<p>Hey, a friend of mine fell in love with W&M over the winter break, and is trying to get his grades up for W&M. The problem is, he went to an art institute right after high school, and got a degree from there. If his grades weren't stellar, does he still have to submit the transcript? He said he didn't care about his grades because his portfolio is what really mattered, and he got a job at Blizzard right after graduating. He got sick of the industry, and now he's at a CC as a history major. Mind chancing him?</p>
<p>White
Male
26
Major: History
Current GPA: 3.2, but might get higher
SAT: 1350
EC: Paints, plays a few instruments, and designs.</p>
<p>I know W&M takes about 50% of transfer applicants, but how competitive are the applicants? Also, he might apply in the spring.</p>
<p>A 3.2 is definitely on the low side, especially coming from a community college… WM usually takes transfers who have at least a 3.6 or something really close to it. If he was at a school comparable to WM a 3.2 might not be quite as hindering if there was some stellar soft factor. He had a good SAT score, but the longer you are out of high school the less WM puts any emphasis on that in the admissions process. What semester is he in? Did he already get a bachelor’s degree from the art institute? In-state or out-of-state? It’s worth trying to apply, but I’m just letting you know out of honesty that WM is looking for transfers who are clearly not being challenged by their current school and in order to show that you generally need to be somewhere near the 3.6 to the 4.0 range. If he could even bring his GPA up to a 3.5 it would definitely improve his chances.</p>
<p>He didn’t get a BA. I think he was certified or something from a trade school in CA. The problem is that he’s not being challenged and has been slacking. The reason he got a 3.7 his last semester was that he went to W&M, and basically wanted to change his ways. If he took the SATs again, he’d probably do better because he’s great at writing essays and got a near perfect on his CR. Fall 09 will be his 4th semester, and he wants to transfer out in the spring. No hope for the guy?</p>
<p>If Fall 09 will be his fourth semester, then I am assuming that he still has two semesters left including the current semester. If he continues to do as well this semester as last semester, then I think he certainly has hope. He still has an opportunity to raise his GPA, but he’s going to need to get all A’s or almost all A’s from here on out in order to be a competitive applicant. If he were to get straight A’s from here on out, he would end up with a 3.6. Like i said, a 3.6 is kind of the benchmark so the closer he can get to that the better. I have no doubt he is a smart guy, I’m just trying to let you know the reality of the situation so that he knows what he needs to do in order to put himself in a good position to transfer. Since the SAT’s aren’t going to matter much, the admissions committee is going to be very interested with his GPA. The fact that he makes significant improvement from his first semester will definitely shine a positive light on his application.</p>
<p>Best of luck to him, I hope he succeeds. I was a history major at WM so I can tell you from first-hand experience that the history department is undoubtedly one of the best in the nation.</p>