More W&L questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington & Lee University
1

<p>Hi there,</p>

<li>I was wondering if there was anything more I can do to be a better candidate for W&L because so far, as you will see from my stats, I’m way below average in just about every aspect. </li>
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<p>2.Also, can anyone comment about the area around W&L because so far it seems that if you want to go to a big city, its going to take at least 3 hours (DC and Baltimore. btw I dont and never will drink/smoke/take needles/etc). Is it possible to go to UVa or something because I read somewhere that a lot of WL students go to UVa and hang out with those people as well. </p>

<li><p>Furthermore, are the classes extremely harsh and GPA killers (graded on curves) with students that are overly competitive and try to screw us over, or are they challenging, with students that like to help. </p></li>
<li><p>ANd finally, are the students there into sports and is the premed program any good?</p></li>
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<p>here are my stats as a reference to the “chances” part:
What are chances right now? I know its lookin really bleak, but if I apply EA, do I have a decent chance? Also, what can I do to greatly improve my chances because my SAT (around 1900 right now), ACT (about 28 right now), and GPA (predicted to be 3.7 UW in IB diploma classes), are really really low right now?</p>

<p>Here are my stats:
*I am an Asian Indian Male
*From a competitive public high school in Oregon, Beaverton High School, which was also rated the best AP school in Oregon, so yeah, its a smart school.
*student body at school = 500+</p>

<p>The Numbers/ECs
*Freshman year:
4.0 with honors in 2 classes for both semesters</p>

<p>*Sophomore Year:
3.8125 overall for both semesters
(Bs in AP Chem 1st sem, Precalc 2nd sem, Social Studies 1st sem)</p>

<p>*Junior Year (projected)
Human Anat/Phys-A,A
IB Bio HL 1-A,A
Spanish 3-A,A
IB Calculus-A, A (might be at worst 1 “B”)
IB Psychology-A,A
Team Sports-A
IB English-B,B (might get 1 A)
IB Tok 1-B</p>

<p>IN SUMMARY: I should finish high school with at the very very worst a 3.67 or 3.7 UW GPA, but I’ll do what ever I can to prevent that from happening.</p>

<p>*class rank UW right now = 38/515. Weighted = 30/515 (will go up because not many kids have taken hard classes yet)
*IB Diploma Candidate (to be)
*Varsity tennis 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Team 4 years (will have 4)
*World Quest Trivia 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Club Treasurer (1 year)
*Science Club VP (2 years)
*Math Club 4 years (VP 2 years)
*speech and debate (2 years) (possible leadership position next year)
*MUN (2 years. Could be ambassador both years)
*Portland Youth Philharmonic (will have 3 years)
*Mathfest Algebra 2 1st place freshman year
*OIMT Participant Fresh Year
*Mathfest Participant (will have 4 years)
*Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Rising Star Program (will have 150-175 volunteer hours done)
*Mathcounts Tutor (about 50+ volunteer hours)
*Right now I get about a 1920-2050 on the SAT, 26-30 on ACT according to Practice Tests for SAT, and the PLAN (it’s like the PSAT for SAT except the ACT version) on ACT, but I’m shooting for at least a 2100 on the SAT and 32 on the ACT. Don’t count on me getting a 2100 or a 32 because so far, it ain’t happenin</p>

2

<p>California, you're a boy from Oregon. Nice geographic and gender advantages there.</p>

<p>My daughter, also an IB-er, finds the classes tough but not killer; the B+ she got on a French assignment at W&L (upper level class) would have earned her an A+ in H.S. She was always a real whiz in French, but that's college for you. She's had to struggle in Calculus, but her last test was an A-. She makes a point of telling me how she had to stay up until the wee hours working on papers - perhaps that's just so I know I'm getting my money's worth ;)</p>

<p>She fences and plays field hockey, but only club, not competitive. The student body is very attractive and everyone is into staying in shape. </p>

<p>Have you visited the school? Demonstrated interest helps.</p>

3

<p>Hi there! To answer a few of your questions, there isn't much in the way of big city life near Lexington. Charlottesville is about an hour away, but I have to say that I only went there two or three times the whole of last year. I don't know of many people who went to Charlottesville to "hang out" with UVa kids because generally there's plenty going on at W&L, plus you're so busy with classes. </p>

<p>Which leads me to the next point - classes are tough. If you're used to being able to study only a few hours a night, it's going to be a rough transition until you find out what works best for your classes. Speaking from personal experience, the first half of fall term my freshman year was a huge wake up call. However, if you put the time and effort into your classes, your grades will generally reflect that. It's pretty difficult to get an A in most classes, but at the same time it is also pretty hard to fail a class. I have never had a class graded on a curve - there isn't a lot of grade inflation, although apparently that's changing.</p>

<p>As for the pre-med program, there is no "pre-med" major like some schools have. Most pre-meds major in biology or biochem and take the classes they need for the MCAT. A lot of my friends are pre-med (I personally am not, but I'm a chemistry major so I can attest to how wonderful that department is). Dr. Alty is the person to talk to if you're planning on going pre-med. Also, there is a study abroad program with St. Andrews University in Scotland which is specifically designed for pre-med and science majors (and is what I'm currently doing).</p>

<p>I'd be happy to talk to you more about the science programs at W&L, so feel free to email me with any other questions you might have!</p>