In December, Williams offered admission to 257 students under its early decision plan. The group of students makes up nearly 47 percent of the incoming Class of 2021, whose ultimate target size is 550.

Thirty-four states are represented, and the 12 international students admitted come from 10 countries. American students of color are 30 percent of the early decision group, including 27 who identify as African-American, 30 as Asian-American, 18 as Latino and one as Native American. Twenty-five students come from families in which neither parent holds a college degree, and nearly 20 percent of early decision students come from low-income families.

“We were particularly pleased with the increase in applications from high-achieving, low-income students, which I attribute to our intensive efforts to extend our message of access and affordability to students of all socioeconomic backgrounds,” says director of admission Richard Nesbitt ’74.

Of the 257 students, 140 identify as men, 94 as women. One identifies as agender, and 22 students did not respond to an optional question about gender identity.