In-State chances for William and Mary?

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

<p>I love William and Mary :)</p>

<p>-In-state Resident
-White Male
-Magnet High School
-3.87 cumulative GPA
-4.56 weighted GPA
-1940 on my SAT (still taking it again, along with the ACT). I got a 590 on reading, 660 on math, and 700 on writing. (took it a second time and I get the score back on Thursday!)
-Member of varsity cross country (started this year) and outdoor/indoor track (since my sophomore year). I plan on finishing the year up with them too.
-I got an interview at William & Mary, which I thought went pretty well.
-Member of Mu Alpha Theta
-Member of NHS
-159 SSL Hours
-I think that the teachers I am asking for recommendations will write very well of me.
-(lastly) AP credits:
AP NSL - 3 - Taken my sophomore year
AP Lang - 5 - Taken my junior year
AP World - 4 - Taken my junior year
AP Psych - 4 - Taken my junior year</p>

<p>For my senior year, my APs are as follows:</p>

<p>AP Macro/Micro Econ (two different exams)
AP AB Calculus
AP Environmental Science
AP Lit</p>

<p>-I got straight As in my middle-school high school course (French & Algebra)</p>

<p>-Freshman year. I took:
1). Honors English 9 (A both semesters)
2). Honors U.S. History 9 (A both semesters)
3). Honors Environmental Science 9 (A both semesters)
4). Foundation of Technology (A both semesters)
5). General P.E. (A both semesters)
6). Honors Geometry 9 (A both semesters)
7). Honors French 2 (A both semesters)</p>

<p>-Sophomore year. Classes:
1). Honors English 10 (B first semester, A second semester)
2). AP NSL (B first semester, A second semester)
3). Honors Algebra 2 (A both semesters)
4). Honors French 3 (A both semesters)
5). Studio Art (A both semesters)
6). Honors Environmental Biology (A both semesters)
7). Honors Environmental Chemistry (A both semesters)</p>

<p>-Junior year. Classes:
1). AP World History (A both semesters)
2). AP Psychology (B first semester, A second semester)
3). AP Language & Composition (B first semester, A second semester)
4). Honors Environmental Physics (B first semester, A second semester)
5). French 4 Honors (B first semester, A second semester)
6). Honors Pre-Calculus (A both semesters)
7). Honors Health (A the semester I took it)
8). General P.E. (A the semester I took it)</p>

<p>-aand now it's senior year, which I am hoping will continue to go well. These are my classes:</p>

<p>1). AP Literature & Composition
2). AP Environmental Science
3). AP AB Calculus
4). AP Macro/Micro Economics
5). French 5 Honors (for a semester)/ Philosophy (the other semester)
6). Forensic Science
7). Ceramics (for a semester)/ Specialty Phys. Ed. (for the other semester)</p>

2

<p>Oops, I didn’t realize that they were no longer replying to these when I posted, but, given it’s allowed, I would really appreciate input from other people :slight_smile: Thank you!</p>

3

<p>classes are solid, but ECs look kinda weak. write a great essay and get good recs! lemme know your new SAT scores and I can tell you my final thoughts</p>

4

<p>ughh…so I only did marginally better. I got a 1970 as my final score :frowning: What do you think?</p>

5

<p>Remember, we utilize the 1600 point scale (Critical Reading + Math). While we see your writing score, our primary assessment of your writing comes from your essay, not your SAT.</p>

6

<p>Hello W&M Admission --</p>

<p>I have a question regarding the legacy factor in admissions. I have a friend who is absolutely certain her four children will be attending W&M because her husband is an alumnus, he sits on the board, and they have donated thousands of dollars to the school. Could this be true? Thanks for any information.</p>

7

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</p>

<p>I have no idea of the legacy factor or what it’s worth - I only know someone who told me an almost identical story, (except the part about sitting “on the board” - what board? The Board of Visitors?) and whose child had spent her whole life certain she’d go to school at W&M.</p>

<p>Result? Deferred/WL, and DD spent a happy 4 years at a different VA school.</p>

<p>I suspect having that “legacy” hook doesn’t hurt, but it won’t overcome a (relatively) weak resume. </p>

<p>OTOH, anyone who’s been as successful as, well, the person I think you may be talking about, his children probably don’t have “weak resumes.”</p>

8

<p>I am sure W&M Admissions can give a more accurate reply, but as an alum I would never assume that my child(ren) would be admitted. It is my understanding that being as legacy can give a slight hook or boost to a competitive/qualified applicant - it is a great “extra,” but that it does not translate into an automatic admission of any sort, particularly if the student is not already competitive for admission.</p>

9

<p>Legacy is a plus factor. Being a legacy (meaning the child of someone who attended W&M) definitely works in a student’s favor but it does not make a non-competitive applicant an admit.</p>

10

<p>Thanks all, for this information. Squiddy, I believe the husband is on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, though I’m not positive about that. I guess I’ve just gotten tired of hearing about how the children absolutely <em>will</em> be going to W&M. A little too confident, in my opinion! </p>

<p>On another note – does W&M ever accept students who have the occasional C on their semester/end of year grades?</p>

11

<p>When my daughter attended the W&M info session, the person leading it told the group, “You can’t spell ‘accepted’ without two C’s and D.” ;)</p>

12

<p>We do make that joke from time to time. The most competitive students will have As and Bs on their transcripts (hopefully more As than Bs). We certainly have admitted students with lower grades and no one grade makes a student an admit or deny but we encourage students to perform well in order to make themselves as competitive for admission as possible</p>

13

<p>Remember, too, that Admissions will only accept students they feel will be successful at W&M. It wouldn’t be fair to the student to accept them just because they’re a legacy and have them struggle or even fail. Really, this applies to every student. It’s not in anyone’s interest to have students fail. Once at W&M you’ll be taking classes with the highest tier of students from high schools around the state and the country, and the expectations are that admitted students can rise to the challenge. Getting in is one hurdle; being successful once you’re there is another. Professors won’t coddle you and expectations are higher than you can imagine. Based on indicators such as success in high school classes and on the SAT or ACT, Admissions has to make judgments about the potential for success of a given student, not to mention putting together a balanced class. Sometimes although heartbreaking, it’s in the applicant’s best interest not to be admitted.</p>