Yes–agree. W&M is a gem and very strong academically. Their government and history majors are top notch with connections in the DC area. Their acceptance rate for ED last year was @49% so OP has a very good chance of getting in.
I feel like you’re pretty similar to my young NoVA relative with similar interests (and similarly not a math person), who did get into W&M ED and is having an excellent experience. (Sib also applied ED to W&M and did not get in, but is going to a T30 LAC.) It doesn’t hurt that the in-state cost is half of what elite privates cost, without sacrificing quality. If I were you, I’d choose an ED1 and plan an ED2, one of which is W&M, and a good list of match and low-reach schools that you’d prefer to the two-year transfer route. You’re right that there’s no point in safeties that you wouldn’t actually prefer over the CC (or Richard Bland) transfer option. Just make sure that what you prefer is based on substance and not just on how impressed you think others will or won’t be.
If you are serious about studying political science and history, then I’d recommend you look into appropriate match and reach schools with excellent programs in these areas, such as Colgate, Bates and Trinity.
You’ve been asked repeatedly what you want out of your college experience, and I haven’t read an answer yet. You’ve mentioned the Virginia community college route, which is perfectly fine. But it will not result in a "traditional " 4-year college experience that most upper and upper middle class students envision. If you start at UVA or William & Mary as a junior, it will probably be much harder to form social bonds with your peers, as most will have already spent 2 years forming bonds with one another.
It sounds like a well thought out ED strategy may be in order for you. But if you end up needing to ED2 anywhere, you will also need to have a balanced slate of other schools to apply to. Also, many recommend applying to other schools around the ED deadline as it can be quite dispiriting completing those after a rejection, and many scholarships are given to students who apply by 11/1 or similar.
That site might be useful in looking at ED acceptance percentages. Don’t forget, though, that the higher acceptance rates at elite colleges is for athletes who have been selected to join the schools’ teams.
Also, I would urge you to explore the websites at Gettysburg or Dickinson or wherever to see what they are offering and what they are like. Most high school students know very little about colleges outside of the Top X, and there are other colleges that can provide you with awesome opportunities.
OP keep in mind law school acceptance is basically about 2 things GPA and LSAT. The prestige of your undergraduate school does not really factor into the equation. Go to a school that will be affordable and is a place that you can thrive. Study your ass off and make good grades. Study your ass off for the LSAT. Those are the things that will get you into law school not the name on your diploma.
Right – the only way to have no chance is to not apply, and it’s okay to have some reaches… as long as you have at least one or two safeties and (likelier) matches in the app list as well.
You did see 5.5% as the admit rate but the way that multiple sites cited the numbers was misleading. While 5.5% of Midd applicants enrolled into the school the acceptance rate would have been higher because yield is less than 100%. It was still a very challenging year as Midd took 516 students, (75% of the class) as ED this year.
Accepted and admitted are the same thing…students who have been accepted/admitted to the school
Matriculated and enrolled are the same thing (admitted/accepted students who choose to enroll)…for example, CDS data are for matriculated/enrolled students, NOT admitted students (aside from apps/admitted/matriculated data in section C).
This doesn’t make sense, because again, accepted=admitted. I haven’t seen terminology used as in your example by schools or the media.
And I agree making sure people understand the terminology is one of the first steps to understanding college admissions.
Income won’t help. But applying ED certainly will, more than 50% of the class had enrolled via ED for the class of 2026 at an acceptance rate of 26%. (vs regular decision rate of <10%).
I’m quite literally aimless academically (my mind is more wavery than a feather); there’s no subject that I find “my calling.” I just happen to be good at humanities and poor at STEM, but if you’d given me acceptance into an engineering program at a T20, I’d definitely go since I still have lots of interest in how the natural world works (interest≠proficiency). Science is ultra cool (cooler than polisci) but hard asf.
I’m only APPLYING to a history major, definitely not continuing in it (switching to stats or econ upon matriculation) since it’s a stupid field with no $$$ (same applies to polisci). Y’all would flame the life outta me and hate on me if I said this in my original post.
I just think that a T20 will allow me to be successful academically regardless of what field I choose, whereas if I go to the freaking “gettysburg” college I’m screwed if I can’t transfer out of a history degree. I’d much take the guaranteed T20 in that case. I know some of my cousins that absolutely hate their ugrad but suck it up since its Rice or Cornell.
I hate W&M because unlike Williams or Amherst (my ideal preference is a big state school, I absolutely love UMich, UT-A and UCLA), I can’t endure my boring, UVA-overshadowed experience there for prestige. I just don’t fit in D3, tiny tiny 1000-student colleges. I would ED UVA if they had a preference for ED applicants, but they don’t, so it’s best to use my ED card for some Ivy…
I myself feel kinda bad for being so aimless, but at least going to a T20 and not southern methodist will set me up a lil better for life in case I want to explore fields or switch around.
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