Please share your results re: W and L’s Johnson award. I hope letters haven’t already gone out - I think it may be another week or so… I know the web site says early Feb. but colleges seem to usually release a bit early.
While my daughter applied to a few signature scholarships (so far unsuccessfully), this is the one she’s most excited about. This was also, by far, her best essay, because she just clicked with the prompt. So I’m hopeful, but trying to be realistic.
Good luck to all the Johnson hopefuls. My D22 is a Johnson scholar, and I remember how hard it was to wait to find out. My daughter enjoyed the Johnson competition days, and that visit made her feel even more certain that W&L was her top choice. There’s good advice in these threads for students who are advancing to the competition.
My DS is NOT a finalist. He is VERY disappointed. Accepted ED 1. 1480 SAT, 800 math 2 SAT, 4.7 GPA, all AP or IB classes, demonstrated interest with 2 visits, official interview, etc. Who knows what they are looking for.
Just wish my DS would have had a chance to participate in the Johnson Scholarship weekend. He is really deflated right now. He is more upset about being admitted to W&L ED1 when he could have applied Reg Dec , and putting all of his “eggs in one basket”, yet not even given the opportunity to compete for the Johnson weekend. Hard to reconcile when Cornell and Harvard were recruiting him hard and he chose W&L. Oh well - still a great school but my heart as mom is sad today.
@SmithNewfie I can understand your frustration, but the Johnson is known to go to RD admission kids. They use it to get talent to come, the ED kids are already accepted and coming. My DD is a sophomore at W&L and she only knows of one ED round Johnson in her class. There may be a few more, but it is not common.
My DS will be in your son’s class at W&L as well (ED1 admit). He had a 35 ACT, 4.9 GPA with 11 AP classes, recruited athlete and also did not get invited for the Johnson weekend, but we expected that. It is not grade/score based at all.
As a Cornell alumnus myself, I can tell you the education at W&L is on par and if I dare say not a little better. The smaller class sizes and close interactions with professors in small classes affords a very different experience. My intro to psychology class had 1100 students in a large hall ( I kid you not) and at W&L my DD had 35. Your son will thrive at W&L. And is your son a recruited athlete that Cornell and Harvard were recruiting him hard? Or are you talking about the abundance of emails and mail letters that everyone gets from them almost every day in the mail if you hit a certain score on your SAT or ACT?
No need to have a sad heart. Your son will have an incredible experience in a wonderful place - you just will have to pay for it.
I became a finalist! I was a Questbridge finalist going in and was automatically entered for the Johnson scholarship as I applied to W&L for Regular Decision.
What a wonderful opportunity! I am not familiar with what goes on during the weekend “competition”. Is it an interview with a member of the scholarship committee and an immersive campus experience?
My son did not make it as a finalist. It’s one thing to finally not be selected as a Johnson scholar, but to not even be a finalist, is certainly quite disappointing. Clearly, grades and test scores don’t matter much. I wish there was a way to know what kept him from qualifying? Which part of the application was lacking?
ACT: 36 (actual score, not a superscore)
SAT Subject Scores: Math II - 800 | Physics - 800
IB: 42/42 with 4HLs (The diploma requirement, and the norm, is 3 HLs. In fact, he is the 1st and only one in his school to take 4HLs)
GPA: 4.0 unweighted (converted from the 42/42 in IB)
My daughter’s a finalist. She’s so excited! (And so am I as our EFC may put W and L - despite its strong financial aid - just out of our reach because of a change in income and new elder care expenses…)
So I’m very hopeful too, but trying to be realistic about her chances. Does anyone know how many students are invited and/or attend? I think there are about 45 awards - is that actual awards or offered awards? (Mentally trying to improve her odds!)
@HKimPOSSIBLE, at the risk of sounding stalker-ish, I feel like I know you from your Reject Train thread. Congrats!! I’ve been so impressed by your maturity and focus. From what I understand, your description is spot-on - there’s an individual and group interview, classes, info sessions, parties, etc. While it is a competition, they are trying to sell you on W and L as well.
There are some threads from earlier years where students share their experiences and offer sage advice. After reading some of the mixed feedback about W and L on CC, I wasn’t at all sure about the school - but my daughter visited with no pre-conceived judgments and loved the school, the people, and the campus. Don’t be swayed too much by what you read - experience it for yourself and see if it feels right to you.
