<p>SAT II: US Hist 2 & Physics & Math II (800 all)</p>
<p>AP Exams:</p>
<p>AP Lang. (5)
AP US Hist. (5)
AP Macroeconomics (5)
AP Microeconomics (5)
AP Comp. Science A (5)
AP Psychology (5)
AP Calc. AB (5)
AP Lit. (5)
AP Government (5)</p>
<p>EC:</p>
<p>Cross Country Varsity (Junior & Senior)
Indoor Track Varsity (Junior & Senior)
Outdoor Track Varsity (Junior & Senior)
Summer Job at restaurant (Junior entering Senior)
Some volunteering hours (~ 50)</p>
<p>Assuming all Rec's are good.
Essays will be excellent.</p>
<p>Hmmm this is a tough one. Upward trend is good, but that’s a pretty significant slope. Do you explain why your early grades were that low at any point on your app?</p>
Don’t forget that Williams college does not take GPA into consideration when you apply. However, they do heavily weight your class rank. 93% of accepted students were in the top 10% of their class.
Here’s the common data set (look at C7) listing GPA as “very important” along with academic rigor, class rank, scores and recommendations. http://provost.williams.edu/files/williams_cds_1415_v1.pdf
IOW GPA is in the category of qualifications most seriously considered. Williams, like many colleges, does re-calculate a GPA for you using institutional methodology creating a more standardized picture to compare applicants from different schools.
@buzat12, the concerning aspect of your profile will probably be the discrepancy between your testing accomplishments which really could not be better- ACT 36 and 5’s on nine AP’s, etc. – and your grades which aren’t commensurate with your scores and could look like a sort of personal underachievement. I don’t mean to disparage your academic accomplishments at all, and I don’t know your situation, but this is what it looks like on paper and will definitely be something to address (somewhere) in your application. The upward trend is very important – it will be important for you to have a ‘grade story’, an understanding and ability to explain why your academic trajectory looks like it does.
Wow sorry. I must have been misinformed. There were several sites when I was researching the college that stated that GPA was not considered (niche.com, naviance.com). Sorry for the mistake!
@abcurtis13, no need to apologize - there’s lots of erroneous stuff floating around on the internet. When you are doing serious college research for next year, I strongly recommend that you rely on information directly from your colleges, including the Common Data Set for each school. Just google ‘common data set + college name’ and you will have access to a wealth of accurate data. College Niche etc are fine for subjective impressions, but even these you should not take terribly seriously and form your own impressions based on campus visits and interactions with current students and faculty. As for Naviance, I would be very surprised if GPA is listed as ‘not considered’ by Williams. If you do find that error, make sure you tell your college counselor.
Edit: College guides like Fiske (and many others) are pretty reliable and updated annually– spending time with these at your local library or bookstore may be a better use of your time than websites like College Niche.
