<p>i know someone who got into princeton but rejected at wm....should i stupidfy myself on my wm application so that wm won't think that i'm using them as a safety school?</p>
<p>The admission process has quirks, no matter what school you’re applying to. That’s not a reason to dumb down your application.</p>
<p>I know people who’ve turned down Princeton and Cornell for W&M and they didn’t have to “stupefy” themselves. I seriously doubt w&m will reject you if they think you’re using them as a safety.</p>
<p>ED is the only sure way to convince a school it’s not your “safety” pick - “stupidifying” may work as well, but can take you into “Rejected” really easily. </p>
<p>As mentioned, there are many, many quirks in admissions, and there are plenty of stories like yours. One thing I’ve noticed about many of them is that the applicant thought that the school that rejected them was, in fact, a “safety” before they applied. Which may have come through in the application - a lack-luster, back-of-the-hand application from someone who assumes “I’m in” isn’t really gonna get adcoms very enthusiastic, not when there’s so many people who at least appear to be sincere in their desire to attend said school. </p>
<p>There aren’t a lot of people for whom W&M is a “safety”, so dumbing down your app is probably wasting your application fee. If you want to convince the adcoms you want to attend, <i>tell</i> them so, by having a very competitive application, sincere and passionate essays, visit, interview, complete optional submissions, and so on. </p>
<p>After that, it often just comes down to numbers and “silos” - there are only so many “White, Male, Suburban Valedictorians with 2300 SAT’s from Northern Virginia”, for example, that any one school would want to admit, no matter <em>how</em> qualified they may be.</p>
<p>thanks squiddy! that makes sense.</p>
<p>if you want to attend W&M, or want to have the option of considering it in April, I highly suggest that you do what you can to make your application as strong as possible.</p>