1693 Scholarship?

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
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Do I have a good chance to earn the 1693 Scholarship? I LOVE William and Mary. It is far and away my favorite school. I’m out of state, though, and one of my parents walked out but will still show up for financial aid because of the CSS. Here are my stats:

SAT: 1460 (new SAT)

ACT: 34C

SAT Subjects: Waiting (US History, Literature)

AP Exams: US History (5), English Language and Composition (5), Psychology (5), Environmental Science (4)

Senior Schedule: AP Literature, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Macroeconomics, AP US Government and Politics, Piano, Constitutional Law Honors, International Relations Honors, European History Honors

Academic Honors: Furman Scholar, High Point Scholar, National Merit Commended Scholar

Honor Societies: President and Founder, History Honor Society; Vice President, English Honor Society; Treasurer, Science Honor Society; Mathematics Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, National Honro Society

Clubs: President and Founder, School Robotics Club, President, School Model United Nations, President, School Political Science Club, Key Club

Extracurriculars: Youth Mentorship (5 years), Political Staffer for Local Judge, Poll Clerk, Tutor, Self-Published Author, AIDS Refugee Worker, Self-published author, Soccer Referee

Sports: Varsity Sailor, Ultimate Frisbee Locally

WHAT ARE MY CHANCES? If anyone who got the scholarship or are in the running for it could comment, I would be IMMENSELY appreciative.

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Update: Got all 5s on the AP exams

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What are my chances?

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I think you have a good chance! But that being said it is hard to determine. Only 8 applicants were given the 1693 scholarship. You could possibly be considered for the honors program but that doesn’t mean you will be receiving money.

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The 1693 Scholarship is extremely rare and only a handful of students are offered the award each year. The applicants have to be the cream of the crop, meaning the best candidates out of all the students that submitted applications. If you think about it, that means you have to be the best out of almost 15,000 people that applied. Furthermore, to be even considered as a finalist, you have to write two additional essays, be at the top 1% of your class, demonstrate strong leadership, and and have to have extremely strong test scores/curriculum. If you are selected as a finalist, you will be given an all expense paid visit where you can meet 1693 scholars, get interviewed, and do a presentation, all of which will be used to decide who is finally awarded the scholarship.

I am fortunate enough to know four 1693 scholars. They are all rather extraordinary, but also unique. You have do do more than be your typical valedictorian, president of a clubs, etc. You have to demonstrate intellectual curiosity and that you will make a difference and take advantage of all the resources that the 1693 scholarship would offer you. Although you seem like a great candidate and you will likely qualify as a Monroe Scholar, I am hesitant to say anyone has a likely chance of being named a 1693 scholar because they are so rare and they go beyond what the typical top student does, of which there are many of at William & Mary, and I am still humbled by every day.

Are you from an underrepresented background or have overcome extraordinary struggle in your life? If so you may qualify instead as a William & Mary Scholar program which is connected to the William and Mary Scholars Undergraduate Research Experience (WMSURE) who also receive a great amount of resources and get a most of their tuition covered by the scholarship.

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@shawnspencer my dad walked out and I’ve been like a father to my little brother. Would that qualify as a hardship?

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One thing is sure: you have to be very very well qualified to be a 1693 scholar. Only 6 people in my class (2019) got it out of 15,000 total applicants. With that being said, however, I had two of them on my hall and they did the worst out of everyone on that hall. Neither of them studied and everyone wondered how they were offered the 1693 scholarship. I know all 6 since they all lived in my dorm, and only 2 of them consistently did well (3.6+). So, while it is very prestigious and difficult to get, they aren’t necessarily the best students at W&M like they should be.

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@jpvn2015 thank you so much for responding. That’s odd they didn’t do better. I will tell you, I’m not going after the scholarship for any sort of reputation associated with it. I truly love the school from the visit, my finances are limited, and the 1693 scholarship would be incredible in helping me get there. May I ask: how do you like the school? Are the people nice (generally)? I’m just wondering if it’s as good in reality as it seemed on the tour.

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@Ozymandias1124 Definitely! On paper, they are way way better than I could’ve ever been, but for some reason it didn’t translate to scholastic success at W&M. It shows you that even some of the brightest people in America can’t get 3.5+ at W&M without studying hard. Most 1693s have 34/35+ on ACT and 2300+ SATs. I know three people with perfect 1600 SAT scores that weren’t even considered…so it’s very hard to get. I wish you the best though, as you sound very genuine!

I love W&M! I’ve done well there because I feel a part of the community. I was able to get a 3.8 freshman year and get involved in research and other amazing campus opportunities. It really does feel like home. The people, for the most part, are very nice. While everyone at W&M is smart (to varying degrees of course), there are only a small, select few that are conceited about it. :slight_smile:

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@jpvn2015 thanks again! May I ask: do you think I have a pretty good chance of getting in to the school itself?

