My son is interested in applying RD to W&M, studying International Relations, here’s his profile:
Profile:
Caucasian, in-state, male
Academics:
GPA: UW 3.9, W 4.1
SAT: 1440 (780 verbal, 660 math)
SAT II: US History 760, World History 760, Spanish 550
AP:s Environmental science (5), English (5)
Senior year taking AP Literature, Calc, and possibly Psychology
ECs:
Eagle Scout with over 80 hours of community service and several Troop leadership positions
Ad-Hoc secretary for HS International Club
Model UN (Freshman/Sophmore year only, club was disbanded due to lack of a faculty sponsor)
Boys State Delegate / scholarship award
Works part time in a grocery story
Four years JRTOC with various leadership positions and participating in extra curricular activities through the program
Still working on his essay, should have several good recommendations.
If it helps, one parent is an alumni and we’ve been small time donors to the school for years ($25-50 a year)
What do you think are his chances?
And the question:
He took the SAT Subject Tests as he was interested in applying to Georgetown, who requires 3 subject tests, our feeling is the 550 in Spanish really hurts his chances and he doesn’t want to take it again. Should we submit the subject tests to W&M even though they say they aren’t required?
A 550 out of a possible 800 in an SAT subject test such as Spanish will harm his chances of admission, but will be helpful regarding proper placement in Spanish courses.
Otherwise, I think that your son will be a competitive applicant for admission to William & Mary.
Yes, he seems like a great candidate for admission. In-state helps his odds, being male is advantageous. It’s also great that he’s an Eagle Scout, for admission and for the skills and other things he learned along the way.
If test scores (subject test and otherwise) are not required, then don’t submit them if they are not helpful.
I might take 1 more SAT to get the score in the ~1500 range to be on the safe side. Otherwise a high match/low reach for W&M.
A higher SAT score would make Tufts a target and they are pretty well known for International Relations.
A slight concern is I don’t see any AP history courses listed as taken. It wouldn’t necessarily harm the application but an IR major usually will have taken AP level History classes. If your son’s school offers AP Euro, substitute that for AP Psychology.
The Eagle Scout shows leadership/commitment and could definitely help with an application, especially when comparing candidates with similar numbers. It could tip the balance in favor of your son.
thanks for the responses. His HS offers AP US history, but he’s shied away from taking it as the workload is brutal according to those who have taken it, and he didn’t want to be overwhelmed by a single course. He is taking AP US Government this upcoming year. He is taking the SAT again in October.
I’m glad that you are considering William & Mary. It has an excellent international relations and public policy program that is well-regarded and there are so many opportunities associated with it. I should know, I have taken advantage of many of them. Your son has a solid unweighted test scores and grades. He is in-state and a legacy applicant, which will definitely help in the admissions process. Tufts and Georgetown, which I see are also on your list are also wonderful choices.
I would personally recommend not submitting the Spanish subject test score. Since it is completely optional at William & Mary, it does not make sense to send a score that could potentially blemish your application. As far as language classes go, he can take a placement test when he is there. Or after four years of taking a language in HS, he fulfills the language requirement altogether at William & Mary. The other test scores are solid, however. If you are applying to a school that requires three subject tests, might I suggest taking a different one? Math could be a good option and Literature is honestly a hit or miss (I got a 760 on one and a 670 on another despite very minimal changes in studying for both)
If he is simply looking for college credit, I personally did not find the APUSH test to be that difficult especially if he did well on the SAT II. At William & Mary it gives him double the amount of credit because it covers the content of two college courses. After only taking Honors US History, I self-studied for the AP test and got a 5 and also a 780 on the SAT II. Other than that, I don’t necessarily see it as necessary for him to take AP US History over AP Psychology (both very interesting subjects) as one will not be weighted significantly more than the other. It is important for him to find balance in his life and it is good that he recognizes that it would be overwhelming for him – that is definitely a sign of maturity for college.
Best of luck, let me know if I could be of any further assistance or if you have any other questions about the school.