Need help to improve for William & Mary, Washington & Lee and UVA.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone!
Thank you for taking the time to read my thread.
I’m a junior in high school now and in a bit of a dilemma- I have my top schools in mind but am nervous and eager to improve my resume to improve my chance!

Here is my resume!
Savannah’s Resume :

I’ve taken 2 AP’s (AP’s only allowed junior and senior year) and all honors since Freshmen year minus Algebra 1 and 2.

SAT: 1200/1600
I took the SAT before I took algebra 2 so I know my score will improve when I take it again
GPA :
93 -9th grade
94 - 10th grade

Awards
Outstanding Volunteer Award at Tutoring Club 9th
Honor roll 9th, 10th, 11th
Student of the Month 10th (leadership, academic excellence, extracurricular involvement, outside of school involvement, kind to peers)
National Honor Society
National History Honor Society

Leadership:
Peer Leader 11th
Help Us, Help Haiti
-co founder, organized a school year structured around giving back to Haiti , involved all sending districts elementary schools, and fundraisers raised $1,000
Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention
-Captain , raised over $750 in 3 days
Freshmen Transitions 10th
-Created Candy Drive 10th, 11th
100 lbs/200lbs
(Donated to CHOP, Jersey Shore and soup kitchen)
-Teacher
Teach elderly weekly how to use social media, electronics and computer programs every Tuesday
-National Honor Society
-History Honor Society
Squan-A-Thon 9th, 10th, 11th
-first junior in school’s history accepted into the committee

  • dance event for kids with cancer
    Creator of Reading Group
    -hosted, participated and created a rotation of students to read to a 92 year old blind war veteran every day.

Clubs:
English Spanish Learning Program
-taught the same 2 young hispanics 9th , 10th , 11th
We Stand Together 9th, 10th, 11th
-hosted Respect Week event , wrote script and produced Respdct Week video to enhance respect in the school, spent study halls creating posters to enhance the school’s environment, wrote script and produced Red Ribbon Week video to promote the stopping of the usage of drugs.
Founder/President Hands Together
(A club that utilizes the artistic ability of students to create things for elderly homes, a foster home, a special needs home and the military) 9th, 10th, 11th (created it in 9th became a club in 10th) maintained Instagram account
Created gifts to give to each organization each month, taught everyone how to respect our elders and volunteer at elderly home once a month
Key Club 9,10,11

Community Service
Was selected to hold book drive for famous author David Baldacci foundation and collected over 100 books for his drive
-only sophomore 10th
Held Blood Drive for High School 10th
-only sophomore that organized this, was #1 school in NJ for blood donations
Food Bank 9th/10th/11th
Salvation Army Clothing Drive 9th/10th/11th
Senior Citizen Volunteer 9th/10th/11th -team leader intergenerational relay
Holidays for the Homeless 9th/10th/11th
(Family created)
Life Active Member of Church 9th/10th/11th

I have a lot of leadership (real actual roles, I don’t sleep :confused: lol) roles but I have gotten some low 80’s in two classes my sophomore year and two my junior year. All four were honors classes that go in my GPA with 7 points added so in Spanish 4 Honors I got an 81 so many GPA sees it as a 88 but still.

Does that ruin me?

2

Bump

3

Great EC’s, clearly someone who is engaged and would be an asset to most colleges. 2 AP’s already probably good academic rigor but without courses can’t say. Your SAT is not strong enough. NJ kids do not add geographic diversity at these schools, Montana maybe. If I were you, I would drop a handful of the clubs or ECs, focus on the ones you care about deeply and focus on good grades. Consider SAT or ACT tutoring to get your test scores up

4

Ive taken
English 1 H, 2 H, and now AP Composition
Spanish 2 H, 3H, and 4 H
Lab Bio H and Chemistry H
Geometry H
US 1 H and 2 H , and AP World

Yes I definitely need to get my SATs up and plan to do so once I have almost completed Algebra 2 since it is on the test majorly. Thank you!

