What are my chances at William & Mary (ED)?

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

I am currently a junior in high school and I am considering applying ED to William & Mary next fall. My mother attended William & Mary and my older sister will be graduating from WM in 2017. I’ve visited the campus numerous times and I can honestly say that WM is my top choice. I plan on majoring in English but I’m also interested in GSW Studies.

Race/Gender/Location: White, Female, Virginia

My freshman and sophomore combined weighted GPA was 4.6.

My current unweighted GPA is 3.6.

ACT: Registered for April 18

SAT: 1730 (2400), 1140 (1600)
I know this is low. It was my first time taking the SAT and I plan on taking it again in June or in the fall.

I’ve never checked my class rank but I’m fairly certain that I’m in the top 10-15% of my class (450-500 students).

Freshman Year:
ART II EXP ART A+
BIOLOGY I HON A-
ENGLISH 9 HON A-
PSC GEOMETRY HON A-
SPANISH II A
WH and G II HON A +

Sophomore Year:
ALGEBRA II HON A-
AP EUROPEAN HISTORY A
ART II APP ARTDES A+
CHEMISTRY I HON A
SPANISH III A+
ENGLISH 10 HON A

Junior Year (current grades):
AP ENG 11 LANGCOMP A+
AP PHYSICS I B
AP VA & US HISTORY A
ART IV ADV ART A+
ECONOMICS PERS FIN A+
MTH ANALYTRIG HON A-
SPANISH IV HON B+

Senior Year Schedule:
AP LITERATURE & COMP
AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
AP CALCULUS
AP GOVERNMENT
ART V ADV ART
CREATIVE WRITING
JOURNALISM

Total APs: 8

ECs:
National Honor Society 11.12.
National Art Honor Society (I plan on running for Secretary/VP next year) 10.11.12. - NAHS helps create drama sets, banners, etc.
Spanish National Honor Society 11.
Mu Alpha Theta 12.
The Writing Center 11.12. (During our study period, where students come to consult with other students about their writing, I am one of the student consultants; also counts as community service)
Gay-Straight Alliance 10.11.12. (Me and couple friends helped rebuild GSA at my school, there were only four of us at the first meeting.)
Key Club 11.12.
School Newspaper 12. (I plan on going for a position next year.)
Open Book Society 11.12.
Junior Class Art Sponsor 11.
Dance: Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Ballet (14 years)
Church Youth Group (10 years)
Confirmation Sponsor (with the same church group)

Volunteer Work:
Junior Volunteer at VCU Medical Center (150 hours)
Habitat for Humanity (future work)

As far as the application goes, I am sure I can crank out a killer essay.

So…what are my chances of getting in Early Decision at W&M? As an in-state student, am I qualified? Please let me know.

2

I am not going to “chance” you as no one knows. W&M is holistic and so much depends on your essays. But I will give a recommendation to you. There is a special admittance event ONLY for children of alums and their parents that is incredibly helpful in understanding the process. My son and I attended it the summer in between his junior and senior year and I ended up feeling that if he did NOT get in, at least I understood why. He did end up getting in (we just dropped him back for the spring semester yesterday) and I do think that at least part of the reason that he did get in was that he better understood the process and was better able to demonstrate how his experiences and skill sets made him a more attractive candidate. While I suspect the original purpose of this event is to keep alumni from getting too upset when their kids don’t get in, I found it an extremely interesting event.

Call the alumni house to get information on it although it is probably too early for them to have the date yet. My recall is that it was early June and that registration was in February or maybe March- possibly even April.

3

Based on my DS’s experience with ED this year, you must get your ACT or SAT score up to offset your low unweighted GPA. Weighted GPA’s mean nothing, because all the school districts weight differently - some like yours are very generous, while some like ours give nothing for honors classes and minimal weighting for AP’s. You are also a white, in state female - so your competition will be the highest of any group applying. Being a legacy may help a little, but your scores, grades, and classes have to show you can handle the work.

My DS has a 3.68 GPA, 29 ACT (1770 SAT, but his ACT is higher) strong academics and EC’s, and he wrote a very powerful essay. White/Hispanic, in state. He was deferred during ED. He’s now trying to take one more round of the SAT and the ACT to hopefully get higher scores. He’s still hopeful he can get in, but thrilled that he got into his #2 last week.

4

Your current test scores are likely to prevent an ED offer. With a 3.6 UW, retest and shoot for at least 1300 M+CR or 30-31 ACT. Holistic admissions means they really do look at everything, but the hard numbers are what they still report and what get computed into rankings. Sad but true.

5

You might find it helpful to look at the ED thread from this year to help gauge where you might fall among the applicants. Keep in mind though that since the admissions process is holistic what gets one student accepted doesn’t necessarily mean all students with those stats will be accepted.

Since you are a junior, you have plenty of time to do things to increase your chances. I do recommend a retake for standardized testing since you have only taken it once (or try the ACT) but it looks like you are already signed up for those. Have you signed up for an interview? A summer interview could be one of the best ways to show your personality, your passion for the school, and basically convince them that you’d be a good fit. It is considered optional, however, it could also be a factor that ends up making a difference. There is also an optional essay, which if done well, can also give them more insight to who you are.

This is picking at straws but I thought I’d point out although white instate female may make up large portion of the applicant pool, it does not necessarily make it the most competitive. Two examples I can think of are out of state students and international students. They usually have slightly higher stats, but a lower admittance percentage rate due to the limited amount of spots available.

It looks like you are well acquainted with the school already, having had two family members go there, but I thought I’d offer to answer any questions you may have about the school as well. Good luck with your applications!