Chance me/What Can I do to Increase my Odds of Acceptance and Johnson?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington & Lee University
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GPA Unweighted (8th-10th): 3.6
GPA Weighted (8th-10th): 4.0
GPA Unweighted Predicted for junior year: 3.79+
GPA weighted Predicted for junior year: 4.79+

ACT: Haven’t taken
SAT: Mock SAT I scored a 1270, I’m confident that I can get at least 1400 as I am beginning SAT prep classes and will start studying more rigorously

Course-load freshman: honors only
Course-load sophomore: AP Gov, IB chem, rest honors
Course-load junior: (FULL IB SCHEDULE): IB math SL I, IB Lit HL I, IB Environmental, IB German HL II, IB HOA, IB Business I, IB ToK
Course-load senior (planned): (FULL IB SCHEDULE): IB math SL II, IB Lit HL II, IB Physics I, IB Biology I, IB Topics HL, IB Business HL, IB ToK

Extracurricular: Varsity tennis captain 4yrs, varsity golf 3yrs (possibly captain), german honors society president

Awards: Academic Excellence award in programming

Job experience: Bag room service attendant at country club (March 2017 - present). I know some members are alumni, so I may be able to get some more information from them if I wear a W&L hat or something.

Recommendations: business teacher would give me a great one, german teacher would give me a great one, english teacher would give me a great one. May be able to also get some alumni recommendations

Intended Major: finance or pre-med
State: Virginia
School Type: public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none :frowning:

Something that I think should help: Accepted and attended Governors School at Washington & Lee last summer (as a rising Junior when most others were rising Seniors) full immersion German academy for 3wks

What should I focus on to beef up my application? I know I don’t have the best statistics, so how can I compensate for that? I don’t think I’d be able to attend the school without a somewhat considerable scholarship (preferably Johnson). My parents are divorced, is there any way I’d be able to just register my mom’s income and receive some FA, lol?

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@Envyster " My parents are divorced, is there any way I’d be able to just register my mom’s income and receive some FA, lol?"

It doesn’t work like that, as far as I know. You should check out the financial aid threads on CC.

W&L is really about fit, and the contributions you would make to the community. I’d make sure I visited, make contact with professors in the areas you are interested in, and definitely interview.

Also, and I say this as a teacher and also as an alum of the school, there are a LOT of finance and pre-med majors at W&L. I would make sure you application shows that you have strongly developed interests in these areas, otherwise it just looks like you are trying to go for a lucrative career vs. something for which you have a passion.

My D just got a Johnson, and she is very accomplished, although her test scores are not perfect. She had an unweighted 4.0 GPA, weighted 5.0, but only a 33 ACT. She had reached the national level in two different performing arts areas (theater and music) and dances in a pre-professional dance studio. I know she had really good letters of recommendation and she was told at the Johnson competition that her essays were “beautiful.” The Johnson weekend itself is a three day affair of interviews with members of the community at all levels.

Good luck, it is a great school!

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@katespeare Thank you for the information, congratulations to your daughter!

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The unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your perspective) is that you can’t do much to increase Johnson odds. It’s not as recipe driven as people think, but instead is about who you are as a person. My son, for example, has a straight (i.e., not superscored) 1570 SAT, might be valedictorian, was captain of several sports teams, and has won a scattering of different awards. He was not a Johnson finalist and although I don’t have inside information as to why, I suspect it is in part because he has a reserved, low key personality. The Johnson winners I’ve known (which are many in number) visibly show great passion and energy for a wide variety of of subjects. That sort of passion is hard to fake and there’s not much one can do to develop it. Students who focus on putting together the “right profile” aren’t likely to be successful–at least not because of that profile–because great schools get thousands of applicants with great profiles. Successful candidates have to not only have something special, but have to have the right personality to showcase that specialness. My advice is to not worry about the profile, but to instead focus on showing schools who you really are. If the fit is right, you’ll get into the school(s) of your choice and may very well get aid/scholarships to cover the costs.

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I think @ChefHoovisan said it very well. I don’t think W&L’s Johnson is completely stat driven, and I think letters of recommendation and essays play a big role (in terms of conveying personality, drive, character, etc). My daughter is a reserved, modest individual, but she writes beautifully and interviews very well. If I had to guess, her accomplishments in music, theater, and dance probably helped tip the scale, as it is easy to see ways in which she can make an impact on a small campus.