Do I have a shot with my GPA / OOS status?

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
1

<p>Also, is admission need-blind? :( </p>

<p>Basics:
White/Hispanic (Spanish) female from MI.
Grew up lower-class but now live in a middle class city.
Parents income is virtually nonexistent because my mom was laid off and my dad has been on disability since I was in 7th grade because of a car accident.
First generation college student
First generation American (mom’s side)</p>

<p>The numbers:
GPA: 3.57 UW / 3.73 W [Not using this as an excuse, only an explanation, but: I was diagnosed with depression in about February of my junior year. It really made my junior grades pretty bad (I got really sick and ended up in the hospital), but after I recovered, my grades went up, but not really in time to affect my semester grades. My essays will explain what happened as will my counselor rec.]
Frosh GPA: 3.75
Sophomore GPA: 3.83
Junior GPA: 3.1 UW/ 3.6 W. </p>

<p>*My worst grade was a D+ in calc which went up to a C the next semester. However I retook at at local CC and received a B+ :). If that goes on my transcript, then it will change my gpa to 3.62 UW / 3.78 W. Not much I know :). </p>

<p>** I will be using my ACT score **
ACT: 33 (29 E, 34 M, 33 R, 34 S)
SAT: 710 M, 630 CR, 590 W
SAT 2s: 800 Math 2, 640 Bio M, 600 World History (retaking).
APs: English Lit (3), World History (4), Calculus AB (4). Self studied: Psych (4), US Gov (4), English Lang (3), and Bio (3).</p>

<p>Significant ECs:
-Help found an all-girls basketball league in a poor Detroit neighborhood.
-Coached basketball for league above for 3 years.
-Coached softball and volleyball for 2.
-Help found an Animal Rights club at school. President Senior year.
-Well over 500 hours of community service.
-Over 200 hours of tech on school plays. Thespian (11-12).
-Awareness and Activism (charity based club).
-Have played Volleyball, Basketball, Softball, and Swimming for 13 years (for community sports. Busted knee in 8th grade so I couldn't play competitively after that).</p>

<ul>
<li>My passion is working with disadvantaged children. I came from a disadvantaged background and want to give other kids the same opportunity to overcome it that I had. This is probably what my essays will be about.</li>
</ul>

<p>Oh yeah, I want to go into Socio-Cultural Anthropology, later want to be a children's rights' attorney.</p>

<p>Thanks so much! I really like William and Mary and the campus is absolutely gorgeous.</p>

2

<p>i think w&m will really go for all your service work and passion for helping the disadvantaged. make sure to emphasize it properly in your essays. also, your ACT score is great. just work to raise your GPA up, at least on a yearly basis. that's your big weak spot.</p>

<p>while it's hard to get in as an OOS female, w&m seems to like taking chances on people who show a lot of passion for their community and helping others... so good luck! :D</p>

3

<p>W&M is not as numbers based but it will be tough just b/c W&M is so popular (11,000-12,000 applicants). Good luck.</p>

4

<p>Yeah I know my GPA is my weakest spot, but it truly had a lot to do with the depression. Before I had it, I was a good student (all As except for Spanish lol).</p>

<p>Thanks a lot guys. I had just been told it was super numbers-based, but looking through the threads on here I see that I have been misinformed. :D. </p>

<p>Thanks!! :D</p>

5

<p>You stand out in my opinion and come across very sincere. I admire your courage and determination. I sincerely hope that you are admitted because I think you would be an asset to William and Mary. There is no question that you are up for the challenge and would do well here. Your essays and recs are going to be KEY. Any college would be lucky to have you. All the very best to you. Please make contact with admissions. Show your interest in William and Mary. I think admission is very possible for you.</p>

<p>Rock on!</p>

<p>Pedsox</p>

6

<p>Aw, thanks. That made my day :). </p>

<p>But again, I have to ask. Does William and Mary have need-blind admission? I will need a lot of aid (for obvious reasons :( ). I have friends and family who are willing to help me out but it still only comes to about 1/4 of sticker price. Bah! Lol. </p>

