<p>My son is very interested in W&L and is seriously considering applying ED. His SAT scores (one sitting) are higher than the W&L average, but his grades are lower. Do you think it would benefit him to apply for the Johnson so that he can showcase his critical thinking and writing skills (that is his forte with 760 on the critical thinking portion of the SAT), even though his chances of getting the Johnson are slim? He wants to show as much interest in the school as possible.</p>
<p>Depends on why his grades are lower (very challenging classes? lots of extracurriculars? illness? slacking off?) and how much lower they are. Applying for the Johnson is not especially onerous, so if he is a good writer and can submit a strong essay, he might as well take a shot at it.</p>
<p>He should definitely visit W&L to demonstrate interest, admissions is fond of students who come to see the school, and he can meet personally, ask questions, show his strengths in person. Certainly he can apply for the Johnson, and it would give him an opportunity to show his writing skills, though not sure that is used for admissions purposes.</p>
<p>(you wrote that your s got a 760 on the critical thinking portion of the SAT, however it is actually a critical reading score)</p>
<p>Thank you, yaupon and myturnnow! You are both very helpful. </p>
<p>myturnnow, I meant to write critical reading…oops! You’d think that since this is my third child going through the process (my oldest is currently a college junior and my second a college sophomore), I’d get the terminology right!</p>
<p>wish your son good luck in his application process. my son graduated this May, received the Johnson and he recognizes that it is wonderful to graduate without any debt.</p>
<p>My son will apply for the scholarship too. He loves Washington & Lee. Scheduled for an over night visit to attend a class… I hope all goes well!</p>
<p>I think the essays are very important. My daughter is a Johnson and she said all the members of the interview panel (students included) had copies of her essays right in front of them and commented on them/asked questions about them during one of the interviews. One student commented that she loved her Common App. essay and they all talked about that. She also heard from another finalist that a couple of her interview panelists did not agree with the argument this finalist made in one of her essays. This finalist was not offered the scholarship. Just as with any college admissions process, there’s definitely some luck involved as far as who reads your essays, whether you click with a particular interviewer, etc., but I would advise any applicant to be true to yourself and your interests, take time and care with the essays, and practice interviewing skills.</p>
<p>They have an agenda with who gets them and who does not. There are 44 Johnsons and 22 are for good students with major financial need. 22 are for students who do not need money and are very strong. Everyone given scholarships is suppposed to be very strong scholastically with tough schedules, high scores and success in other areas (leadership, volunteerism, the arts, and so on). While kids given Johnsons are stronger than the typical W&L student, with a few exceptions they are not Harvard level. On the website it shows that this first year class only has 14 Natianal Merit Finalists in it. With 450 or so students in a class that is not a big number. Many of the students who apply for Johnsons also apply to Ivy League schools. Those colleges are very generous with financial aid and give it to 6 figure family income enrollees. With a few exceptions if a student is given a Johnson and also gets into Princeton, they go to Princeton because they are going to get money anyway. The students in the interview process do not carry as much judging weight as the faculty members. If you are aware of the leanings of typical faculty, I would avoid subjects that might offend them, but be true to yourself. There are politics involved in who receives a Johnson and if you are aware of that going in, you will not be disappointed in the result.</p>
<p>My daughter recently received a Johnson. She also was offered spots at Princeton and Columbia. She opted for W&L because neither Princeton nor Columbia could begin to approach the financial support offered by the Johnson at W&L. It was more important for her to be debt free than leave with 6 figure debt load.</p>
<p>Her stats include NMF, 35 ACT (taken as a sophomore), 2340 SAT, 9 or 10 AP (all 5s one 4), 800 and 790 on the two subject SATs she took, two languages and top 5 out of a class of approximately 650.</p>
<p>There are good quality students at W&L. The northeastern schools do not have a monopoly.</p>
<p>"Sensible"111-
You say they “have an agenda”. Usually that is a somewhat pejorative term. So…what’s the agenda? I don’t think it’s anything more than trying to attract very smart, accomplished kids who will add a lot to the campus community. My son is also a Johnson Scholar. I am very glad he is going to a top notch school like W&L. He had other choices.
