With decisions for the Williams College Class of 2030 recently released, it’s time to tally the numbers and assess how competitive the admissions cycle was this time around. In all senses of the word, this year was record-breaking for Williams (widely considered the most prestigious liberal arts college in the United States, as evidenced by its #1 ranking on the US News list of top liberal arts colleges). We will take a closer look at the data for this year and put it into context with over 15 years of admissions statistics out of Williams to give you a sense of just how record-breaking this year ended up being, as well as lay out a path forward for those reading who may have been waitlisted to the Class of 2030. Let’s review.

Williams College Acceptance Rate and Admissions Statistics (Classes of 2030 — 2015)

Williams College Class Year	Total Applications Received	Total Applications Accepted	Overall Acceptance Rate
Class of 2030	16,557	1,239	7.48%
Class of 2029	15,520	1,336	8.61%
Class of 2028	15,411	1,272	8.25%
Class of 2027	11,465	1,145	9.99%
Class of 2026	15,321	1,302	8.50%
Class of 2025	12,452	1,099	8.83%
Class of 2024	8,745	1,322	15.12%
Class of 2023	9,715	1,224	12.60%
Class of 2022	9,560	1,240	12.97%
Class of 2021	8,593	1,253	14.58%
Class of 2020	6,985	1,230	17.61%
Class of 2019	6,883	1,212	17.61%
Class of 2018	6,316	1,220	19.32%
Class of 2017	6,853	1,200	17.51%
Class of 2016	7,069	1,203	17.02%
Class of 2015	7,030	1,215	17.28%

Williams College’s Class of 2030 in Historical Perspective

So, when the dust finally settled, the highest number of applicants ever recorded threw their hats in the ring for admission to Williams this year: 16,557. Accompanying this statistic is a correspondingly record-breaking acceptance rate of 7.48%. Williams admissions officers are surely jumping for joy at this successful turnout. 

The previous record for the most applicants was set by the Class of 2029 (15,520), and the lowest acceptance rate before this year was for the Class of 2028 (8.25%). Over the last five years, the Williams acceptance rate averaged 8.57%, while the applicant pool averaged 14,855. Both metrics are a far cry from the admissions trends of the 2010s, when the number of applicants never exceeded 10,000, and the acceptance rate never dipped below the low teens.

Demographic Breakdown of Williams College’s Class of 2030

Williams officials have kept their cards close to the vest regarding the demographics of this recently culled Ephs. We’re left without much context on this record-setting class, with no racial, geographic, socioeconomic, or academic data to go on. But those among us who are anxiously awaiting such data will be happy to note that it’s bound to come to light with the publication of the next Common Data Set, which is a federal data reporting initiative to which Williams reports all the juicy details about its incoming class each year.

Getting Started with Ivy Coach to Get Off the Williams Waitlist

If your child earned admission to the Class of 2030, congratulations! And if you’ve received a setback in the form of a notice of being put on the Williams waitlist, rest assured that you’ve yet to exhaust all of your options. Ivy Coach is here to help guide you through this admissions limbo and get you or your child out the other end with an acceptance letter in hand.

But time is of the essence, so you must move quickly. Start by filling out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form. We’ll be in touch to delineate our Williams waitlist service, which involves the help of a member of our team of former elite college admissions officers.