My Son is Brilliant!

We all think our children brilliant, smart, gifted, exceptional, clever, talented, accomplished, dazzling, you pick the adjective.  As the mother of a son who has already been through the college admission process and a daughter currently going through it, I am no different.  As a member of the dean staff I hear this statement or something like it pretty often.  I wanted to provide some perspective, so here are some fun facts about the applicant pool for the Class of 2013.

Out of over 12,000 applications we had:

• 581 applicants with 1500 or better on their Critical Reading and Math combined SAT
• 489 applicants with 800 on their Critical Reading SAT
• 263 applicants with 800 on their Math SAT
• 284 applicants with 800 on their Writing SAT
• 395 Valedictorians
• 197 Salutatorians
• 310 applicants were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program
• 2315 of those who reported class rank were in the top 5% of their class
• 4408 applicants earned above a 4.0 GPA overall

This is not to say that your child is not brilliant but to say that we have more than 12,000 brilliant applicants.   It is important to be realistic, but I don’t want this to sound hopeless.  Remember the numbers are only one piece of the puzzle.  It is important to take rigorous classes, to write well in your application essays, to hold leadership roles, to participate in extracurricular activities and to provide service to your school and community.

Every application submitted to the College of William & Mary is read twice, yes I said twice, by admission deans.  I’m sure you have already heard this but it is true, the deans give each application thorough consideration. So don’t focus on the numbers. Applicants should focus on their strengths and accomplishments and convey to us through their application why they belong at William & Mary.

Oh, and my kids really are brilliant. 🙂

– Betsy Quinzio