Wake Forest, American, William and Mary...Where to use ED

College Search & Selection
1

I am a rising senior and have basically finished my Common App (it went back online yesterday, so now I can submit whenever). My only remaining problem is the ED component. Obviously it is only able to be used at one school, and I don’t want to “waste” my chance. I consider William and Mary to be my biggest reach, Wake my match, and American a lower match. I know both AU and WF place a high importance in commitment to the school and look to pull most accepted students from the ED pool, but W&M is the hardest for me to get accepted into. Most say just “pick a favorite,” but they are each very different in terms of campus and student vibe. I like them all equally and would be happy to attend any of them.

Just a little about me…I am a white, female student who is out of state for all 3. I will not be pursuing need-based financial aid. My GPA is a 3.9 unweighted and a 4.2 weighted (my school uses a weird system). I have all 4s on 6 AP tests so far and a challenging senior class schedule. My SAT/ACT scores are a 1400/32. My biggest factors are my ECs, such as ALA MD Girls’ State Governor, only student representative on the Board of Education, and an internship with US Representative Andy Harris. I am also a nationally ranked figure skater. My CommonApp essay is about Girls’ State. I am looking to major in Global Studies//Arabic/Middle Eastern Studies (based on each school’s offered majors).

Thanks you all for any input, and feel free to make suggestions on my applications/schools! All feedback is welcome!

2

Do you have a clear “no regrets” top choice? If so, is it affordable (check net price calculators)? If so, would you be willing to pre-commit to it without comparing financial aid offers from other schools?

If the answer is “no” to any of these questions, then it is not a good idea to apply ED.

3

First, congrats on being easy to please, liking all 3 equally. I’m not sure why you would want to commit to a school this early with ED, especially since you don’t seem to love any of them so much more than the others. Also, is there any chance you could change your opinion of those schools, or your major?

No matter what you do, there are no guarantees, but you have a good shot with RD at all of those schools, your stats are good. And have you looked at U Richmond? Washington & Lee? James Madison U? (I picked those because you seem to have a focus on that area of the country but I don’t know how compatible they are with your major).

There is so much about you I don’t know, but here’s a suggestion: Take the ACTs & SATs again to strengthen your scores. Apply RD to these schools and find a few more schools to apply to including 1 or 2 safeties. If you’re not applying for need based aid, you probably have the resources to visit all of these schools again in the spring after you’ve heard where you have been accepted. This gives you a chance to see them again, gives you 9 more months to think it over, and knowing what your options are so you can make the best decision - it’s 4 years of your life.

Also, BTW, I get a little nervous at schools that select students based on demonstrated interest, they are trying to game their rankings. A few years ago I visited Wake with my younger daughter and they were making the SAT/ACTs optional which also seems to be to be gaming the system (ie. those with lower scores won’t submit them, and if Wake accepts that student it doesn’t hurt their reported SAT scores). BTW we both liked W&M better than Wake, but that daughter ended up (super happy) at Tulane (got accepted to all of these schools & many others). My .02

4

Congrats on your hard work and success! We are very, very familiar with both Wake and William and Mary, and love both. Both are outstanding and really very similar in terms of size, academic program, academic quality, campus quality, size/impact of grad programs (except Wake med school), and student body. The weather is terrific at both.

Some minor differences: Wake is a little more Greek focused, though Greek life is certainly a component of the social life at William and Mary. Winston-Salem is bigger than Williamsburg and there’s more to do (and more coming around Wake Downtown), but the Wake campus is about 4 miles from downtown. WM, on the other hand is immediately adjacent to the restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, and delis immediately around Colonial Williamsburg, so it is very easy to walk to a fair number of places.

Both are terrific for Global Studies/IR, though I’m not sure about Arabic/Middle Eastern programs right now (knew more about William and Mary’s a while ago).

You will be a very competitive candidate at both. I do think it would be an advantage to apply early to one if you can make a decision. You are very well qualified and would be a safe bet for William and Mary except that you are in a very competitive group, OOS female. I would disagree with the above statement about Wake being sort of a safety RD for you. Wake took a larger % (55%) of the incoming class ED and indicated that it would probably do so in the future, which then makes RD much more competitive. You’d still be a very strong candidate, but it would not be a safety (it would have been for you just a few years ago). Here is the school’s statement on it:

http://fromtheforest.admissions.wfu.edu/2017/03/decisions-released-for-class-of-2021-applicants/

I think you know Wake places a big emphasis on you getting to know the school and them getting to know you. Visit and interview if you can. It offers Skype interviews too. Wake places a big emphasis on grades, which it finds better predicts success in college than test scores. Yours are terrific, which is great. Your scores are also very good, and I’d think you’d want to submit them to Wake.

Bottom line: it would be an advantage to apply early at either school, if you can decide between them. I’d think you’d like either one to be honest. I agree Richmond might also be one for you to look at as another possibility, maybe Denison as well (where you’d probably get merit aid). Good luck.

5

American and Wake offer ED II, while W&M does not. So if you really think W&M is the best school for you, you can apply there ED I, and find out if you’re in (or denied or deferred) in early December. If you’re not in W&M, you can apply either to Wake for ED II by Jan. 1 or to American for ED II by Jan. 15.

I’d suggest you really only do the one (or two) schools ED if that really is the order of schools you like the most, and not just what might give the most admission advantage.

You also could apply to another school or two with Early Action. If you get into another school by late December you might decide to not do ED II and to wait to see what all your options are.

It is hard to get into W&M out of state, though you certainly have a chance. I actually think you seem a strong candidate who might be better off applying to these three schools RD, another reach or two like Georgetown (high reach) or Tufts (mid-reach), at least two or three more match schools like George Washington, and a couple of safeties. And then see what happens, as I think you are likely to have at least a couple of good choices.

Also, if you’ve only taken the SAT or ACT at most twice, you might want to pick one test to take again in hopes of getting a 1450 or 33-34, which could help. (If you’ve taken a test three times, it’s probably time to move along.)

6

@Wilson98 Thank you so much for that insight! I actually am applying Early Action to Georgetown and have already turned that application in, however I understand that my chances are slim. Given time to think about it I really do feel William and Mary is a better fit for me in terms of student life and geography. Their arabic program is also being built up currently, meaning they are looking for new students. I have displayed the maximum amount of interest possible at W&M, going to every optional event they offer including interviews and preview days, so hopefully it will be noted on my application. I will most likely do what you said (I had the same thought), to apply ED1 to W&M and then ED2 to Wake should i receive an unfavorable response from William and Mary.

7

Good plan! Good luck!

8

You cannot apply EA to Georgetown if you are applying ED to another school.

“In keeping with this principle, students applying under the Early Action program may not apply to any binding Early Decision programs since they then would not be free to choose Georgetown if admitted. Students are welcome to apply to other Early Action programs or other Regular Decision programs while at the same time applying to Georgetown’s Early Action program.”