Pamela in VA Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Hello all! I know I haven't posted in ages and only read occasionally now, but I have an important question that did not garner any good search results on the forums. Dd is applying to my alma mater, William and Mary, and I am working on her transcript and course descriptions. I am familiar with their application requirements per the website and on-campus visit, but would like experienced input from this group since I know there are some who have gone down this road before me as a homeschool parent. 1) Did you include course descriptions for all classes, or just for those which were significantly different than the typical public school class? 2) Did you include a reading list in addition to course descriptions, or were titles included in the course description? 3) Do you have any pointers as to what areas of her education and extracurriculars to focus...or not to focus? 4) For any transcript, would you include 2016 dates for activities, service, etc., not yet completed if they are annual events? 5) Does anyone know how much being a legacy helps in the admission process? 6) Any other important information I should know regarding application? 7) ADDED: Did you use weighted GPA or unweighted? As always, THANKS in advance!Pamela F. in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I replied via homeschool2college! If you have any more questions, please ask! Dd went to W&M last year and lived at home, so I have a pretty good window on life (particularly as music major) at W&M. Dd can't say enough good about W&M! She loved the school but really needed a conservatory to pursue her dreams. She is probably the only student last year who transferred while loving the school she was at! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I'm uncertain if you are only seeking replies from those with firsthand experience with W&M or if you're looking more broadly. I'm in the latter category. I'll answer below in color. 1) Did you include course descriptions for all classes, or just for those which were significantly different than the typical public school class? I supplied course descriptions for all classes. 2) Did you include a reading list in addition to course descriptions, or were titles included in the course description? I did not include titles in the course descriptions so supplied a reading list as well as a textbook list. 3) Do you have any pointers as to what areas of her education and extracurriculars to focus...or not to focus? Unknown. 4) For any transcript, would you include 2016 dates for activities, service, etc., not yet completed if they are annual events? I included forthcoming courses as well as to be determined courses on my daughter's transcript. 5) Does anyone know how much being a legacy helps in the admission process? It did not help my daughter at the college which I attended for graduate school. (That was her one refusal and was an Ivy League college with a low acceptance rate.) 6) Any other important information I should know regarding application? Proofread all your documents and then have someone else do so, too. It's easy to become blind to errors when you keep looking at the same materials. 7) ADDED: Did you use weighted GPA or unweighted? I did not weight any of my daughter's grades. Regards, Kareni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela in VA Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Thanks Gwen and Kareni! I think any insights, even though I was initially referring to W&M, are valuable to consider. My thinking is pretty much in line with the answers you have both given and I especially like the reminder to have someone else proofread...like I should have done with my initial post here. I should have said "questions" not "question"...oops. I'd still love to hear from anyone else with W&M experiences. Blessings!Pamela 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 My daughter was admitted to William & Mary during the RD round as a Monroe Scholar in 2010. Answers to your questions: 1) Did you include course descriptions for all classes, or just for those which were significantly different than the typical public school class?Yes, we sent course descriptions (7 pages front & back) with all her college apps. Course descriptions for common classes such as algebra just listed the textbook used, whereas others such as home-designed lit & history were longer. Science classes and labs were even longer, since we did not outsource any science, and I wanted to demonstrate that dd had sufficient lab experience. 2) Did you include a reading list in addition to course descriptions, or were titles included in the course description? Reading was a strong point for my daughter, so she decided to send a reading list out to all schools. It included title & author of all her high school reading books (textbooks excluded). 3) Do you have any pointers as to what areas of her education and extracurriculars to focus...or not to focus? I think it always helps to try to focus on 2 or 3 areas of strength. For instance, dd was well-rounded in high school, but she especially loved math and Latin and had extracurriculars in each, so those activities and awards were emphasized on the application. Other interests were noted, but not emphasized as much. You want to make your application memorable in some way to the readers. For instance, (totally making this up) a ballerina who studies particle physics in her spare time would stand out more than an applicant who has an unfocused laundry list approach to her interests. 4) For any transcript, would you include 2016 dates for activities, service, etc., not yet completed if they are annual events? We didn't list activities on the transcript. Instead, they were included in appropriate sections on the Common App (the part dd filled out) and in her essays. For some schools, dd also sent an activities and awards resume (separate document). I *think* she sent it to W&M, but I couldn't say whether they read it or not. Events planned for later in her senior year were listed on the resume, but included a note to that effect. 5) Does anyone know how much being a legacy helps in the admission process? No idea! 6) Any other important information I should know regarding application? A couple of optional things that dd did that might have helped were (1) SAT 2 scores were sent, even though they're optional for W&M, and (2) she wrote the optional essay on the Common App supplement. What we did wrong (but obviously it didn't hurt her too much) was that she did not do a campus visit & tour (she'd been there plenty of times unofficially since it's only an hour and a half away), nor did she do the optional summer on-campus interview... She just got too busy senior year to fit it all in. (She did attend a local W&M info night in our area, though.) Dd had *no* brick & mortar school classes in high school, just home designed and online classes. She did attend academic summer programs (though nothing graded or given credit) and had a good letter of recommendation from one of those programs. Her other LOR was from a PA Homeschooler online class teacher. Her test scores were also very strong. 7) ADDED: Did you use weighted GPA or unweighted? Unweighted Hope that helps! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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