<p>I go to TJ, so I'm in-state. I'm going to be a senior this fall, and I am a Chinese girl.
4.032 weighted GPA
2310 (800 M, 800 CR, 710 W) SAT
800 Math II/740 Literature SAT IIs
7 APs by the time I graduate (Music Theory, BC Calculus, US History, Physics (Mechanics and E&M), Government, Statistics and Literature)
I am taking challenging courses such as Optics and Quantum Physics next year, so I'm hoping that makes up for my lack of APs.</p>
<p>I am a member of NHS and the Russian Honor Society.
I will have been a member of the state championship winning marching band for four years and I am a section leader.
I will have been a member of the world finalist drumline for three years.
I tutor underprivileged kids near the school.
I play in my church orchestra.</p>
<p>There's this ridiculous thing called Family Connection that is linked to our Blackboard accounts and I saw it today and nearly died. It doesn't look like I can get into any college now... If my chances are awful at W&M, what other schools would you recommend?</p>
<p>I have no idea what you’re talking about. Family Connection? Is that part of Naviance?</p>
<p>You have a 1600 M/CR SAT. W&M doesn’t count the Writing section…your score is perfect.</p>
<p>You’ve taken multiple AP Physics courses. 7 APs is not a few compared to the majority of students. </p>
<p>Quantum Physics? Most people will never get that high.</p>
<p>Okay, you’re a TJ Asian student…a NOVA kid. I mean, yeah, but…why does that automatically kill your chances? </p>
<p>It’s hard for NOVA kids and Asians, but it’s not like you’re scores are bad or your classes are easy. It’s not like you’ll be automatically out because another NOVA kid has more APs than you…</p>
<p>Plus, W&M’s biggest demographic is Caucasian girls…</p>
<p>What do you mean “it doesn’t look like I can get into any college now”?</p>
<p>You can get into the overwhelming majority of colleges in the United States.</p>
<p>I’m lost…what did this Family Connection thing tell you?</p>
<p>It has this chart thing that compares the stats of people who got into each college with yours in a chart, and my little dot was to the right (higher SAT) but WAY below (lower GPA) every single dot. Red X’s are people that have been rejected, and my dot was even lower than a lot of the rejected X’s. It was like that for basically every single college I looked at, and W&M is one of my top choices…</p>
<p>You go to TJ, one of the best high schools in the country, I bet they will consider that for you gpa, however and above 4.0 gpa even weighted is not awful by any means. You will get in with no trouble, even probably could win a scholarship.</p>
<p>Okay…That makes very little sense to me. I don’t see how a bunch of top notch students would be getting rejected left and right unless they were applying to every single Ivy League school.</p>
<p>Which colleges did you check for?</p>
<p>But seriously…</p>
<p>Just keep getting good grades, write awesome essays (make sure you do the supplemental essay)…and I can’t see you getting rejected.</p>
<p>W&M cares a lot about your personality and what you can bring to the college, so make sure you really come through in the essays. </p>
<p>But, I don’t see you on the borderline. As long as your app is the most boring app in the world, I can’t see a rejection.</p>
<p>You have a 1600/1600
7 APs is not a small amount
Amazing accomplishments that no normal teenager would ever dream of</p>
<p>I recommend you stop caring about a college’s prestige and the opinions of people who could NEVER predict what college you are going to get into. The ONLY colleges you should doubt would be HYPMS, where no one is a sure fire bet. You’re guaranteed to probably 99% of schools in the country, and if you have any ability to express yourself through writing you shouldn’t even worry about 1%.</p>
<p>I would say you would be totally in except for the TJ thing. Going to TJ really hurts your chances at most top schools unless you are at the VERY top of the class. </p>
<p>Really? I have to respond. Perfect SAT, 7 APs , top school in the country. Sure your outside activities are pretty standard…marching band, tutoring so no national science awards etc. Do you have a job? Something to show how you balance things? I think you must be smart enough to know that you will not get rejected at ALL schools unless you choose to apply to only the very, very top.</p>
<p>Not sure what “Family Connection” is showing you but TJ students generally fair well in college admission because of the caliber of the school and it’s students.</p>
<p>Your stats would lead us to believe you’re on of TJ’s strongest in terms of GPA, course rigor and testing and you’re likely to be competitive at many schools including W&M. Keep in mind that selective schools are selective for a reason (they have more qualified appliants than available spaces) but there’s no need to get overly worried. You sound like a very strong student.</p>
<p>Family Connections shows you in comparison to the other people in your school, one of the best ones in America. </p>
