Nervous but Hopeful

<p>Hi, I am a male from Northern Virginia attending a small public school. Need to be chanced for William and Mary, my top choice.</p>

<p>SATs: CR 690 M670 W690
GPA: 3.95 weighted
SAT IIs: Lit 700 USH 660
10 AP Classes by end of Senior Year
ECs: Varsity Swimming (Made Regional Championships); Club Waterpolo; Literacy Volunteering; Started my own food busines with friends.</p>

<p>Maybe biggest hook: Virginia Governor's School for Mandarin; and two summers in an immersion program in China. Plan to continue Mandarin in Senior Year & throughout college.</p>

<p>Also need advice about if I should do ED to up my chances, or maybe wait until RD to up my weighted GPA over 4.0. Severely stressed that my grades are going to shoot me down. Please chance me for W&M, and maybe also UVA and VTech. Thanks.</p>

<p>Could some knowledgeable CCers give me a chancing for W&M? I looked at the Naviance plot for my school, and I look very boarderline, so I am panicing. </p>

<p>In additon to ECs mentioned previously, I play trumpet in an audition-only Ellington-style jazz band that performs at festivals, local concerts, and the Kennedy Center. I have also had a lifeguarding job for the past two summers, and have been chosen to be a swim coach for younger kids at my summer swim team weekly during the school year (all paid positions). Do colleges like job experience like that? I am not sure, but I think the coaching job shows leadership? Any opinions would be very helpful. Thanks.</p>

<p>The admissions process is about as far from hard science as you can get, you just don’t know. Both my D’s last year were in the range across the board for the schools they are now attending (UVA/WM). We have heard various horror stories about somebody with stellar credentials not getting in to this or that school, but I have not seen any hard evidence on that personally. I would research the mid SATs, class standing, etc. to see if you have a shot but if you really want to go to a school then I say go for it. Let the admissions staff make the call on your package. ED is also a good path based on teh stats being slightly lower for that pool, but you had nbetter make sure that is where you want to go. Best of luck.</p>

<p>Gary614 makes an excellent point that I’ve posted on several similar threads. With holistic processes like W&M you never know unless you try. W&M doesn’t use minimum cutoffs so no one is automatically in or out but we are selective which does mean plenty of great students aren’t admitted. Go in with the right mindset…if you get in, fantastic. If not, it’s not a reflection on you at all but a reflection on the overall strength of the applicant pool.</p>

<p>Applying ED cannot hurt you. It’s good for a school to bring in students who are super excited and enthusiastic about the institution and you’re in a pool of 1,000 instead of a pool of 12,000+. It’s easier to stand out in a smaller applicant pool. You can always send us your first quarter grades especially given what must be a rigorous AP schedule this year.</p>

<p>You also mentioned playing an instrument. You can consider making a fine arts submission if you have a true talent and passion for the arts. That can also be a feather in your cap if the W&M music faculty like what they hear.</p>

<p>Good luck and hope this is helpful!</p>

<p>Thanks very much for the tips–W&M is by far my first choice, so I don’t see a downside in going the ED route, since it may help my chances. I am a musician, but I am not planning to study music formally in college–so I don’t thing a fine arts submission is appropriate then, is it? I would be very interested in extracurricular music–when I was on the campus in April, I talked to several people who said the jazz band a W&M was wonderful, and it fits in with my strong interest in big band jazz.</p>

<p>I am leaning towards physics or economics as a major, and because of my recent exchange experiences in China, I am very interested in learning Mandarin. On my tour of W&M in the spring, my tourguide was double-majoring in Mandarin, and spoke very highly of her Mandarin teachers at W&M.</p>

<p>I plan to take another shot at the SAT in October to bring up my scores to the +700 range, and I plan to submit 1st quarter grades (I am taking 4 APs–Physics, Statistics, English, Government) and two band classes–jazz and symphonic, where I am the section leader. I am also taking Mandarin, which is being offered by my school for the first time. Does that senior schedule seem challenging enough for W&M? Any further advice would be appreciated. Thanks.</p>

<p>Glad ED is the route you’re considering. Even if you don’t plan on studying music, if you plan to participate in it somehow, submitting a fine arts sample might be a good idea. Especially given how much you’re involved with music (both in and outside of class), a good review from our faculty can help to legitimize your level of involvement and help us see how you might contribute to W&M in that way.</p>

<p>As for your schedule, we generally recommend calc if at all possible. Is that a class you’ve already taken? Also, have you complete four years of a single foreign language? If not, you may want to explain in your application why you switched to Mandarin.</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

<p>In response to your inquiries, I took Calculus B/C in junior year, and have 4+ years in two other languages (Latin & French). </p>

<p>Mandarin is something I now want to pursue (either as a double major or as a minor in college), given my Governor’s School immersion experience and two summers in an exchange program in different parts of China. I plan to incorporate it with my career plans, either in economics or physics. I am particularly interested in the ongoing activities at W&M’s Chinese Language House, and your semester study program in China (although my teachers at Hanban advised that it is best to do an entire junior year in China to get an the best improvement in language acquisition). Would I call the international study abroad department to get an idea if an entire junior year abroad in China is possible? Please let me know–thanks.</p>

<p>Also, I will consider the fine arts sample, even though I plan to do music only as an extracurricular. Thanks again.</p>

<p>Well given you’ve already taken high levels of two languages and calc your schedule is very impressive.</p>

<p>As for the music submission, that’s the great thing about a liberal arts institution. You can still be involved in music without studying it formally (or without pursuing a degree) so if you plan to continue in any way at W&M, making a fine arts submission could be helpful.</p>

<p>You can certainly contact the Reves Center for Global Education (our study abroad office) to get more info on year-long programs in China (757-221-3590)</p>