Williams College acceptance rate and your odds of getting in
Williams College, a private college in Massachusetts, reports a 8% acceptance rate and sits in the most selective band. In practice that means it admits roughly one in ten applicants or fewer, so a strong application is judged against an applicant pool that is already self-selected.
Use this page to see what Williams College weighs, where it ranks among Massachusetts schools, and how a profile like yours is likely to land. Admitted students post a 75th-percentile SAT around 1530, a useful checkpoint for where your scores sit, though it is a reference range and not a cutoff.
What is Williams College's acceptance rate?
Williams College admitted 1,145 of 11,465 first-year applicants for fall 2023, an acceptance rate of 8.3%. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1490 to 1570 on the SAT and 34 to 35 on the ACT.
Source: IPEDS admissions survey, fall 2023. Updated October 29, 2026.
What do students study at Williams College?
Bachelor's degrees awarded by field in 2023 (IPEDS completions). Each field has its own page with the school's numbers, the model's major adjustment, and peers offering it.
Will I get into Williams College?
Direct answers to what applicants ask about getting into Williams College, plus a free way to calculate your own odds.
What are my chances of getting into Williams College?
Your odds at Williams College are not the same as its 8% acceptance rate. Your real odds depend on how your GPA, course rigor, test scores, and activities compare to its admitted students. Run your profile through the free CollegeCalcAI calculator to get a personalized acceptance percentage for Williams College in about three minutes, with no account needed to start.
Is Williams College hard to get into?
Williams College is most selective: it admits roughly one in ten applicants or fewer, with about a 8% acceptance rate. At this level, strong grades and scores are the baseline, so essays, recommendations, and a distinctive story are what separate admits.
What GPA do you need to get into Williams College?
There is no hard GPA cutoff at Williams College, but admitted students almost universally present a 3.9 to 4.0 GPA earned in the most demanding courses their school offers. Williams College reads your GPA alongside the rigor of your courses, so a challenging schedule matters as much as the number itself.
Your chances at Williams College by GPA and SAT
Estimated chance of admission at Williams College for plain profiles, from the same model as the calculator. Unweighted GPA, 6 AP courses, Regular Decision, no legacy, athletic or first-generation hook. The last column is test-optional (no score sent).
What are my chances at Williams College with a 3.9 GPA and a 1530 SAT?
About 15% (Reach), by CollegeCalcAI's deterministic model, for an applicant with a 3.9 unweighted GPA and a 1530 SAT, the middle of Williams College's admitted range, applying Regular Decision without a hook. A 4.0 GPA with a 1570 SAT comes out near 17%. Courses, activities, essays and the application round move the number; the free calculator includes them.
Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities. Assistants and developers can fetch this table from the free API: /api/v1/colleges/williams-college.
How to get into Williams College
Built from Williams College's admitted class and what it reports weighing. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled figures, not published cutoffs.
There is no formula that guarantees a spot at Williams College, but the applicants who get in tend to do the same four things. Here is what the numbers say each one looks like.
CollegeCalcAI's modeled typical admit at Williams College carries about a 3.91 core GPA and a 1520 SAT, in the most rigorous schedule available. At this selectivity that is the entry ticket, not the deciding factor.
The admitted middle 50% is 1490 to 1570 SAT (34 to 35 ACT). Submit a score at 1530 or higher; below 1490, apply test-optional if the policy allows.
Williams College rates rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and application essay highest in its own Common Data Set. Put your depth there: essays that sound like you and answer the actual prompt, and a transcript whose rigor rises through junior year.
Selective private colleges admit a larger share of their class in binding Early Decision; if Williams College is your clear first choice and the net price works, ED is the single biggest lever an applicant controls. Most early deadlines fall on November 1 and Regular Decision on January 1 to 15; confirm Williams College's exact dates at www.williams.edu.
How many students apply to Williams College, and how many get in?
Williams College admitted 1,145 of the 11,465 students who applied for fall 2023, which works out to 10%. 541 enrolled. Roughly 47% of admitted students enrolled, a typical yield for a school in this range. Williams College enrolls about 2,076 undergraduates in total, 52% of them women, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS 2023 admissions and enrollment.
What SAT and ACT scores do you need for Williams College?
