Do i have a good chance of getting into W&M?

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
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<p>Hi everyone! Before i list out all of my grades, ect, i want to say thank you for those who are reading my post!</p>

<p>Ok, so to start off im a resident of Virginia and i am Turkish (if that matters or not).
SAT= (2080) (720 Math 670 Reading 690 writing)
Total Weighted GPA= 4.1</p>

<p>These are the list of ADVANCED courses only (all others are normal courses offered at school)</p>

<p>Freshman year: Honors Biology</p>

<p>Sophmore year: AP World History, Pre-AP English, Honors Chemistry</p>

<p>Junior year: AP Biology, AP US History, AP English Composition</p>

<p>senior year: AP Chemistry, AP Spanish (i have completed all others), AP Enviromental science, AP Comparitive Government, AP Literature, AB Calc.</p>

<p>I was NOT a good student at my school during freshman year but I realized this during my sophmore year (it was like a slap to the face) and i quickly worked as hard as i could to get better grades. Overall, i have been an increasingly dedicated and scholarly student throughout my years in High School and i just hope that doesn't come back to bite me :/</p>

<p>I been apart of my Orchestra 3 out of 4 years of High school (schedule problems in junior year didn't allow me to have all four)</p>

<p>I just attended a campus tour in W&M and i fell in love with the school! I sneaked a peak inside the Biology and Neuroscience lab and everything!</p>

<p>I have Extra Curricular Activities like:</p>

<p>VP of Science Honors Society
President of Medical Leaders Club
Model UN, Debate Club, Key club, National Honors Society, History honors society, and many others that i don't want to fill this page with. I also Volunteer at a local Hospital (over 100 hours) and i am also apart of the Hospital's Hospital-Run medical group. This (and my username) might suggest that i only like the sciences but i'm not only centered on them! They're just my favorite subject :)</p>

<p>So yeah...to sum my message up..this college is in my dreams daily. Not joking.</p>

2

<p>Hello again! Your SAT scores are either at (M) or above (CR/W) W&M’s average which is great. You’ve definitely challenged yourself as far as courses, and you’ve taken just about all of the courses that the admissions office recommends. You do a ton of things outside of school which is also great. Being a male, living in VA, (I assume you’re doing early decision), and showing great interest in the school very much increase your already good chances. I wish you luck!</p>

3

<p>You sound like you offer many great qualities. Your schedule is incredibly strong and your SATs are also strong. You seem very involved in your extracurricular activities and demonstrate some leadership. A unique background does in fact play a role as we’re looking to build a diverse class so whether you’re a dual citizen, permanent resident or whatever, do reference your unique background and if it’s played a major role in your life in any way, feel free to expound upon that in an essay.</p>

<p>Not sure what a 4.1 means without knowing what school you attend. If your grades are mosly As than a 4.1 should be a strong GPA.</p>

<p>If W&M is your first choice, apply ED. The applicant pool is only 1100 strong (as opposed to 13,000 overall) so it’s easier for any applicant to stand out in the smaller pool.</p>

<p>For more on our process and any applicant’s chances, check out our Admit It! Blog ([W&M</a> Blogs Chance Me](<a href=“http://blogs.wm.edu/2010/12/14/chance-me/]W&M”>http://blogs.wm.edu/2010/12/14/chance-me/))</p>

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<p>If i apply ED, will the college still consider my first semester grades? Because i really need to to be a factor. I also want to take the SAT on October so will those grades also be available to me on time by November 1st? My school has a gpa on a 5.0 scale so my 4.1 is a bit…low?</p>

5

<p>We cannot consider first-semester grades during ED because we make decisions before they become available. We can consider first quarter grades. As for the October SAT, we generally receive those scores before we make final ED decisions but we cannot guarantee that that is the case. Your SATs are above our middle 50% range for IS applicants. Taking them again can’t hurt you as we only review your best outcome however.</p>

<p>Does your school rank? That might help us better assess your GPA since we don’t actually have an average GPA given how GPAs mean different things at different schools.</p>

