<p>I was recently in Washington D.C. for a leadership/law forum, and we visited two law schools as part of the curriculum - Catholic University and William and Mary. Although the drive was very long, William and Mary seemed awesome...and I'm very interested now. :o I didn't really know much about W&M prior to the law forum, except that it was the second institution of higher learning in the U.S. - the South's answer to New England's Harvard (or, at least that's what my AP USH teacher said). I looked into W&M, and I think I'm going to apply. </p>
<p>GPA:
Unweighted: 3.52
Weighted: 4.1
Trend: Sharp upward trend
Rank:
top 10-15%
Course Rigor:
I took the hardest classes my school has to offer - all honors and AP classes. The AP classes are:
AP Government
AP Microeconomics
AP Language and Composition
AP United States History
AP Environmental Science
AP Microeconomics
AP Psychology
AP Calculus AB
AP Biology
AP Literature
Standardized testing:
ACT - 32 Composite; 34 Reading, 32 Math, 30 Science, 32 English, 12/12 on the essay.
SAT II: United States History - 780, Math level II - 710
ECs:
Debate Team - Captain Jr & Sr year (I'm not a senior yet, but the coach already let me know in advance that I'd be the captain for the 2011-2012 year as well)
National Forensics League (Speech and Debate Honor society) - Excellence/Sapphire (Well, the last time I checked I was excellence. Possibly distinction now?)
Newspaper Club - Associate Sports Editor Jr year, coming back Sr year
Tennis - Sophomore year
Volleyball - Freshman year
Football + Wrestling - Freshman and Sophomore year
Roughly 100 volunteer hours at a PADS homeless shelter
attended National Youth Leadership Forum for Law and CSI
Awards:
3rd place at Conference for Lincoln-Douglas Debate
3rd place at ISTA State Tournament for Lincoln-Douglas Debate
All-State Lincoln Douglas Debater @ N</p>
<p>I want to eventually go to law school, and I'm hoping that my ECs demonstrate a specified interest (Debate, the NYLF Law, Newspaper club, Business Law Class). </p>
<p>Also, I read on CC that W&M likes to see physics and a fourth year of foreign language. Our school recently dropped our AP Physics class, and only has an academic/honors option for physics. I'm trying to take as many AP classes as possible to maintain an advanced level of course rigor, and also, I have no interest in science (I eventually want to go to law school) so more science AP classes = less science in college. Therefore, I elected to take AP Environmental Science my junior year, and AP Biology my senior year instead of Academic/Honors Physics. Does that reflect poorly on my transcript? I have taken 3 years of Spanish, and will not be taking a fourth. I'm taking 5 AP classes as a senior, and have no room for electives. Again, will that reflect poorly on my transcript?</p>
<p>Haha your 10 AP classes are just like mine! (Im a rising senior) and my GPA seems to be like yours if i do well my senior year! I think you have a great chance to get into W&M (im applying ED there this year). Are you out of state or a Virginian resident? As this well boost up your chances of getting into W&M. Anyways, good luck!</p>
<p><em>Future Pre-Med Student</em></p>
<p>Scienceguy, sadly I’m out of state! 
But thanks for the reply!</p>
<p>Glad to hear you’re interested in W&M. Your scores and rigor are strong and being captain of your debate team is a nice distinction in the EC realm. </p>
<p>The only piece of advise we might have is to see if you can take either physics or Spanish 4. To take AP Bio instead of physics is not a bad substitute at all (or AP Chem instead of physics) but to not have either physics or the fourth level of a foreign language is not what we’d recommend. We have three courses we see as benchmarks of a very rigorous curriculum: calc, physics, and the fouth level of a foreign language. They’re not required for admission but strongly recommended. We get that you have 5 APs senior year and that is a great number but you said you had no room for electives. We’re confused about that. Usually students can take more than 5 classes in a year so there should be room for Spanish 4 or physics. Keep in mind that even if you score well on your AP Bio and AP Env exams you’ll still have to take a physical science at W&M.</p>
<p>You also didn’t mention any four year ECs. Are there any you’ve been a part of all four years. That’s something the Committee really looks for also.</p>
<p>Remember, because we have no minimum criteria for admission any students who’s interested should apply because everyone has a chance. You should also remember that W&M is highly selective admitting only 27% of the OOS students who apply. For more on any applicant’s chances and our process check out our Admit It! Blog ([W&M</a> Blogs Chance Me](<a href=“http://blogs.wm.edu/2010/12/14/chance-me/]W&M”>http://blogs.wm.edu/2010/12/14/chance-me/))</p>
<p>I think this is the first time one of my “chances” threads have been responded to by an actual school representative… :D. It’s pretty cool that W&M does that. Anyway, to get back on topic, at my school we have 7 “periods.” 5 of those periods are actual classes, and one period is split into two portions - A and B - for lunch and homeroom. The other period is a state mandatory physical education class. So with 5 AP classes, lunch/homeroom, and the state mandatory physical education class, I fill up all 7 “periods.” Therefore, I have no room for spanish 4. But if it’s a huge problem, I might be able to drop one of my AP classes, and take spanish 4 instead. You mentioned the fourth level of a language, physics, and calculus as the three benchmarks of a rigorous curriculum, but since I’m taking a very AP-heavy courseload, and am also taking one of the “benchmark classes (AP Calculus),” would my schedule/course rigor still be fairly competitive when compared to other students who have taken two or more of the benchmark classes?</p>
<p>As for the lack of four year ECs, I plan to elaborate on that on my personal statement. I moved right before I enrolled in high school, and had somewhat of a rough transition. I played multiple sports to make friends and “be one of the guys,” but after two years, I realized that I don’t need superficial friends, and that I could make my own friends doing the things that I genuinely enjoy, like debate. My grades also mirror this development, with a very sharp upward trend starting in my junior year. </p>
<p>By the way, thank you for the reply and information, W&M Admissions! (:</p>
<p>Also, would it be to my advantage to apply ED? I was considering a different school for ED, but after doing some digging, W&M is one of my top choices. The problem I have with applying ED, and I’ve expressed these concerns on this site before, is that the college will not be able to see my first semester grades of senior year. My GPA is subpar compared with the rest of the applicant pool, but there is, as I’ve mentioned, an upward trend. I want to show W&M that this trend is still continuing, and improve my class rank. Do you think, with my profile, that the possible benefits of applying ED outweigh the loss of senior year grades?</p>
<p>We’re glad you appreciate our presence on the site. Our mission is to help prospective students and we’re happy to meet them in whatever forum they feel comfortable.</p>
<p>Certainly the number of APs you’re taking is rigorous and we like that but when students take 8 or 9 APs but only have one of the benchmark courses that’s a bit frustrating to us. However, if you had bio, chem and then AP bio that’s relatively akin to take bio, chem and physics with no AP science. We’d say take either your 5 APs or drop one and take Spanish 4…it’s really up to you. You may however want to explain why you couldn’t take the one you don’t take in your application.</p>
<p>As for applying ED, we would be able to see your first quarter grades if you do that so you could still submit senior work. For cases such as yours ED can be a good and bad choice. Good because it’s a far smaller pool so it’s easier for any applicant to stand out and bad because as you say we won’t have any “official” grades for first semester and you’re someone whose grade trend hasn’t always been as solid as you’d like. We say though that if come late October W&M is your first choice, apply ED. It cannot hurt you to do so.</p>