@overseasFather, @SmithNewfie.and@neonpinklime, I’m sorry you didn’t have better news. It is SO hard to understand how the scholarship and admissions committees make their decisions. She has had zero luck until now with competitive scholarships, not making it even to an interim semi-finals stage - so I understand the frustration as a parent. And no matter how much you try to prepare them for rejection, it’s hard…although my dd takes it more in stride than I do!
@fly4free, thanks for sharing your experiences. My daughter holds up the Ivies like the holy grail of academia, but I can see how she might actually have more personal attention, a better quality of teaching particularly in the first year, and perhaps even more opportunities. AND she cannot stop talking about how gorgeous the campus is!
“Clearly, grades and test scores don’t matter much.”
@OverseasFather, I understand your disappointment, but the students selected for the Johnson Competition have very high grades and test scores. The essay and character count as well as extra-curriculars. Washington and Lee has a small student body, and they need students who make an impact in and out of the classroom. My D had 36s on the ACT verbal sections, and national level extra curricular involvement, even if her math score brought her ACT composite down a bit. They LOVED her essays. I think her ECs and essays tipped her, not her unweighted 4.0 and test scores.
The competition itself is lots of interviews with various constituents of the university community, which tells me that character, passion, and special viewpoints matter.
@TrendaLeigh Congrats to your daughter! I wish her the best of luck at the Johnson weekend! W&L is a very special place in so many ways. It’s hard once you visit and see it for yourself not to love it! Also discuss with Financial Aid office your change in circumstances if the Johnson doesn’t work out. They are very good about that and work with you I have heard. I hope your DD joins my DD’22 and DS’24!!
@OverseasFather you have to remember that the students at W&L are very strong. 25% of the class has 35 and 36’s on their ACTs. All are from the top of their class. There is nothing your son did wrong. A lot has to do with what they are looking for in the Johnson essay and only the readers know exactly what that is.
@TrendaLeigh When my D attended the competition, there were around 200 semifinalists invited (not all came). So your odds are roughly 25%, but keep in mind W&L is looking for fit, engagement, and candidates who will add something to the school. Agree with @katespeare 100% about character, passion, and special viewpoints.
And D never could figure why she was a Johnson Scholar and some of her classmates and friends weren’t. We got to know many of them over the years and found them all exceptional, Johnson scholars or not.
My son is also a finalist. He is so excited and humbled by this opportunity! He is a high stat student, but something about the Johnson essay and what he felt they were really asking clicked for him when he was writing it. Thank you for all the tips in the comments above - just seeing former participants (families) engaged like this is amazing.
@yauponredux, thanks for the info. Even if she doesn’t get selected, I’m excited that she gets to have this experience. I worry because she’s a bit on the quiet side and I feel like these types of competitions favor more outgoing extroverted students, but I hope her genuine excitement for the school will shine through. We’re shopping for interview clothes next weekend… She’s a shorts and leggings kind of girl, so she needs to step it up a bit.
@inktopaper, congrats to your son. I think the finalists are going to have a great time, and I’m excited for her to visit again. And yes, the W and L families have been very helpful - lots of good tips in threads from previous students too.
I just realized that if she chooses W and L, I may not actually visit until she moves in!
Do you guys think being invited to become a member of Mensa, based on a 99th percentile placement in the Mensa Supervised IQ Test, is something worth reporting to the college? Could it have made any difference to one’s chances of being selected as a finalist for the Johnson Scholarship?
@OverseasFather I’m not an adcom, but I would say no to both questions. There’s a reason applicants don’t mention their IQ or gifted status; to me, including Mensa would be very similar. I suppose you could include it as an award in the Common App, but I definitely wouldn’t send it after the application was complete. Personally, I think it would send the wrong message.
Your son has wonderful stats, grades, rigor - but these competitive scholarships remind me of Ivy admissions. They’re looking for those things, yes, but then something more. What the “more” is can be illusive, so the process can be frustrating. I’ve wondered where my dd went wrong with her apps more than once - but I know that’s not the right question to ask.
When we first started looking at colleges, my daughter fell in love with Brown - and her stats were above the 75th percentile so we both thought she had a better-than-even chance. Then we saw the graph on Niche showing a sea of red (rejected) dots for students with perfect grades and test scores. Quite the eye-opener…!
But I have no doubt your son will have multiple opportunities to choose from! This is an exciting, but nerve-wracking time for seniors AND parents.
She’s a shorts and leggings kind of girl, so she needs to step it up a bit.