It’s Time for Overheard in Committee
We Admit It! Committee is off and rolling. We’ve reviewed some great applications, had some wonderfully thoughtful discussions and eaten our way through some fruit snacks, cookies, cupcakes, M&Ms (given the ampersand in the name it’s always a go to for the W&M team that brought you the ampersandbox), Pop Tarts and animal crackers. But we digress (as we always do when we look at the snack cart). This blog is all about those wonderfully thoughtful discussions. So let us get right to it with the first Overheard in Committee blog of the 2015 Regular Decision deliberations.
Overheard in Committee: But man. Compare her SAT to the school’s average. It’s impressive.
We were reviewing the application of a student whose SAT score was okay (within our middle 50% range but on the lower end), but it certainly wasn’t as competitive as many other students we had already discussed. As we do with every application, we put the information we glean from an application into context. Most high school profiles will provide information on the school’s average SAT and ACT scores. This can help us get a sense of what the college-going culture is like at that school, and what if any preparation or guidance may (or may not) be available to students when it comes to standardized testing. When we combined that information (the fact that her score was nearly 400 points above her school’s average) with some other contextual information (first-generation college student status in this particular case) we were better able to evaluate her standardized testing results.
As we’ve mentioned numerous times, in various blogs, context is critical to the work that we do. No applicant is merely a transcript, a test score and a resume. Their background and life experiences help to shape that transcript, test score and resume. And it’s those backgrounds and life experiences that really impact the class we are trying to build. We know that standardized testing in particular is an angst-y part of the college application process. And while SAT and ACT scores can make you a more or less competitive applicant (just like any other component of the application), they are reviewed in context, not as stand-alone numbers.
So after 1.5 days away from Committee (thanks to Snow-mageddon here in Southeast Virginia) we need to get back to it. Stay tuned. More peeks behind the curtain to come.
Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed. ‘09
Associate Dean of Admission
Comments are closed on posts older than one year, but we still want to hear from you. If you have a comment or question for us, please email admission@wm.edu.
What is the ACT middle 50% range for this year’s incoming class?
@MPS, it’s 29-33
Hi there. I applied to W&M as a transfer student for the upcoming fall semester. The application is technically due tomorrow (March 1) and I still have yet to receive an email stating that the admissions office has everything they need from me. I did however get an email stating that my common application was submitted. Should I be worried? Or will the email eventually come after the deadline?
Thanks so much!!
@Hannah, that email could certainly come after the deadline. It can take several weeks if not longer to complete an application once we download it from Common App. As long as you got the initial email you’re good. We’ll follow up with you to either let you know the application is complete or to let you know what we’re missing and how to resend that component.
I am also applying as a fall 2015 transfer. Does being a part-time student for a semester hurt admission chances even if the applicant is involved in other activities (job, caregiver, etc.)?
@W&M Hopeful, when circumstances necessitate a student being part-time that does not hinder their application. Sometimes we may suggest that individual start as a part-time student (Flex Track) at W&M however.
Do you look at the breakdown of the ACT as well and take that into context (i.e. if an applicant scored many points higher in English/Reading than his or her school’s average)?
@MK, we certainly apply the same context to an ACT as we do to an SAT but we look only at an ACT composite score and not the individual sub-scores.
Thank you!
I sent in several different ACT Scores, does only my highest composite score count, and not the super score composite?
@SB, we do not superscore the ACT. We will review your highest composite score if you send multiple results.
I am applying as a transfer. I know that AP scores are evaluated after acceptance, but I am wondering if I should list the credit hours my previous university awarded me for my AP scores on the common app section asking for college credits prior to this semester since they are on my official transcript.
@W&M Hopeful, you certainly can. You can also self-report your scores in the standardized testing section of the Common App. It also sounds like we will see it on your transcript.
My daughter received the email her file is complete. She recently mad Deans List at Reynolds while still taking HS classes and working. Should I have her most recent Reynolds transcripts sent with the Deans List mention? Or is it too late to her with her application? She is not the common W&M applicant…average grades, advanced classes, summer classes every year, some college classes and working full-year and an unusual ‘life path’. Can the good community college grades as a HS Senior help her now in your application process?
@Pixieparent, usually dual enrollment courses are also listed on the high school transcript. If that’s the case and we already have the grades, no need to send another transcript. Any updates your daughter has she can just email to us.
I was wondering if you have an approximate date for when acceptances will be released? My friend received a cypher in the mail today so I was curious if that means the date is coming soon. I am aware that only a select few students will receive these but I am still hopeful!
@LS, we do not have a specific release date and we will not be able to predict that in advance (see our “Most Asked Question” blog on this very topic: http://wmblogs.wm.edu/admiss/the-most-asked-question/). All we can say is that decisions will be released by April 1.
What percentage of students deferred from early decision are you likely to accept?
@LAS, unfortunately it’s a pretty small percentage (fewer than 10% of ED deferred students are admitted). Unfortunately as we get thousands of additional applications it’s harder for any student to stand out.
My daughter received the W&M postcard in late January and we were both thrilled. I understand the Monroe Scholar notification letters go out in early-mid-March, so could you share what date they will be mailed? Have they already been mailed? Lastly, approximately what percentage of those students who receive postcards will receive the Monroe Scholar Notification? Thanks!
@Monroe Hopeful, glad your daughter got a postcard. We don’t have an exact date for those letters to be mailed but we imagine they’ll launch within a week give or take. We don’t calculaye how many of those who receive a postcard will be named Monroe Scholars. It’s a healthy percentage but certainly plenty of students who receive postcards are not named Monroe Scholars and plenty of Monroe Scholars don’t receive a postcard.
What is the SAT middle 50% range for this year’s incoming class? Thank you in advance! 🙂
@Christine, the middle 50% range for current W&M freshmen is 1270-1470 (Critical Reading + Math). Our Facts & Figures site (http://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/facts-figures/index.php) provides all the data for last year’s admission cycle and incoming class.
How much higher (if at all) are the SAT scores for out-of-state applicants that are admitted?
@Massachusetts, there’s no minimum threshold for in-state or out-of-state students for standardized testing. Generally speaking, out-of-state students who are most competitive in that aspect of our review will be on the upper end of our overall middle 50% range or higher. Again, that’s not a requirement or a minimum.
Is a 3.85 (weighted) GPA a less-competitive one in comparison to the majority of other applicants? It’s tough trying to bring it up, but at the same time is the rigor of the applicant’s courses considered when looking at his or her GPA?
@Eric, there’s no great way to answer your question. A GPA without context is hard to evaluate. We can tell you that we do look at rigor, grade trends, school context, grading scale, class rank and more when reviewinf a transcript.