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@Ozymandias1124 Sure thing! I’d think you have a 60-70% chance at this point, only because you are out of state. Fortunately, your 34 ACT will help. If you apply early decision, you should have a very strong chance. If you do regular, however, it may be about a 50/50.

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Actually, @jpvn2015 and @Ozymandias1124, the chances of getting offered a 1693 scholarship are diminished by being an Early Decision candidate, as it is used as a recruitment tool for students who are deciding between Ivy League schools and W&M. If someone applies as an Early Decision candidate, they are locked in to attending and therefore there is no incentive to recruit them with that scholarship offer. That said, a high percentage of the students who are offered the scholarship are from out of state - again, it is an effective recruitment tool for top out of state students who need a tuition incentive to pull the trigger.

@jpvn2015, regarding the people you know on your hall who did poorly in their first year, be careful in dealing out judgement. Many students have a difficult first year in college, and the ones on whom the highest expectations are placed can be especially at risk, paradoxically enough. Be kind.

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@FrndofPooh What you said is partially true, but not entirely. They use it as a recruitment tool like the Monroe Scholars Program, but they still offer positions to ED applicants. But yes, I agree, the chances are slightly diminished, but only slightly.

In terms of being nice, I am simply being fair in my assessment. Some 1693’s are doing very well, but it is inexcusable to be doing that poorly in school (because of poor social decisions) when having a full ride to the College. Just saying.

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@jpvn2015 You say that the two 1693s “did the worst” of anyone on your hall. In my experience as the parent of two W&M students, few students seem to spend their time comparing their GPAs. I don’t know how you would know everyone on the hall’s GPA. In addition, as this report indicates, the cumulative all-time GPA for 1693s exceeds 3.8. So it’s possible that the occasional 1693 is slacking off, but there just can’t be many of them! See p. 4 column 3 here: http://www.wm.edu/as/1693scholars/_documents/2015%20Year%20In%20Review.pdf

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@jpvn2015, You are correct that they will offer positions to ED applicants, but it is more often the case that the ED applicant that is in the 1693 process gets an “alternate” spot and then is in “wait and see” mode, waiting for the initial offers to be rejected by some and need replacement. The Monroe Scholars Program is a nice side benefit but given its lack of funding not likely to sway many away from the Ivies.

As for your assessment, I would submit to you that perhaps you do not know everything that is going on with those students that has led them into “poor social decisions” in your view. William and Mary has been known to crack more than one student, whether their education is funded by the College or not. I am sure the students of whom you speak did not go in with the intention of flouting the system but in the end, life intervened and they may have been in over their heads. William and Mary is not the kind of place that attracts the less-than-earnest, and the 1693 selection process is detailed enough to root any out that come for the weekend.

Life may intervene to you some day as well, which is why I respectfully remind you to be kind (not “nice” which is born out of social convention, but kind, which comes from a deeper level of human empathy, oftentimes when we don’t fully understand another’s situation). You may want that kindness for yourself someday when you are a bit longer in the tooth than you are now. I hope you never need it.

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@Arlmom2 I literally can just look on W&M’s dean list and determine who didn’t get a 3.6+. Most of my hall mates did, and neither of the 1693s did, so it is pretty logical to assume they didn’t do very well compared to the rest of the hall. Furthermore, students at W&M talk pretty openly about their grades if they are doing well…honestly, it comes up quite a lot.

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@jpvn2015 Wow. I have known many students at William and Mary and while they always struck me as intense and driven they were also somehow not the type of people that go around perusing Dean’s Lists to run other students down on public message boards. I don’t think many people outside of the college sphere would consider earning a 3.5 at W&M “not doing well”, and how do you know that these students did not earn that? My point is that you do not. Nor do I.That you think you know a lot about this when in fact you are making assumptions based on rumor, innuendo and possibly imagination seems decidedly short sighted for a student at such a prestigious institution. I am sure that if you were accepted at W&M you have many valuable qualities to offer the world, but you will find as you grow that there is none more valuable than your empathy.

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Sorry to bump this, but can anyone tell me what the 1693 weekend is like? I got the email to be a semifinalist, and was just wondering what would happen if I were selected as a finalist.

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@SMcOsk , it is a a fun weekend and a competitive process. You get the opportunity to go to classes with current Scholars, attend some fun social things including dinner with the current scholars and usually a more formal dinner with professors, deans and perhaps a dignitary or two. There are some interviews to complete as well. You present a proposal of what you would do with your $5000 research project award to a panel of Administrators, professors and board members and it is stacked up against the other applicants. You also have an individual interview with 1693 alumni which is less formal.