<p>This is Son:
3.86w, all honors (except for math) and will have 8 APs
top 25% of class
SAT - 710(cr), 600(m), 640(w) (will take again this Fall)
SATII - 740 (French)
Virginia resident, white male, first generation, plays saxophone and piano, Bank of America marching band two years, various clubs, has a couple of leadership roles this year, accepted to the Governor's School this summer for French, hosted a French foreign exchange student this summer</p>
<p>These are Son's Preferences:
Major: double French and International Relations (studies, affairs, etc.)
Location: Mid-Atlantic, Northeast
Size: At least 5,000 students
Students: Diverse, accepting</p>
<p>This is Son's list:
William & Mary
Elon
James Madison University
Virginia Tech
Roanoke College</p>
<p>Visiting this fall: URichmond, American, George Washington</p>
<p>Any thoughts on which schools would be reach/match/safety?<br>
Or any schools he should add or cut?</p>
<p>Maybe Emory- might be a reach but a great school…</p>
<p>Personally, elon is the right fit and as long as your son shows interest he will be set to go</p>
<p>American University considers “level of applicant’s interest” to be “very important”, so be sure to have the visit recorded and do whatever else needed to “show interest”. Presumably, they don’t want to be anyone’s safety behind Georgetown and George Washington.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think Emory is a reach and he already has W&M, which is definately a reach. </p>
<p>We have toured Elon, what other ways should he express interest?</p>
<p>We have not yet toured American, but plan on doing so in October for their preview day. </p>
<p>Any other thoughts?</p>
<p>for Elon- touring helps but look up the admissions counselor in your area and have him email them repeatedly throughout the year…I thought that I would annoy them but it’s truly what helped me get accepted. I updated my counselor on achievements that happened after the app was due to show I still cared! That’s about all you have to do for interest aspect </p>
<p>American- quite honestly I was accepted here with scholarship and I showed no interest. I didn’t tour it and I didn’t speak to any counselor. It wasn’t my top choice so I didn’t feel the need and I still got accepted, interest is definitely a “safety net” if the stats aren’t all there but your son should be more than okay for American </p>
<p>Just some personal experiences!</p>
<p>spritle, just looking at his list I would say WM is a low reach (being male is helpful there- are you in NOVA, if not he has an even better chance), VT, JMU are matches, and Roanoke is a safety. I don’t know much about Elon. Richmond would probably be a reach as well and it is under 5000 students. Not as diverse as the other publics on his list. </p>
<p>Has he looked at Mary Washington or Old Dominion? With his stats, they would also be considered matches/safeties. Mary Washington is around 4K students, ODU is much larger and is very diverse. Their International Studies program combines history, geography, political science, and foreign languages in one major. Good luck with your search!</p>
<p>Thank you! That was exactly the input I was looking for. We did visit Mary Washington, but it didnt make son’s final list. We are not in NOVA, we are in Hampton Roads, so son wont consider ODU since it is local to us. He really felt W&M and will be applying early decision. Maybe that will count for something?</p>
<p>I definitely think him applying ED is a great idea especially if he feels that is his favorite option. It should only help his chances. There are always “how in the world did that happen?” admission/denial scenarios, but I am hopeful for him. </p>
<p>Get him to try to boost that math section if he can and take the latest SAT date he can (but not too late to send it in to WM for the ED consideration). The math he learns this first few months of senior year may help him when he retakes that section, but my d said her tests also had a bunch of geometry which she hadn’t had in awhile. </p>
<p>Good luck with everything and no matter what make sure he has a backup, or spends a year or two at a CC and transfers into WM if that is what he really wants. (BTW check out Richard Bland Community College of the College of William and Mary if that the latter option is a possibility. RBC has new dorms now and is a great stepping stone into WM and other Va. 4 year schools!)</p>