Decisions, Decisions — Time for Transfers
Admit It! It’s your turn. You’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of your spring transfer application decisions and they are on their way to your in-boxes as we type. Pretty efficient turn around if we do say so ourselves. We’ve read every application. We’ve checked everything twice (couldn’t resist the subtle nod to a holiday classic), and now decisions are on their way to you. So here’s what you need to know.
And they’re out. Decisions are awaiting you in your in-boxes.
Decision Logistics: Decisions are being sent by email tonight to all students who applied for spring transfer and had completed their application. The process takes a few hours so please be patient. The email was sent only to the applicant and only to the email address provided in the Common Application. The email comes from the @wm.edu domain and the sender is College of William & Mary. If you do not see an email in your in-box please check your spam/junk folders as emails have a tendency to land there. If you still do not see an email from us, you are welcome to call our office on any business day between 8:00am and 5:00pm. We will send another decision via email using a different email tool that evening, and we will send a hard copy of your decision letter via mail (only admitted students receive a hard copy of their decision letter; for all other students the letter is provided as the text of the decision email).
Types of Decisions: There are two possible decisions a spring transfer applicant can receive: Admit, or Deny. Each is discussed in more detail below. Note: we do not waitlist applicants for spring transfer (there simply isn’t enough time between now and the start of the spring semester to activate a waitlist process). Please understand that we arrived at all of our decisions in the most thoughtful manner possible. As a result, there is no appeal process for those not admitted. Every application was read in detail from cover to cover taking into account all pieces of information you shared with us. We do our best to ascertain whether or not you are prepared to be a successful student at W&M and whether or not W&M is the right next step in your educational path. While transfer admission is not as selective as freshman admission is, the process is still very competitive. We generally admit between 40% and 45% of the transfer students who apply (note that the process is more selective for those applying as second-semester transfer freshmen as those spaces are highly sought after and have limited availability based upon how many beds we have available in freshman residence halls). The decisions aren’t easy but they are thoughtfully made. We appreciate all of the hard work and effort you have put into this process and wish you all the best as you consider your options, regardless of the decision you received from us.
Admit: Congratulations. Good news indeed right? Who’s excited? We know we are. You will make wonderful additions to the classes of 2014, 2015 and 2016, and we hope you choose to join us in Williamsburg next spring. More detailed information is on its way to you by mail. But take tonight to celebrate, to give yourself a pat on the back, to do a happy dance and to share your good news with the world. Tomorrow you can begin preparing for your transition should you decide to join the Tribe (the right choice).
Deny: First things first: remember that this is a competitive process. We expect a lot from our transfer applicants. As a result, a lot of stand-out students apply. Sometimes some applications appear stronger than others. That doesn’t mean that those who were not admitted are weak. Remember that this isn’t the end of the road for you. There are certainly students who were not admitted initially but who eventually re-opened their application and received good news. Plus, you may have some great other offers to consider. We know that nothing we say will make this feel any less like a rejection, but that’s not how we intend it. This simply wasn’t the right time for you to transfer to W&M. But we wish you all the best, and we are happy to be a resource for you as you continue to pursue transfer options.
So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all application persuasion, that’s it for the fall semester. Overheard in Committee and Decisions, Decisions blogs will return in the spring as we go through the process all over again. Until then, we’ll keep blogging. You keep reading (and applying).
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.
All the decisions are out and should be sitting in your in-box. We’ll be back online to answer questions later on this evening.
YAY! Thank you so much for giving me a second chance. I’m SO EXCITED to move to Williamsburg.
Is the information by mail going to my college address or my home address? I put both on the Common App.
Good news!! Now the wait for the financial aid.
@Christina and @Wondering, WAY TO GO! Congrats and welcome to the Tribe. Hopefully you’ll hear from Financial Aid in the coming days and it will allow you to attend.
Officially part of the Tribe! Congratulations Christina and Wondering!
Admit It: I was looking at the course catalog and noticed that many of the courses required for my major are at full capacity. How will I know whether I can register for the courses needed?
Congrats @Brian! There will be time for transfers to register during Orientation with guidance from many sources and once your transfer credit evaluation is complete. They will advise you accordingly. Remember that there are numerous courses students can take towards a major so if some courses are full you can take others this semester and these courses another semester. There will also be an add/drop period so spaces may become available. You can also contact faculty if courses are absolutely necessary at this time to see if they can let you into a full class.
Congratulations to Christina, Wondering, and Brian!
Thank you to W&M admissions for the blogs and comments. They were very helpful in the weeks leading up to tonight’s good news!
How do I know how many credits transferred into the college officially? Will it be in the packet mailed?
SO excited:) Thanks!
@Mom of a Spring Transfer, congrats to your student!
@Nancy, congrats to you also. Unfortunately tranfer credit evlauations ae just beginning and usually aren’t available until January. If you’re transferring from a VCCS school you can figure out your transfer credit through our website. If you’re transferring from a four-year school you can estimate it by using our course catalog. Basically any typical courses (Calc, microecon, US history, etc.) we offer and will give you direct credit for. If you took a topical class (say the lit of a spcific author) we may not give you direct credit for that course but we will likely give you elective credit in English. We will not give credit for courses in subjects we don’t offer (journalism, photo, etc.).
Thank you!
@Admit It!: Thank you. I appreciate the help.
@Nancy and @Brian, no problem.
@Christina, forgot to address one of your questions. We generally mail to your mailing address.
Hi, W&M. My semester grades are finally in and I ordered the transcript to be sent. I have AP scores that I want to be considered for credit. They appear on my high school transcript and on the UVA transcript as “Test Credits.” Do I still need to send a score report from the College Board?
Thanks!
@Happytobein, yes, you must report your AP score from the College Board in order to receive credit for them from us.
Ok, thanks! See you soon!
Hi Admit It!
I am applying to transfer for fall of 2013, and I am using a re-open app. Does it look any better that we have continued our interest in the school?
Thank you!
@Victoria, check out our blog on this very topic from 2011 (http://blogs.wm.edu/2011/04/27/overheard-in-committee-transfer-edition/). We certainly appreciate continued interest in W&M.