What are my chances of getting into the College of William and Mary?

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

I am a white male from outside of Philidelphia, Pennsylvania.

SAT: 1510 (740 Math, 770 Reading/Writing)
Weighted GPA: 3.49

AP:
European History - 4
Psychology - 4
APUSH - 5
English Lang - 4
Physics 1 - 2
Macro Economics - 4
Micro Economics - 4

Next Year Classes:
AP English Lit
AP Computer Science 1
AP Statistics
AP US Government
Public Speaking
Physics 2 Honors

Extra Curriculars:
Job Shadowed with State Senator Andy Dinniman
Job Shadowed with the local Justice Department
350+ Volunteer Hours
Mock Trial ( Participated for 3, Co-President for 2 years)
Speech and Debate (Participated for 3, Co-President for 2 years)
Young Republicans
Cross Country, Indoor Track, Track and Field (Participated for 3, Varsity for each)
I wrote and co-directed a One Act for my school
I participated in a speaking contest for my school (had to qualify to get in)
Regional Champion and State Qualifier for National History Day
Eagle Scout (I have also held multiple leadership positions in my Boy Scout Troop)
Cashier

Intended Major - Government

Applying Regular Decision (because it is non-binding and I can make a decision after seeing the financials)

I know that my GPA is much lower than I would like, but overall I had A’s in all my AP (harder) classes and generally lower grades in my less intense classes (Honors classes, which for my school are easier than APs). Hopefully, my SAT and Extra Curriculars can help improve my chances.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration!

2

GPA is on the lower side, so that may be a problem. Hopefully the ECs and APs can make up for it, so it could go either way.

3

Even if you were in-state, your GPA will make W&M an extreme reach. Unless you have some sort of hook.

4

Do your cross country and/or track times make you recruitable?

I’m not an AO or anything even close to it, but your GPA does seem low for W&M and also low for your potential as shown by SAT scores.

You look like a well-rounded, bright kid who can do everything from playwriting to Eagle Scout to plenty of EC’s in your academic area of interest. Of course you should apply to W&M, but have you also been looking at other schools that have what you want where your GPA would make you more competitive?

5

Make sure, when you’re writing your college essay/answering questions, to make a AP English teacher read and critique your prompts. You’ll make it in.

6

Um, maybe the only thing is that my freshman year GPA was really bad, but sophomore and then especially junior year GPAs were much better.

7

@PHY. : How can you say this with any certainty?

8

@3SailAway : I do not believe my running times are good enough for William and Mary, as overall I would be slightly behind where their slowest runners are. I am also looking at Richmond and Franklin and Marshall.

9

I think you have great test scores and ECs, but as you probably know your GPA is what is bringing the rest of the profile down. I had a similar GPA when I applied to William & Mary and was out of state, but that was my unweighted GPA. So it is not impossible, but it is most definitely a reach. As someone with experience with a lower GPA, but other excellent qualities – make sure you apply to a wide range of schools that you would be interested in and make sure that you really write a killer essay, which can make the difference. College admissions is a bit unpredictable and you will get different mileage at different colleges depending on what they prioritize or are looking for.

10

@redsox2014, glad you are building a list of schools. Going by the ones you’ve mentioned so far, you may want to think of adding Dickinson, College of Charleston, and Furman which are similar but with higher admission rates.

11

Also, it’s good that your GPA shows an upward trend!