I am an OOS male applying ED1 to W&M. Full pay. Just got my SAT scores back and deciding whether to submit them – 1350. Here are my other stats:
excellent NJ high school
took a summer class at W&M and received A- (International Relations) (for credit)
4.09 GPA (weighted); 3.85 unweighted
varsity tennis all four years; captain this year
speech and debate team exec member (numerous awards)
lots of honor societies
Took 3 APs junior year (got 4s); am taking 3 APS this year; plus honors classes
play nine instruments (school band, jazz band)
volunteer experience (teaching piano to special needs children; play at nursing home)
Teach pickleball (paid)
Amazing recommendations (one is from a former W&M grad student and researcher at W&M for 10 years)
Visited school twice and have been in touch with admissions officer
Tried to get an interview, but none available for Fall (guess I waited too long)
Thank you!!!
I’m from NJ, had the same SAT score, similar APs and was in band and was waitlisted (which means if your essay is stronger than mine you have a good chance at getting accepted). I ended up transferring to W&M but there is a big emphasis on showing your personality and most importantly WHY W&M. If you really sell the fact you want to be at W&M, how you will make the community more diverse with your life experiences (for example, I have a disability but I didn’t write about it in my first essay and in my second attempt, I said that I have a different outlook that can contribute to the W&M community), and what W&M can do for you that other schools can’t. A good essay with the things you listed should get you in.
Thank you! Can I ask you what schools you applied to in addition to W&M, and where you attended freshman year after being waitlisted. We definitely need a backup. Also, how has your experience been at W&M?
@limitdoesnotexist1 , W&M does not have a specific “Why W&M” supplement…it’s an open-ended supplement, but …are you’re saying an applicant really ought to directly state one’s love for the place (rather than showing fit in a more subtle way) in order to be admitted?
I went to community college because the only school I wanted to go to was W&M. As a freshman I was accepted to Rutgers but I did not want to attend. When transferring, I was accepted to UVA and W&M. I was waitlisted at Vanderbilt but I declined their waitlist.
I’m applying for grad school here because I love it so much that I want to stay for my masters degree. W&M has a great campus community. Classes are honestly not that much harder here than at my community college so the transition wasn’t difficult. The professors are really nice. People around campus are always friendly and it’s easy to make friends if you join clubs. It can feel isolating here at times and some weekends there aren’t any parties to go to (that doesn’t really apply this semester because nobody is partying during COVID which is why we have so little cases) but if I could go back in time, I’d still choose W&M
@inthegarden The essay is only a portion of the application. The essay doesn’t break a student’s chances, it just helps the student shine more amongst the rest when many students have similar grades and SAT scores. There’s no specific formula to getting accepted and they give each application a full review and are very fair about the process! The decision does not come down to just the essay or just the GPA/scores alone, it’s a balance of both so anyone reading this should know not to stress out too much about just one side of their application. Just try your best 