The school says the scholarship is meant to attract students with demonstrated leadership skills who will enhance the campus community. Why must you look for “agendas”? Sometimes a thing is just what people say it is.</p>
<p>I did not make a sweeping statement, and did not say Washington and Lee did not attract good students. It does. Though in terms of quality places like Vanderbilt and Duke beat the entering stats of W&L by a wide margin in terms of SAT/ACT, etc. and their students are accomplished too. Almost all of the Ivies do too, plus Williams, Amherst and Swarthmore. For the student who gets a lot of money from a Johnson who does not qualify for complete aid at an Ivy it makes some sense. I am simply saying that there are not that many students who choose it over those schools if the money is the same. I felt like a spy but I managed to see the average stats of Johnson’s when I was in Lexington. BBDark, your D beats them by a wide margin. There are agendas on every college campus.</p>
<p>Stats are only part of what W&L considers in both admissions decisions and Johnson scholarship awards. They are looking for students who will contribute to the life of the university as well as take full advantage of the opportunities offered for cognitive, social, & emotional growth. There is no “cookie cutter” Johnson Scholar.</p>
<p>My daughter absolutely loves W&L…the people, the professors, the town, etc. Her largest class is 15 students. She enrolled in exactly what she wanted to take. Everyone has been so welcoming from Day 1 of her expressed interest. I honestly can’t say enough good things about W&L. The bright lights of the big universities were tempting, but in the end, a liberal arts college was the best choice. I’ll take happy, with a healthy dose of personal attention, over stats that are a little higher any day of the week.</p>
<p>I think that a great deal of energy is spent trying to rationalize college selections. My D was not impressed with Princeton. It didn’t fit. Columbia was more to her liking due to a specific program offering. UVA just didn’t get there at all. Vandy left her cold although we visited one of her friends this fall and her image of the school changed. Why did she like some schools and others not? I can’t answer that.</p>
<p>When she landed in Lexington everything fell in place. Everyone she met, she enjoyed. The honor system had a big impact as did the "speaking " tradition. Being a Johnson Scholor is just icing on the cake.</p>
<p>My wife and I told her that the most important thing is to feel comfortable with your selection. Go somewhere where you can be happy and excel. The Johnson interview process was a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that the college you choose has nothing to do with your ultimate success in life as an adult. What you do at that college may.</p>
<p>BBDark—great post, completely agree with your thoughts. sounds like your d will create a very positive experience at W&L. My s also valued the honor code, and the speaking tradition. He developed strong relationships with several professors who were just amazing human beings and got to assist with their research as a summer scholar. He studied abroad for a year, which was paid for by the scholarship. </p>
<p>as I mentioned upthread, graduating from such a strong university with zero debt is a real gift. My s was just home visiting, and now that he’s living on his own and in the work world he sees it’s true value, so the Johnson is a wonderful gift.</p>
<p>Not Harvard material? You must mean the Harvard where 125 freshman were implicated in a cheating scandal that is well documented? Oh, or the Harvard where a professor running for a United States senate seat most certainly fibbed on her resume? That Harvard?
These are our future leaders? Yes the sat scores at Harvard, Yale, Princeton ect. or higher than the scores at Washington and Lee. The difference? 99percentile scores vs an average of 97 to 98 percentile at W & L. What all the consternation about? More pseudo intellectual nonsense. Basically, were comparing two sets of highly intelligent people. However, one group did not check their egos and the door, and the endless drivel about the ivies, only furthers the stereotypes and caricatures that these students, both undergard and grad students are special. They embody the phase -do as I say not as I do_</p>
<p>I was thinking about applying for the Johnson Scholarship this year, but I am not sure if I could even make it. I have had straight A’s all my life, and am the president of my own JA company, (founding member as well,) been on the SCA for 3 years, Honor Council, Academic Team, I am part of a community service organization, President of my music club, play tennis and volleyball and I have been playing piano for 13 years and have been in multiple competitions. The only thing I am worried about are my test scores. I am not very good at standardized tests, and my scores are just not up to my usual standards. Should I apply, or would I not even have a chance? Thank you so much!</p>
<p>I’m afraid the test scores are a pretty important part of the Johnson Scholarship Evaluation process. I’m just an outside observer so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think you should at least be in the 75th percentile for Washington and Lee. If you’re not sure wha that is, search “Washington and Lee” common data set. I don’t think SAT/ACT is much of a predictor of college success, and even less so of career/life success, but it is a quantitative measure that is used to rank colleges.and we’re stuck with it.</p>