Admitted students at Williams College post SAT scores of 1490 to 1570 in the middle 50%, with an average of 1533. On the ACT the middle 50% runs from 34 to 35. A score above 1570 puts you in the top quarter of admits and turns the test into an asset; a score below 1490 puts you in the bottom quarter, where the rest of the application has to carry more weight. Williams College is test-optional: scores are considered if you submit them but not required. Send a score at or above the middle of the admitted range; otherwise apply without one and let your transcript lead.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10.
What Williams College looks for
What Williams College weighs most heavily in its admissions review, informed by its reported Common Data Set.
The factors that carry the most weight at Williams College are rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and application essay. At this level of selectivity, the difference between admits is rarely the transcript alone; essays, recommendations, and a coherent story matter. These ratings come from Williams College's reported Common Data Set, so the full chart below reflects what the school itself says it values, not a generic guess.
SAT score positioning at Williams College
How common SAT scores sit relative to the admitted middle. This is context, not a probability. Your full profile determines the real estimate.
How much does Williams College cost after financial aid?
The full sticker price at Williams College (tuition, fees, housing, food, books) is about $84,860 a year. Tuition and fees alone are $68,560. What families actually pay is different: the average net price after grants and scholarships is $17,716 a year, and it ranges from $0 for families earning under $30,000 to $49,594 for families earning over $110,000. 18% of undergraduates receive a federal Pell Grant.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Net price is what students receiving aid paid after grants, by family income.
What do Williams College graduates earn, and how many graduate?
Median earnings for Williams College students ten years after entry are $88,665 ($71,754 at the six-year mark). 94% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 97% return for a second year. Among graduates who borrowed, median federal debt at graduation is $12,761; 5% of undergraduates take federal loans.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Earnings cover students who received federal aid.
How Williams College compares in Massachusetts
Williams College ranks #4 most selective of 36 schools in Massachusetts in our database.
Among the 36 Massachusetts schools we track, Williams College ranks #4 most selective by acceptance rate. Schools like Harvard University (4%) and Northeastern University (5%) sit nearby, which makes Massachusetts a useful frame for calibrating a balanced list.
Similar to Williams College
Schools with a similar selectivity profile, worth comparing as you build a balanced list.
Applicants targeting Williams College often weigh Northwestern University, Rice University, and Cornell University, which sit at a similar level. Running the same profile against each one in the free calculator is the fastest way to see where you are a reach, a match, or a likely.
Frequently asked questions
What is Williams College's acceptance rate?
Williams College admitted 1,145 of 11,465 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class, an acceptance rate of 10% (U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS). 47% of admitted students enrolled.
What SAT score do you need for Williams College?
The middle 50% of admitted students scored 1490 to 1570 on the SAT and 34 to 35 on the ACT. A score above 1570 is in the top quarter of admits. Williams College is test-optional, so only submit a score that helps.
Is Williams College test-optional?
Yes. Williams College reports that test scores are considered but not required. Submit a score at or above the middle of the admitted range; otherwise apply without one.
How much does Williams College cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Williams College, what students receiving aid paid after grants and scholarships, is $17,716 a year against a sticker price of about $84,860. Families earning under $30,000 paid about $0 on average.
What do Williams College graduates earn?
Median earnings ten years after entering Williams College are $88,665 a year among students who received federal aid, and 94% of students graduate within six years (College Scorecard).
What does Williams College value most in applicants?
Based on its admissions profile, Williams College weighs rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and application essay most heavily. The full factor breakdown is on this page.
Does Williams College consider legacy or demonstrated interest?
Many private colleges weigh legacy relationships and demonstrated interest. Williams College's full factor profile is charted on this page, and CollegeCalcAI models a legacy effect scaled to a school's selectivity.
How can I improve my chances at Williams College?
Focus on the highest-leverage parts of your application: course rigor and GPA trajectory first, then test scores, then a focused leadership or activity spike. CollegeCalcAI's Power-Ups quantify how much each change would move your odds at Williams College specifically.
Can I get into Williams College with a perfect GPA and test scores?
Top grades and scores are necessary but not sufficient at Williams College. At this selectivity most applicants are already academically qualified, so essays, recommendations, and a distinctive story are what separate admits.
Acceptance rate, application counts, admitted test ranges, cost, and outcomes reflect publicly reported federal data (U.S. Department of Education: IPEDS 2023 and the College Scorecard) and each school's Common Data Set; figures are rounded and lag the current cycle by one to two years, so confirm deadlines and policies on the school's own site. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled estimates. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.