5

As mentioned above, you seem to be pretty focused on your ECs, which is absolutely great. In my opinion, since you’ve basically got that part covered, drop a few things and focus on getting your GPA just a tad more so that you can secure your acceptance. Be careful, though. This doesn’t mean your ECs don’t need a little glamour; it just means your GPA and SAT need some work, and you’ve got time for that. Take it slow and keep on walking in the right direction. Good luck!

6

Thank you so so much!

7

To give reference, I live in Virginia and go to a competitive school for all of the schools you mentioned (though we don’t have too many W&L applicants). In order to be even competitive here, you need a 1400+ SAT/4.3+ GPA/8+ APs, and that’s just in Virginia. It’s much more competitive out of state, so right now I would say all of these schools are high reaches.

Though your test scores can get higher (I’m hesitant that they’re raise the 200/300 points needed to be more competitive though) and you can attempt to do better, the fact that you’ve only taken 2 APs is going to be a really big blow to your application. Here in Virginia, we had a girl who was in the top 3% with a 4.0 UW GPA, but she had only taken 6 APs, so she got deferred from UVA EA. Most competitive UVA applicants from my school have at least taken 4/5 APs by the end of their junior year, and our school is similar in that no one really takes them prior to junior year.

I’m not trying to let you down, but just give a small reality check. By no means is a 1400+/4.3+/8+ APs the guarantee to admission or what is needed to be considered, but as an out of state applicant you really need to be at the top of your game. Good luck!

8

Thank you! I really appreciate your comment! I definitely am looking to get a higher score on my SAT seeing as when I took it, I didn’t know the math on it. However, for AP’s , Juniors can only take a maximum of 3 unfortunately :confused: due to our weird scheduling system. Next year I am taking 3, but I am hoping the fact I have taken honors helps make up a little bit for not as many AP’s.

I actually have been researching all day and am aiming mostly for W&M as my number one choice. I think UVA isn’t the right place for me, evidently, in its social aspect and the largeness of it. I plan to apply ED, so I hope it all works out!

Again, thank you so much for your comment on my thread! (:

9

I agree with the above. Drop a few ECs and focus on academics. I will tell you that I was struck by one of your ECs- helping senior citizens learn how to use social media, etc… That particular EC shows kindness and dedication to an activity that likely requires signifcant patience. If you enjoy this activity consider weaving it into an essay. It shows something unique and special about you. Good luck!

10

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it

11

Currently go to W&M. I agree that raising your SAT score should be a focus, but I do not necessarily agree that you should compare your APs to others. Your APs will be considered in the context of what is offered at your school, so comparing it to others in Virginia or not is pointless. Same thing with anecdotal experiences because neither of you has the full information that the admissions counselors will have.

W&M has become increasingly competitive over the past few years, but you can still be surprised. There have been people with some of lower stats get accepted into the college because they wrote a really outstanding essay (which they read thoroughly) or had many other great factors that made them a good fit. Early Decision if it is your #1 school will help greatly, but also make sure the rest of your app is top notch (essays, recs, any supplemental material, ECs/Leadership stuff) that are also important and largely more in your control between now and then.

Best of luck. Let me know if you have any questions about the school or whatever you need.

12

Ah thank you so much. It’s so beneficial to get the perspective from a current W&M student, I really appreciate your time and suggestions.

I have a couple of questions, for whenever you have the time to answer!
I have read a ton of W&M threads on here because it is my number one and I have yet to visit but plan on doing so in the summer. But there was a thread called “Don’t Go to William & Mary” and it was from a graduating senior and he basically just said like it’s crazy hard, the town hates college students, and there is no social life. I’m not much of a partier but like most people, I don’t want no social life.

What is your take on that? And how do you feel the social aspect is at your college? Are you happy you decided to enroll there? I’ll find the link to the thread for you

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http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-william-mary/1644021-do-not-go-to-w-m-advice-from-a-graduating-senior.html

14

That is one person. I’d suggest looking more broadly.

http://www.bestcolleges.com/features/high-student-satisfaction/

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=happiest-students

Try to focus on whether it is a good fit for you.

15

Thank you! I appreciate it!