My nephew recently applied to Washington and Lee. Here are some stats:
GPA 4.24 weighted; 3.89 unweighted
SAT (new) 1310 (690 math 620 reading)-bombed the essay
Various honors and dual college-enrollment classes (his school does not offer AP classes)
Extracurriculars:
Wrestling: 4 years
Marching band: 3 years
Soccer: 2 years
Swimming: 1 year
Tutoring: one stint over summer (2 weeks/50 hours)
Mathlete: 1 year
Work: approx 19 hours per week lifeguarding (his mom’s a single mom so he needs to contribute to the family finances)
Essays: pretty good essay about influences on his life (autistic brother, incarcerated dad) and how he’s grown through his family situation
*Also, wrestling coach is interested in him for the team but did not go so far as to say he would support his application (not sure how much influence a coach has in admissions for division III?)
Who knows quite honestly. LAC admissions can be very holistic. He has a good story to tell with his family circumstances and has done well regardless of those obstacles. The wrestling could give him an edge. The non-math test parts are a bit weak.
Where else did he apply?
College of the Holy Cross (didn’t submit test scores), Bates (didn’t submit test scores), Lehigh, Hamilton, Connecticut College, Franklin and Marshall, Bucknell, Colgate, Boston College, USC and Occidental
And yes, the non-math parts are weak. He is interested in Engineering programs (either 4 year or the 3+2 programs).
Does he have a safety school? State college he applied to? He seems like a fine student and that’s a great list of schools he’s applied to but I wouldn’t consider any of them safety schools.
Yes, he’s been accepted to Drury University in Springfield MO (his home town) and University of Missouri, Kansas City. I know none of the schools I listed earlier are safety schools-but would you consider some of them matches? I helped him narrow his list and now am worried maybe we aimed too high?
I’d probably put Conn College, Occidental, F&M, maybe Holy Cross as matches for him.
I wouldn’t worry. He has two safeties in his pocket already. He’s likely to have a few more to choose from by April, IMO.
W&L reports the highest standardized scoring among all Virginia colleges, and among the highest in the nation. So, essentially by definition, this school will be a tough admit for many applicants. That said, your nephew’s strong GPA and other factors should lead to at least several acceptances at his greater group of colleges (post 2), which span a fairly broad range by statistical factors:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
Thanks doschicos and merc81! I’m losing sleep worrying that I pushed him to aim too high. The admissions process is hard and I was the only one helping him so I feel responsible if things don’t work out (and by working out, I mean getting into a couple on the list- not the high reaches).
In my opinion, your nephew will be much better off for having had your assistance, @Emsmom1.
(As a guess, he should expect four or more acceptances.)
Don’t lose sleep, @Emsmom1! I agree that your nephew is lucky to have the benefit of your guidance. It’s a nice list of schools, he already has some options, my guess is as long as recs and essays are strong, he’ll have more. I’m sending good karma your and his way! He sounds like a hardworking, bright young man who has made great strides coming from circumstances many kids don’t have to face.
I’m curious as to the reason he withheld his SAT results from Bates, but submitted them to Conn, which reports slightly higher scores?
That was my fault. I ordered and paid for his SAT scores to be sent to schools and I accidentally sent them to Conn College even though they don’t require them. Stupid of me not to double check.
SAT scores provide substantiating data points, even when somewhat below average. I’d think his higher than average math score at Conn and, if submitted, at Bates would – or at least should – help him at colleges in this statistical range. Hamilton, though not directly comparable in this scenario, says plainly that they recommend all scores be submitted, and I believe they do this for good reasons.
In general, when contemplating whether to submit scores, it may be worthwhile to ask, what would a college presume them to be in the absence of the actual scores?
That’s an interesting point. I didn’t think of it that way. In light of his low critical reading score, I just suggested that he not send the test scores to test optional schools. Maybe we should have done a bit more research.
Since the decision to submit scores would be an especially close call in his case, he could easily benefit from aleatory factors beyond the reach of our analysis here. Wishing him lots of luck!
An update- so far my nephew has been admitted to Boston College (a surprise to me!), College of the Holy Cross and Franklin & Marshall. Still waiting on 8 more and for his first choice decision to come out. So relieved I didn’t aim too high across the board!
@Emsmom1 this is a wonderful thread and your nephew is lucky to have an aunt like you. Congrats to him (and you_ on his admissions to date and please keep us posted!
Have the financial aid packages been what you expected?
The financial aid packages for Franklin and Marshall and Holy Cross were fantastic (only $4 k in loans per year at F&M and 8k in loans per year at Holy Cross). BC doesn’t release their financial aid packages until tomorrow. But it looks like he’ll be able to leave his rural community for college without taking on a ton of debt. I’m just so proud of him 
Great news! Congrats to him and you! A lot to be proud, for him and for you and your wise and helpful guidance!