To ED or not to ED

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
1

<p>I've posted my stats on CC few times, but my stance in terms of college admissions has changed so many times in between. The process is so darned daunting, and being an indecisive person by nature does not help. </p>

<p>Lately I've been considering W&M ED. It's in state, it's a good school, I love the vibe, but at the same time I'm not sure I can commit myself to just one school, especially considering that my SAT might improve by a pretty comfortable margin (I've been studying for the math section, and I went in blind with the essay the first time). My dad is a W&M alumnus, he turned out to be a happy/successful/good guy, and so he's been a pretty good consultant for my college questions. But I'm still not absolutely, postively, sure that I bleed green and gold :P</p>

<p>I think I would prefer small to mid-sized liberal/middle-of-the-road schools, possibly with less preppy (I'm not trying to generalize, but I don't know how else to phrase it), super competitive, or right-leaning atmospheres. Also, surrounding myself with happy/positive people would probably do me a lot of good. Could any W&M students enlighten me with regard to these criteria?</p>

<p>Here are my stats...
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2130 Comp - 760 R, 670 M, 700 W 8 essay first sitting; aming for 2200 Comp - 760/670-720/700-760 in November. Any chance for Monroe Scholar with those stats by the RD deadline?
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 720 US, aiming for 700+ Math II, and 750+ Bio in October (studying with Barron's)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~15/315
AP (place score in parenthesis): Lang (5), APUSH (5), Bio (4), Calc AB (4), Geo (4), Spanish (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: APs - Calc BC, Physics, Lit, Gov. Other - Music theory, Weightlifting, SAT Prep, Free block.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Swimming state qualifier (probable captain, only available to seniors), Summer League swimming divisional champion, All-Stars finalist, MVP, coach's award, Piano 7-8 years, NHS, Spanish NHS, obscure (?) International Word Masters Challenge top 210/53,000 in 9th grade...
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Annual 100 mile charity bike trip, NHS
Summer Activities: Swimming, weightlifting
Essays: No idea. I'd say I'm a good writer, but I can be bad at organizing my thoughts.
Teacher Recommendation: 1 very good, 1 good
Counselor Rec: Probably will be fine
Additional Rec: Should I get one?
Interview: N/A
Other:
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, Pretty lackluster region, an embarassingly large portion of our schools missed accreditation, average SAT is below national average
Ethnicity: White/Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Unfortunately not fast enough to be recruited for swimming, Legacy</p>

<p>Sorry for the wall of text, but what do you guys think?</p>

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<p>IMHO Early Decision is not exclusively for students who bleed school colors, know the fight song, have hoodies, scarves, and lanyards shouting their love for the school. Some students don’t get as emotional about any decision, they are pragmatic. If, and only if, you had admits from all of the schools you are applying, finances no concern, you would pick the ED school hands down each and every time with no hesitation, second thoughts, or looking back…then ED is a good option for you. If it is your top choice but you would consider going to another school with the right merit or financial aid package then I’d advise against ED. If it’s your current top choice but you don’t know which you’d select if you had offers from your top 3-5 (or maybe a school not yet on your list) but ED gives an edge in admissions so you want that chance/edge I advise against. If the first scenario isn’t met, I’m not in favor. This can be the case for died in the wool lifelong fans, to students that simply know they’d give up any other admit with no hesitation. Some will obviously have differing opinions and I completely respect that. Each student, each family, has to come to the right decision for themselves. If financial aid is a consideration ED does remove the ability to compare packages which can vary widely from school to school (how much loans/how much grant/total amount). It this is a consideration your family must decide if they are willing to accept the ED schools FA package should you be accepted. Again, this is a very individual decision. </p>

<p>Best of luck to you!!</p>

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<p>I think I would prefer small to mid-sized liberal/middle-of-the-road schools, possibly with less preppy (I’m not trying to generalize, but I don’t know how else to phrase it), super competitive, or right-leaning atmospheres.</p>

<p>This sentence confuses me- I am not sure if you are saying that you want it less preppy, less super competitive and less right-leaning or the " less" only applies to preppy. Once you clarify that, I can make some comments</p>

<p>My son waffled back and forth between ED and Reg. He knew he had a better chance ED but at the last minute, was not sure that he was ready to make the decision between W&M and a large scholarship at a different school. He ended up being admitted RD and after MUCH waffling, decided on W&M. We were there this weekend and asked if he thought he had made the right attendance decision and he said yes. </p>

<p>While there are a few preppy folks at W&M as there are everywhere, the vast majority of the students were dressed in shorts and tshirts this weekend. The pre-med students still tend to be pretty competitive, but also cooperative if you can follow what I mean by that. I don’t know which way the student body leans over all but my son is EXTREMELY left leaning and his room mate is about as far to the other end as you can get. They both seem to have found a group of friends to hang out with- don’t do anything together but doesn’t seem to be any animosity- just nothing in common.</p>

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<p>Okay thanks for the info/opinions. And sorry, the less was meant to apply to preppy, competitive, and right-leaning.</p>

5

<p>Unless you are sure you want to attend WM, do not apply ED, especially because your stats look solid for RD.</p>

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<p>One thing - you asked about Monroe eligibility - while I’m uncertain of all of the factors that go into selection, one is top 5% of national test scores.</p>

<p>That means (I think) 700R, 720M - I think the writing component is all-but ignored. So, based on your current scores, I think you’ll want to focus on “Math” if Monroe is important to you.</p>

<p>To expand a bit on what TJMom said; there are many students who a self-driven, including the dreaded pre-meds. But, by all accounts, that competitiveness is self-directed - there are those that push themselves, but aren’t malignant towards other students. </p>

<p>I recall a story told by a tour guide at a certain well-known university on the Charles River :slight_smile: basically, about how students would check out all copies of a required and rare text from the library, not because they needed it, but to prevent other students from getting access to it, thus damaging their grades. Told in a way that tried to put it in a positive light, that it doesn’t happen anymore, it was still pretty clear, reading between the lines, she was saying that such malignancy still existed. </p>

<p>I’ve heard a lot of stories about “striving” W&M students, who’ll lock themselves in Swem for days, etc, etc - but I don’t recall any stories about students sabotaging each other - quite the opposite, in fact.</p>

<p>Good luck in whatever you decide.</p>