<p>I've already applied ED to William & Mary, but if I don't get in there, my top two choices are James Madison and George Washington.
Female from PA
GPA (weighted) 4.9695
GPA (unweighted) 4.0
Rank 7/212 so top 3%
SATs: 1260/1930 (620 M, 640 CR, 670 W)
6 APs: Junior year - AP Chem (A-), AP Language and Comp (A+), AP Government (A)
Current senior year APs: AP Calculus AB, AP US History, AP Literature and Comp
All honors courses in classes that weren't AP, no AP math offered Junior year so I took Honors Trig and Pre Calc, and no AP Physics offered so I am currently taking Honors Physics. Completed up to Spanish IV last year.
Other senior classes: Honors Psych, Honors Sociology, Honors Euro History I & II
ECs/Leadership/Awards:
National Honor Society (2 years)
Spanish Honor Society (2 years)
Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society (2 years)
Math & Science Honor Society (1 year; new to school this year)
School Musical (4 years)
Student Council (2 years) Officer position - Historian
Class of 2014 Student Body Treasurer
Interact Rotary Club (3 years)
Future Business Leaders of America (3 years)
Volunteer at a summer camp for kids ages 4-11 (5 years)
Assistant manager at part-time job at Marble Slab Creamery
Student Delegate at PSBA Student Leadership Conference 2013
Rotary Student of the Month
Citizen of the Month
Placed at annual regional FBLA conference& competition</p>
<p>Intend to major in International Affairs/Relations
Good essays
Great teacher & counselor recs</p>
<p>What do you think are my chances at JMU and GWU? Also what are my chances for money from these schools? Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m a W&M alum who used to help do regional admissions interviews. Based on your academic profile and extra curricular activities, you have a strong chance of getting into W&M, but because you’re out of state, it will be very competitive. W&M does like to take strong students who want them as a first choice, so it’s definitely to your advantage that you are trying ED. Your SAT’s are perhaps a tad low for W&M but still in the range, but your grades are excellent and your curriculum looks strong (which is what they really look at). I can speak to JMU because I have a son there and also work with a number of people who recently graduate from there. While not as competitive as W&M, it’s still an excellent school with ambitious students and a very solid reputation. You are sure to get in there, and you should also try for their honors program, where you’d get an especially challenging, enriching education. The students in JMU’s honors program are top notch, and the program is excellent. Both W&M and JMU are amazing schools, especially for the cost. GWU is nice and all but is outrageously expensive, and around here, it’s not viewed as being any better than the other two (especially not W&M). However, if you’re trying to get money, GWU is more likely to give you some than either JMU or W&M. Being state schools, the latter two really focus on in state students first when doling out merit money, but there is always a chance. I suspect that unless GWU comes through with a strong merit aid package (or non-loan financial aid), the two state schools would still be a fair amount less expensive for you than GWU. I happen to work in the international field, which you say you are interested in. I have an undergrad degree from W&M in International Relations and Spanish, MA from Georgetown in Latin American Studies, and a Master of Information Science from University of Maryland. I work with many smart people who majored in International Studies or area studies or languages of various sorts, and I can tell you that we have just as many people from state universities, including many from both W&M and JMU, as we do from places like GWU. Those from the state universities have been just as successful and spent a lot less to get to the same place. I have a young JMU colleague who majored in International Studies at JMU with a minor in Russian who studied abroad in Russia for a year through JMU. He learned to speak, read, and write Russian fluently and is now one of my office’s top experts on Russia. He has beat out Ivy League grads for positions in our office. College is really what you make of it, and your success in the work place is what you make of it. Both W&M and JMU have excellent study abroad programs. This young man is one example of someone who took advantage of it and learned a critical language, which made him highly desirable to employers. It’s really important, if you’re going to major in IR or Int’l Studies to learn to speak either one critical language well (especially in demand by employers in the int’l field are critical languages like Russian, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, Korean) or two western European languages such as French and Spanish, if you want to go far in the field. The other way to break into the international field is to take a lot of Economics, including the more difficult math-oriented Econ such as Econometrics, Money and Banking, International Economics, etc. Good luck to you! If you can get enough money out of GWU to make it worth it, it’s a fine school with strong international programs, but W&M and JMU are both outstanding schools as well.</p>