<p>I agree with 2college in assessment of W&L. I know that my son's good friend who was accepted at W&M but got very little in $$s did get an excellent package at W&L. </p>
<p>However, replacing one with the other may not be the thing to do. THere is no reason not to include a dream school or two or more, as long as it is clear what the situation, particularly financial is.</p>
<p>cpt, You're right-- I just noticed that it's dd's dream school. In that case, I would add W&L. The list is long but, since it's only May, I'm guessing that's a working list. It gets very difficult to stay on top of the paperwork for 13 applications (with visits and interviews) & 13 fa applications with their different requirements so I personally would be reluctant to lengthen the list. I know; we did that and I can't tell you how many times I had to refax documents to schools.</p>
<p>It really did. what helped us a lot were the early apps and then the one app for all of our state schools. The common app was a big help too. My son was rejected from both schools that had their own apps. Accepted everywhere else, including two schools that had their own apps. He did 10 apps but applied to 15 schools, most with a common app.</p>
<p>I'm from Virginia and graduated from W&M but know W&L well too and it's not so easy to replace one with the other. They are very different places. </p>
<p>I wouldn't assume that HYPS are any more academically challenging than many of the schools on the list. Harvard is still very generous in its grading policies - while 90% are not graduating with honors now as they were a few years ago, they still graduate 50% with honors and the grades have been creeping back up over the last few years to the point that about half the grades given are As or A-s. Yale keeps its grades under wraps but a survey done in '06 suggested that the average GPA was in the 3.6 range. The hardest part may be getting in. </p>
<p>Williams can be the reachiest of the reaches for some reason. A friend of my D didn't get into Williams but got into every every school to which she applied - and is going to Yale.</p>
<p>W&L has about an 80% Greek campus. Not saying this is a good or bad thing, but you should be aware of it.</p>
<p>Yes. She was trying to avoid a heavy sorority/frat scene. But,you can't have everything especially when trying to make this affordable. It is sort of a balancing act. Like, some of the smaller schools she wishes were bigger, but it might come down to in-state school vs. really good lac. </p>
<p>And you're right (all above), she still has to pare this list down.
Honestly didn't even consider more reaches. I thought her list was reach heavy with the addition of Dartmouth and Williams.</p>
<p>MM, </p>
<p>I think the key to whether or not some of these are reaches is how kids do from her school with her stats <em>and</em> how good an athlete she is. If she's good enough for a school to want her on a team, she may do well at some of the top liberal arts schools-- where 100% of need is met and where several have a no-loans policy.</p>
<p>Her highschool doesn't have naviance that I have read about here, so it's hard to know exactly, but the vast majority of students go to comm.college, state, or in state schools. Very few go out of state. They are usually the very top few students and they go to all the top schools. The top athletes do very well too with div I recruits every year, but my daughter is a better student than athlete. Her scores are very high for her school, though they seem average on here.</p>
<p>Madeline's Mom,</p>
<p>At least your HS has D-1 athletes. My son's HS has lots of kids believing they can go D-1, and they are too small, too slow or have little GPA to show. Of course, my son's HS also sounds like your daughter's when it comes to very few going out of state. With the educational opportunities that VA offers, most students like being in state. </p>
<p>Speaking of VA schools, if you are looking private, you also might look at Roanoke College. Your daughter's SAT is well above the mid 50, but it's a nice LAC with great merit programs. One of my students was offered a huge package but elected to go elsewhere.</p>