You may be compelled to burn me at the stake...Chances?

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

<p>I'm sorry, I find these threads just as annoying as you guys probably do. But, I was just REJECTED from UPenn ED, so I'm getting a bit nervous about my RD schools. So, please take some pity on this ivy league reject, and chance me? Thanks so much.</p>

<p>Personal:
Female from Long Island, NY (I know, automatic reject)
White
Competitive public high school
middle-class area; will be applying for financial aid (although I probably will receive none)</p>

<p>Stats:
SATs: 780 M, 760 V, 710 W
2250/2400 or 1540/1600
720 Math II and Lit
GPA: 96.658/100 (w)
Class Rank: 18/400 (top 5%)
National Merit Semifinalist </p>

<p>1 AP Soph year, 4 APs junior year, 4 APs senior year....all 5s on the 5 tests taken so far
Other than the APs, I took every honors/advanced level class available (about 15 total).
I dropped Spanish in favor of taking AP sciences junior year- how much will this hurt me?</p>

<p>Major ECs (I have a lot, but these are the strongest):
Debate- Captain, competed in state championship, lots of awards
president and founder of 2 other clubs
lots of political campaigning and activism
hospital volunteer- 3 hrs/week for the past 2 years
food bank volunteer- 2 hrs/week for the past year
Oh, and I guess I should mention a few other things.
Although I hate making excuses, my freshman year grades were pretty low b/c I was suffering from a serious illness, which caused me to miss a few months of school. Since then, there's been an obvious upwards trend. If class rank was based on sophomore, junior, and senior years, I would be ranked 3rd out of 400.
My common app essay was about my illness and getting past it, and it actually won an award in my school, so I'd say it's pretty good. I also submitted that optional supplemental essay about a summer program I did and how it felt to be independent.
Teacher and guidance recs are wonderful, as far as I know. I was unable to read them, but I have a close relationship w/ the teachers I chose and my GC.
Any responses would really be appreciated!!! Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>i think you will get in. Just to make your chances as high as possible, definitely do the supplemental essay, and do it well.</p>

<p>Edit: nevermind i guess you did do the supplemental essay</p>

3

<p>Do not worry too much on test scores and what not (even though yours are high) and focus on what makes you very unique. I had awful SAT scores (1310 math/verbal), but I made my app very different.</p>

4

<p>Alright I got in with a 1340 SAT and 32 ACT. I had only 3 APs prior to this year and my only two high SATIIS were in history. Just make your essays great and you'll be fine.</p>

5

<p>Did you visit the campus and have an interview? I think that helped in my S's admission. I really got the feeling that they admit the student, not the data, at W&M...ie they look for interesting, accomplished individuals. You sound like you'll stand out a bit, so I'd say your chances are good.</p>

<p>However, be advised that W&M strongly advises four years of a single foreign language (or a certain grade on the SAT II in a language). S only had three years (he's not a linguist by any stretch of the imagination) and completely bombed the SAT II. Because of that, he'll be forced to take another semester or two of Spanish at W&M, as would you unless you can score 600 or better on the Spanish SAT II. Good luck to you!</p>

6

<p>Thanks so much.</p>

<p>I didn't interview, so I hope that doesn't hurt me too much. Too many schools...too little time...</p>

<p>And I hope my decision to drop a language in favor of taking two sciences (one advanced and one AP) and two AP histories in my junior year won't hurt me too much. </p>

<p>Oh well. I guess we shall see what happens in a few months...</p>