6

<p>Yes but i do not know my rank as of now. By the way, what is the admission rate for in state students in early decision? For the interviews, are they still held throughout the year? And one last question, where can i find the application essay prompt?</p>

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<p>We don’t break down admission rates for IS and OSS students during ED because the applicant percentages are not indicative of our overall pool. In the whole pool, OOS students make up 60% plus of our applicants. In ED, IS students are the vast majority (likely upwards of 70%). The overall admit rate during ED is usually in the mid forthieth percentile.</p>

<p>Interviews are currently offered during the summer only and we do not offer off-campus or alumni interviews. Because interviews are only available during the summer they are entirely optional.</p>

<p>W&M uses the Common Application which requires one essay and gives you six prompts from which to choose. The 2011-2012 Common App will go live August 1 so you can check out the prompts then but one is always topic of your choice so you can write about whatever it is you wish to write about. Check out our recent Admit It! Blog on essay writing for some thoughts on topics ([W&M</a> Blogs Eeeek…It’s the Essay](<a href=“http://blogs.wm.edu/2011/07/07/eeeek-its-the-essay/]W&M”>http://blogs.wm.edu/2011/07/07/eeeek-its-the-essay/))</p>

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<p>Thank you so much :)</p>

<p>I thought i was done with questions but it seems like i have more now…haha</p>

<p>Will my grades first quarter be regarded by the admission officers? I really want them to see how i am progressing into higher levels of thought and persistence my senior year. Will my gpa (its a bit low) be considered as i have taken a lot of AP courses? Because i always challenge myself and i don’t want that to hurt my application.</p>

9

<p>If you apply ED and submit your firsts quarter grades they will be considered (assuming you submit them by early November). If you apply RD you’ll submit your first semester grades.</p>

<p>We don’t always consider your GPA per se but we look at your course rigor and your grades very carefully. We certainly encourage students to challenge themselves and if they get a B here or there in a challenging course that’s okay. However, if student’s challenge themselves to the total detriment of their grades that won’t help them. We like to see you challenge yourself and be successful gradewise.</p>

<p>Remember, our applicant pool is incredibly strong and filled with some of the best and brightest young students from across the country and the world; most of whom will have challenged themselves and performed well in the classroom. That’s why we are selective in admission.</p>

10

<p>How many students would you say attend 10 AP classes by the end of their senior year? Because i will and will this be an advantage to me? i like challenging myself. a lot and i feel like my grades took a bit of a hike due to that.</p>

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<p>scienceguy, that’s really hard to estimate. 10 APs is certainly on the high end (we’d say most students take between 6 and 8) although plenty to take more and some do take less. Again, keep in mind that there will be students in our pool who take a high number of APs and get mostly As and who also take calc and physics and the fourth level of a foreign language.</p>

<p>Students always ask is it better to a) take the easier class and get an A or b) take the harder class and get a B. The answer is c. It’s best to take the harder class and get an A. We recognize that this seems unfair but it’s part of applying to a selective school.</p>

<p>As we state in all chance me blogs, every applicant has a chance of being admitted because we have no minimum criteria that a student must meet in order to be admitted and because we have no formula applied to an application. We consider the academic and personal merits of each applicant and look at each applicant’s transcript individually and in the context of the high school they attend.</p>

12

<p>Do you know what percentage of Pre-Med students at W&M are accepted into Medical School? </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

13

<p>scienceguy, there’s no great way to answer that question. The only data we get from our students is self-reported and the only data we get from national med school admission clearinghouses is based on any student who ever attended W&M (so it includes recent and not-so-recent grads).</p>

<p>What we can tell you is that W&M students are generally accepted to medical schools at rates 10-15% higher than the national average and that those who graduate from W&M with a 3.3 GPA or higher are generally accepted to med school at rates nearly twice the national average for general admission to med school.</p>

<p>Hope this is helpful</p>

14

<p>Does the W&M Administration team have an inclination toward the SAT? I’m thinking about taking the ACT as well.</p>

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<p>We consideer whichever score is the highest. So if you take both the SAT and the ACT we’ll consider only whichever composite is the highest so you’re welcome to take either exam or both</p>