<p>Also, how much is the interview weighted in the decision? I don't think I can make it out to Virginia for an interview.</p>

7

<p>interviews are not very important at all. Just write a killer essay.</p>

8

<p>i think it's primarily need blind but if you are OOS you may not get as much money. their primary objective is to grant full need based aid to Virginians. </p>

<p>
[quote]
Will my full need be met?
The College's undergraduate aid policy is centered on meeting as much as possible of a student's demonstrated financial need. For Virginia residents, we generally meet students' full need, but have gaps in offers for some nonresident students. Like many institutions, we meet lower amounts of need in self-help and focus our grant money on higher need levels.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>i hope you apply!</p>

9

<p>Oh yeah... I forgot to add my schedules: </p>

<p>Believe it or not, I took the most rigorous classes I could all years. Transferring from a non public school really screwed me over in classes :(, because I wasn't a TAG kid in their middle school system.</p>

<p>Fresh: Earth Science (A-/A-), English 9 (A-/A), US History (A/A), AGS (Algebra-geometry-statistics) 2 (A-/B+), Spanish I (B+/B-), Health/PE (A/A). </p>

<p>Soph: Honors Bio (A-/A), American Lit/Writing (A+/A), Political and Economic Systems (A/A), AGS 3P (the "honors" math) (A/A-), Intro to psych (typically 11th graders) (A-/A), Spanish II (B+/B+). </p>

<p>Junior: Honors Debate (A), Honors physical anthropology (B), AP Calc AB (D+/C-), AP World History (A-/A-), AP English (A-/B+), Spanish III (B-/B). </p>

<p>Summer: Senior Social Studies Project: A-. [This was actually really cool because we are the first group of students who did a senior project at my school. They're using our results to try to encourage the district to give the option of a senior project to all students :)]</p>

<p>Senior: AP Prob and stats, Honors Cultural anthropology, Honors Humanities I and II, Tao In Thought and Lit, Ecology, Honors Philosophy, Spanish IV, Comp Apps I (req), Lifeguarding (req).</p>

<p>I couldn't take physics because I opted to take a 4th year of language instead of physics. Besides, ecology is more research based at my school and I like researching and writing papers rather than doing formulas and math :).</p>

10

<p>If it helps, I will be moving into W&M on 8-22 and I had a 3.38 (I'm a guy though). I am also OOS (from Ohio). I had around your test scores (1430 is close to your ACT when converted). Your service work is abundant and seems very sincere. I would say you have a very good shot of getting in. Best of luck and I hope everything works out for you. Feel free to PM me with any further questions.</p>

11

<p>About the financial aid, I'm OOS and most of my need was met. I got a grant , loans, and work study. I was also admitted off the waitlist and they say right on the waitinglist paper not to expect much financial aid. They gave me a lot more than I expected so that made it possible for me to attend.</p>

<p>About your chances, your SAT's are a lot better than mine . Just let them know your interest in their school and let your essays showcase your extra curriculars. By the way, I couldn't make a trip from the westcoast over there to the school for an interview or even a tour, so you might be OK.</p>

12

<p>Thanks. I have visited before, but it was two years ago. My aunt and uncle are friends with some of the professors because they used to live right next to the campus, so I might be able to go down with them the next time they go. Which will be awesome because one of the professors is a history professor :). </p>

<p>I hope I can get in lol</p>

13

<p>Oh question, how important is class rank, because mine is in the tank :(. </p>

<p>We have major grade inflation for our lower-level (not the college-prep classes) and have something like 20% of our class graduate with a 4.0. My class rank is like top 25% at best :(.</p>

14

<p>Class rank is fairly important for WM admissions. However, I think your ECs and passion will help you overcome the low class rank. As will the documentation of the problems you faced junior year.</p>