. Even though they don't give athletic scholarships, they are clearly recruiting for softball and top tier academic students on a national level. As others said, get in front of the coaches and attend their camp. Being from the Midwest may also help as they strive for geographic diversity at these schools. Study, study study! 3.87 is impressive but you have to realize that these "little ivies" are getting the same applicants as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. In other words, straight As and stellar SATs or ACTs are fairly commonplace. Spots at these schools are limited and the incoming freshman classes are tiny as many of these private liberal arts colleges only have a few thousand students in total. You really need something that sets you apart from the pack. As you might expect, ethnic or financial diversity is also a major plus.
 

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