<p>You are probably going to get in unless you turn out to have a terrible personality and writing style or something. Which, I’m guessing you probably DON’T :)</p>
<p>Your right. We do hate these. Honestly, you need to decide for yourself and have enough confidence in your work to know whether you deserve to get into a college. If you think you deserve to go there, then you have to show the admissions what your all about. honestly re-read your post again. does it sound confident? does it sound like a senior who is ready for college? it sounds whiny. there is so much hype over the whole process of colleges and honestly, they are what you make of them. if you want them to be stressful, they will be.</p>
<p>I think this girl is just doing what lots do on the board, posting scores and looking for preening feedback. So, let’s all say awwwwwww, sweetheart, you really are smart and talented and of course you will get in with those stats. You really are very top-ranked and you should really be applying to all the Ivies and W&M should only appear as your safety school. There, now, feel all better and suitably comforted and praised? BTW, “Family Connection” is the same as “Naviance” and you can bet that she is in the green zone at every college with respect to TJ, probably the top high school in the country.</p>
<p>While there are certainly numerous brilliant students for whom almost any school is a safety school, we caution all students about considering selective institutions as “safety schools”. Any school that is selective by definition admits fewer students than it denies. W&M’s admit rate is about 31% so while there are certainly students who apply who exceed our expectations it’s dangerous to consider selective schools as safety schools. Just a cautionary thought.</p>
<p>The reason I’m worried is because Family Connection compares me to other people in my school. My GPA is NOT on the high-end of TJ’s spectrum. Yes, my school is competitive. That’s why I’m nervous. It doesn’t really help me to go to a competitive school since I’m not at the top of the heap. I’m not sure where anyone is getting the idea that I’m considering W&M as a safety school, because I’m not. I have four schools I’m applying to and W&M is one of them.</p>
<p>@flavoric: relax! I am all too familiar with the highly competitive atmosphere at TJ, which tends to make terrific students question their own value. Stop looking at the stats for last year’s seniors on Naviance and Family Connection! It will make you crazy. That was 2010; this is a new year. </p>
<p>Don’t compare yourself to other TJ students. Focus on who YOU are. Spend this summer drafting and editing some great essays that let W&M see the unique person that YOU are. Your stats are competitive even for TJ, but it will be your essays and first semester grades that set you apart in your college applications. Make the most of your senior tech lab or mentorship, and work those experiences into your essays. And spend time talking to your guidance counselor. TJ’s counselors are some of the best.</p>
<p>Finally, make sure to visit the admissions offices at the colleges to which you are applying. It strengthens your application to any school - not just W&M - if you show interest in them and make an “official” campus visit.</p>
<p>Relax. Approximately 80% of those who applied to W&M from TJ were accepted for this incoming class. Don’t pay attention to the Family Connection graph, that worried me last year, too. Sixty or more students from the TJ class of 2010 are attending W&M. So if you continue as a good student you will be accepted. I think W&M likes TJ kids – they know that you are ready for an continued academic challenge and that the academic transition to college will not be difficult for you.</p>
<p>Thanks, 12rmh18 and kap10, for not immediately dismissing me just because I worry (: Yeah, those graph things are really scaring me, but I’ve started work on my essays and filling out forms, so we’ll see how things go!</p>
<p>Even thought you may not be “at the top of the heap” at TJ, W&M and other selective institutions recognize that there are some really exceptional high schools at which it’s unfair to expect applicants to be at the top of the heap. That’s why we consider students within the context of where they attend high school. There are some high school’s whose grading systems lend themselves to students with one B falling outside the top decile. IIt’s our job as regional deans to understand the nuances of the schools in our region and to be able to consider applicants from those schools in the appropriate context based on grading scale, competition among students within that school, etc.</p>
<p>To address a question from a prior post, W&M does not track interest so visiting campus does not make you more likely to be admitted. We encourage you to visit campus to see if W&M is the right fit but we do not track how many times someone visits or contacts us for purposes of admission.</p>