William & Mary College

I have a 1260 on the SAT (first time taking as a Junior). 4.56 GPA. I have never received a letter B grade in any quarter or trimester in my entire academic career. Even my brilliant cousin cant believe this. My High School only has honors courses and above classes. I will have 4 AP classes completed once all is said/done. All A’s . I founded and are the Director of the pre med club in my high school. Since i was in 3rd grade.my lifes goal is to be a Medical Dr in order to help people get well. Also, i volunteer in the ER at a local hospital for the past year and started as a 16 year old. The hospital never puts 16 year olds in the ER. They usually put them in the cafeteria. I now know that i want to be an ER Dr as my career. Currently in the boys scouts where i am active with training and making presentstions to young boys and mentoring. Here is the question; Do i have enough right now to be accepted into WM?

By the way. I am from Massachusetts so i am being told that is a negative at W&M.

Note that three quarters of W&M’s attending students scored 1310 or higher on the SAT. Since you do not reside in Virginia, for which policies may be more somewhat more accommodating, it seems at this time that W&M would not represent a likely destination for you. On the bright side, your HS record will be examined in its full context by the colleges to which you choose to apply. In your greater group of schools, you may want to include a few that do not require standardized testing. Nonetheless, for the vast majority of colleges, your scores as they appear now would be fine.

Last item. I work part time at a local CVS to get work experience but do so in a somewhat healthcare related environment but it is as a cashier and not in the pharmacy since they do not allow anyone under 18 in the pharmacy (May be against Federal law).

Thanks Merci. I am taking the SAT on December 8 and quite confident i will be at 1350 or above. Does that make a difference particularly being out of state?

What about William and Mary appeals to you? Do you have any hooks, e.g., URM, legacy, first-gen, etc.?

OOS acceptance rate was 31% for class of 2023: https://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/facts-figures/admission-stats/index.php

Mid 50% SAT was 1320-1510, so right now W&M is a reach for you…even if you get your SAT up to 1350, that would be below the median, and still a reach. OOS scores of accepted students are typically higher as well. Where do your M and EBRW section scores fall? https://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/facts-figures/testing/index.php

When looking for an undergrad college for pre-med, it’s best to be in the top 25% with regard to GPA, rigor and test scores. You also want to avoid colleges with grade deflation…this can be hard to identify, but IMO W&M is probably in that group.

What state are you in, and is your state flagship appealing to you? Certainly you can apply to W&M, just make sure to have a balanced list including match schools, as well as one affordable safety that you would be happy to attend.

650 ebrw. 620 math. Thanks again. You have given me some good info here. . Greatly appreciate it.

Typo. 610 math

FYI Since W&M is a public school in VA, they have to accept 2/3 (I think that’s the number) from in state, which is why the bar is much higher for out of state. Just so you understand it. When looking for other schools, keep this in mind about VA, and I think it is similar in NC (high bar for out of state).
Lots of great schools out there, and many states don’t have this mandated in state/out of state ratio.

Two questions:

  1. Why W&M in particular?

  2. Can your family afford to pay $60,000 / year?

Collegemom…i am a history buff also and visited Williamsburg numerous times with my folks. Love the campus and the small school environment. Not a big fan of 250 kids in an auditorium to take a class. What is your oppinion on grade deflation? As mentioned, i want to go to medical school and grade deflation would be a big concern.

60k a year is no fun for the folks but i made a deal. I get the A’s and they write the checks.

Given the recommendations here on this site, what schools would any of you recommend for someone like me wanting to get into med school? I want to stay away from VA and grade deflation as was mentioned here. I am in Massachusetts and want to stay on the east coast no further South than North Carolina. Judging from your profiles you all are very experienced so i appreciate any suggestions.

In case you haven’t considered it, note that you can major in history as a pre-med student.

You can research a range of schools such as Bates, Trinity and Drew. Note, however, that Bates, while test optional, is highly competitive for admission.

If your test scores improve, then other suggestions might be appropriate.

University of South Carolina would be perfect for you. Great history in the area. Lots of merit scholarship money. Very good honors program. Medical school and hospital to continue getting experience while in school. No grade deflation. Good weather during the Fall/Winter/Spring school year.

University of AL would be another one to consider but Malay be too far south.

Or university of Delaware

As a general suggestion, I recommend you primarily consider colleges for which your SAT scores seem suitable, even though you may choose not to submit your scores in every case. With respect to accessing this information, search for the Common Data Sets for colleges of interest.

As another specific college suggestion, look into Wheaton (MA).

Hi Folks… I would like any of your thoughts. Many of you have advised that i would not be a viable candidate for W&M. As noted above i have a 4.56 GPA and a 1260 SAT. If you pull up Thoughtco.com which the data was provided by cappex they have a chart on students GPA/SAT.l who were rejected/acceped/accepted but did not attend/wait listed. If you look closely, nobody with a 4.0 and a high SAT accepted and attended. The only 4.0 students who accepted and attended were in the 1100s on the SAT. The only 4.0 who were rejected outright were at about 1000. f you plot my 1260 i am way higher than almost all other applicants. Am i reading this correctly,? If so, then why wouldnt i stand an excellent chance of getting in?

@rvgros22, the Cappex info is self-reported- and definitionally you don’t know how representative of the applicant pool those students are (I think that you are also slightly misreading the table, b/c of the coloring, but it doesn’t really matter).

As @Mwfan1921 pointed out, what W&M reports from the entire applicant pool, is that right now your SAT is in the bottom 25% of admitted students. Obviously, your score does not eliminate you, and if you raised it to 1350 your would be (just) inside the middle 50%, but being OOS does make it harder.

I would not be quite as negative as some posters (W&M considers your LoRs, essays, and ECs to be as important as GPA and test score) but I think you should consider it a reach…

…and, if you are as serious as you say you are about medicine, I wouldn’t pick W&M for most students. Getting high marks and standing out academically at W&M is seriously hard work- & W&M has a well-earned reputation for hardworking students. To get into medical school you want to be a star in your year: top grades, top MCATs, and top LoRs. Of course it won’t be easy at any school- but W&M has it’s own work harder ethos.

I can assure you that students with 1500+ SATs and unweighted 4.0 GPAs are thick on the ground at W&M. There are also students with lower stats.

My thoughts:

  1. It looks as if your first time taking the SAT does not truly represent your academic attainments. Did you prepare for the test by taking practice tests? How did you score on them? Do you think you just had a bad test day? You should also consider taking an ACT practice test to see if that's a better test for you.
  2. Pre-med is a tough course of study at any school because of the level of competition. There are always "weed-out" classes that are notoriously challenging.
  3. Please don't focus on any one college. The admissions process is nuts. Make sure you have plenty of "safety" schools that you would be happy attending. People will continually ask you about your top choice or dream school. Be firm with them about not having one! The country is full of great colleges.

Good luck!