W&M Blogs

Overheard in Committee: The Halfway Point Edition

March 7, 2013 by Admit It!

We Admit It!  We are plugging away, slowly but surely.  Two weeks down, two weeks to go.  We’ve finally opened the Wheat Thins and the five-pound bag of M&Ms and the M&M infused chocolate cookies (given our love for the ampersand they’re the perfect committee candy).  We’ve finished off the frosted animal crackers, three-quarters of a tub of actual animal crackers, several single-servings of Pringles, several packages of peanuts and 1/3 of our can of mixed nuts (to call it a can underscores its size).  So we are sugar-infused and ready to tackle the second half of Committee.

Overheard in Committee today: That program is b-b-b-b-angin!  (Yes we really say it that way.)  And by the way, b-b-b-angin or even just “bangin” without all the extra “Bs” is a good thing.

We were reviewing the application of a student who was taking six AP classes this year (including AP Statistics, AP Chinese, AP Latin, AP Chemistry, AP US History and AP Physics-C) on top of taking five AP classes last year (which had included AP Calculus BC).  One of us even said, “Dang” as she stared mouth agape at the screen displaying the student’s file.  Mind you we neither expect such intense programs nor do we necessarily recommend them (unless that’s your thing and if that’s the case, go for it).  But you can’t help but be impressed by it right?  To top that off, the student had mostly As including his mid-year grades.  Other parts of his application were fine.  He was involved in his high school and held one leadership position as the captain of his basketball team; he had fine although by no means outstanding SAT scores, and his recommendations and essays were solid but again, not exceptional.  But man alive that curriculum!

And in the end, given all other components of the application were solid and generally equal to that of other students, it was the student’s tremendous performance in a mind-boggling set of courses that ended up being the positive tip factor for him, and he was admitted!  That certainly won’t be the tip factor in every case, and again, we have no expectation that a student will take 10 or more AP courses during their high school tenure, but transcripts can definitely catch our attention.

Qdoba Lunch courtesy of W&M Professor Macdonald.

Once more into the breach…err Committee…dear friends.

Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed. ‘09
Associate Dean of Admission

PS: Shout out to W&M Professor Heather Macdonald who provided us with actual sustenance as opposed to our cart of sugary snacks.  Our love for any and all food during Committee is real.

The grateful Committee thanks her.