Chance me for UVA and William and Mary!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi guys, I’d appreciate if you can chance me for these schools on my list.

Preface: Bit about myself- I was an Indian international student in Singapore who moved to the US (Virginia) after freshman year. I didn’t really take the first two years of high school seriously but I have a huge upward trend (my unweighted GPA for each year respectively is 3.59, 3.54, and 3.875). I got a C+ in my Chemistry Honors class sophomore year for the second semester (first semester I had achieved a B+) but I completely aced my Junior year (earning an A+ in AP Macroeconomics). I now attend a small, private school in Fairfax County. My weighted GPA (the GPA reported to colleges) is the GPA of my sophomore and junior years combined as I didn’t attend my current private school during my freshman year.

I am applying as a HISTORY MAJOR

UW GPA: 3.66 (again, I got a C+ in Chem Honors for a second semester sophomore year but I have a huge upward trend after)
W GPA (reported number): 4.04 (school does not rank)
ACT: 33 (35 E/34 R/29 M/35 S) I got a 21 in W but who cares really.

Honors: AP Scholar, Honorable Mention on National Spanish Exam Level 3

AP Scores: AP Euro (5) APUSH (5) AP Macro (5) AP Lang (5) AP World (self-studied 5)

SAT II: US History- 770

Interview with William and Mary: I had an interview with a William and Mary student at their campus a month ago. He seemed extremely interested in what I had to say about my international experiences and my love for history. He really expressed that he loved my answers to some of his questions and also said that I would be a “good fit” for the university. The interview was supposed to be 20 minutes but we went for nearly 40. It seemed very conversational and I think I really did well.

I’ve also toured William and Mary and UVA.

Recs: I know they’ll be amazing since one is written by the vice-principal who also taught my AP Euro class and has seen me grow as a student and the others are written by my Lang and Macro teachers, both of whom saw me do very well.

Awards: National History Day South-East Asia Winner, National History Day Virginia State First Place

Languages: Fluent in English, Tamil and Spanish

Extracurriculars:

National Security Archives internship- I had an undergraduate level internship at the National Security Archives. I researched and indexed declassified government documents and wrote historical analysis reports to aid Archive researchers.

NHD- Awards: NHD- 1st place South-East Asia, NHD- 1st place Virginia state (already mentioned above)

Drama- Been participating since freshman year and had major roles and lead roles in school productions.

Relay for Life leader- Led Relay for Life team to raise nearly $2700 dollars for the American Cancer Society.

VP of Young Democrats- Was Secretary and am now Vice-President of the club. I helped host mock caucus/primary elections at school to raise civic awareness. I also interned at the John Foust for Congress and the Mark Warner for Senate campaigns.

President of World Water Aid- Founded this club when I came to my new school. Raised nearly $700 dollars for a rainwater harvesting facility in India to help villages without water. Interned at the Dhan Foundation in India to help oversee development projects.

Blue Earth Capital intern- Interned at my dad’s hedge fund and learned a lot about finance, portfolio construction and investment strategies.

Varsity Tennis- Been on my Varsity tennis team since sophomore year and play 3rd doubles.

2

The struggles of honors chem :confused: I totally feel your pain. Just had to make that note bc of our shared experience with that hell- moving on to chances…

Overall, I think your application is very strong, and William&Mary would almost definitely accept (based on my knowledge of who they tend to accept- a lot of kids from my school end up going there.) Especially based on your interview, I think you’re a shoo-in! I’m not as familiar with UVA, but again you have a fantastic application so I doubt you’d get rejected from there.

3

I think you have a great chance for both. Your high test scores make up for your gpa (which isn’t bad by any means) and your extra curriculars are both unique and extensive. For UVA, since you’re in-state, that’s a big plus and although I’m not as familiar with William&Mary, I don’t see anything that’s particularly holding you back. I would suggest applying to some other reach schools as well (some of the UCs, other state flagships). Good luck!

4

W&M high match, UVA low reach. My two cents.

5

@SeinfeldFan1 do you mind explaining a bit further? Like what you thought were pros/cons of my application? I’d just like to know what made you lean towards your verdict of high match and low reach respectively, not because of anything but that that way I can paint a more realistic picture of my chances.

6

@hyungiwosotha my apologies. I feel that your application is very strong, but it seems your GPA may be a BIT low, especially for UVA since it is more competitive. I do know living in certain regions in VA may affect admissions, also. While your GPA may be a tad low, you look like you are very committed to history. Again, I am no expert and these are just my opinions. I feel like you just need to continue your upward trend, as the rest of your application looks to be very strong. My two cents.

7

@hyungiwosotha vannakam (I speak tamil too lol), u have a very strong application. I don’t really know much about W&M except for the fact that your test scores are definitely in line for them. As far as UVA is concerned, being instate helps, your upward trend is amazing, and your ECs are very compelling. Make sure you spend a lot of time on your supplemental and make your ECs shine. Good luck!

8

Great scores and ECs, the GPA is the only thing that could pull you down. Stay positive, and write an amazing essay. You’ll do fine.