<p>Our son toured W&M recently and really liked it. Even more than he expected to but he's worried about his chances of getting in. His sister goes to UVA so we're more familiar with their admissions office and policies. Our son is in a dual-enrollment program for marine science (Governor's School) and has about a 3.7 GPA right now. He has mostly A's and B's on his report cards but has gotten a C in Algebra 2 last year and a C in College Marine Chemistry this semester. He's only taken the SAT once and got about a 1850. He just took the ACT so we won't know that score for another month. He will graduate high school with close to 80 college credits, in addition to several AP and Honors classes (most with A's and 4 or 5's on the test). The Governor's School schedule conflicts with his being able to take all AP classes at his home high school so he's had to enroll in Honors classes instead of AP at times. I should also add he attends a very small, rural Virginia high school (~100 students in his class). Is anyone willing to assess his chances here? Recommendations for becoming a more attractive student over the next 8 months or so before he applies would also be welcome. </p>
<p>Forgot to include extracurriculars- he has been on varsity cross country and track teams every year in high school, is team captain for x-country now and has gone to States every year he’s run. Additionally he just joined Scholastic Bowl this year and will be going to State’s in 2 weeks after his team won districts and regionals. He has about 80 hours of community service so far and has helped run one of our family businesses during the summers that focuses on environmental education. Thanks for any feedback you have! I know there are a ton of Chance requests on these boards. </p>
<p>Is he being recruited by the college? I know the xc program is astounding but it might not hurt to fill out a recruit questionnaire and send it to the coach.</p>
<p>I’m very familiar with the process of applying to both uva and WM and imo applying to WM is overall a much better and much less painful experience. The college was very understanding and interacted with me pretty much every step of the way whereas I only heard from uva 2 or 3 times after applying. In my case it seemed as though the college cared the most about transcripts and EC’s. Any leadership will help a lot.</p>
<p>It appears your son is taking very challenging courses and that’s a good start. Is that his weighted gpa or unweighted? My best advice would be for your son to do an on campus interview over the summer, write the supplement essay, and if the college is really his dream school, to apply early. </p>
<p>He would strengthen his chances with a better SAT. Get a book and work on the practice tests. If he is sure he wants W&M- ED. Gets a closer look due to fewer applicants. Spend time on the essays and do any optionals that they have next year. Good luck- if his SAT can come up, I think he has a good shot.</p>