Freshman Waitlist Update
We Admit It! May 1, the sun around which the admission world rotates, has come and gone. And of course the first question we get on May 2 is about the waitlist. And that’s fair. Students on the waitlist are anxious to know whether or not they may have a chance of being admitted. So we are here to answer that question… kind of. We can share with you what we know as of now, which is that we are going to be able to admit a select group of additional students from the waitlist. What we don’t know is how our class will continue to ebb and flow throughout the next few months. So yes, it’s May 4 and we have some answers; but we don’t have all the answers. The waitlist is aptly named and there will be more waiting to do.
So here’s what we know about what we know. We do have the opportunity to admit a select group of students to the incoming class. Those of you who are anxious to be in that select group may be wondering what you can do. If you remain very interested in W&M and haven’t done so already, you are welcome to send a statement of continued interest along with any updates to your regional dean. How is that select group of students chosen? The Admission Committee will reconvene and determine which of the students who elected to remain on our waitlist are the most competitive for admission. We will then as regional deans contact those students. We will try to reach you first by phone and then by email to discuss the opportunity of attending W&M in more detail. SO PLEASE CHECK YOUR MESSAGES! Those students admitted from the waitlist will get the Good Things email, the mailed admission materials, and will have the same access to residence halls, roommates and Orientation as those students we admitted in March. We also know, that all students remaining on the waitlist will get an update from us, via email, by mid-June.
So here’s what we know about what we don’t know: how our incoming class will change between now and Orientation. Throughout the summer, as students’ plans change, as other universities activate their waitlists, the composition of our incoming class will likely vary from day to day, week to week. We know this, and we plan for it, but each year is different. So we may make admission offers to that initial wave of students, receive affirmative responses and be good to go. Then a month from now we may see a wave of withdraws from students who had submitted an enrollment deposit which would allow us to admit additional students from the waitlist. So this process will play itself out over what might be a prolonged period of time; it also could play out quickly. Only time will tell which it will be.
We will do our best to keep you informed throughout the waitlist process (transfers we will do the same for you when the time comes).
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.
Hi Ms. Livingston, I already sent my letter of continued interest via email to my regional dean on Saturday. I haven’t heard back yet and am very anxious to know if it was received or buried in weekend emails. Do regional deans usually email students back to let them know they got it or no?
@Mira, generally we do acknowledge receipt of such emails but you can always follow up to ensure it was received. Did you send it directly to your regional dean or to our general admission@wm.edu email?
I sent it directly to my regional dean’s email, but I’m guessing many others are sending their letters to her as well. Thanks for letting me know it’s okay to follow up, I’ll reach out to her if I don’t hear anything by Wednesday.
@Mira, that sounds fine.
Hi,
I”ve already sent in my statement of interest and the like; if a there is a candidate who has shown strong interest, do they still have the potential of being contacted for this first group? I guess I should clarify
my question. Is this process already underway, or are you still in the middle of selecting potential students and will contact them at a later date? Thanks!
@Madeline, we anticipate contacting the initial group of students selected in the early part of this week. But as we said, this process could play itself out over some time. So even if you don’t hear from us right away, it’s possible you will hear from us later on.
Thanks so much for these blogs!!! They’ve really helped me through this crazy but rewarding application process. Can’t wait for this fall!
Are you saying that you got admitted off the wait list? Just curious because of the way you worded this.
Has the entire select group of students been notified already?
@F, many have but as we mentioned, the process play itself out over time and we anticipate that we’ll need this week to make the initial set of calls.
Okay 🙂 Thank you so much for your quick response! I’m just trying to stay hopeful which is rather difficult but I know that it isn’t over yet 🙂
Was there another update that was posted and then shortly after deleted?
@F, we anticipate having another update soon.
Dear Admit It! If I received an email from the Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission asking me to update my desire to stay on the waitlist and I responded “yes”, does this mean that I will be admitted? I was confused as to whether this was the email that seems to be the email that guaranteed admission off of the waitlist, or if that email was a different one. Thank you!
@Confused Yet Hopeful, we apologize for the confusion. A blog on the email you got last night should be posted later today. The email you got last night was sent to all students on the waitlist, it is not the email we send if we are offering you admission. If we are offering you admission you will get a phone call (you will get an email only if we can’t reach you by phone and generally you will get voice messages on your phone). And the phone call and/or email will come from your regional dean. The email you got includes a link to a form we are asking students to complete so we know who is still interested in being considered for admission should we be able to admit additional students from the waitlist.
I never got the email, but I did send a letter of continued interest and have talked with my regional dean so I’m pretty sure I am still checked for wanting to stay on the wait list. Should I call to confirm this?
@Miriam, you should receive the email…maybe check spam and junk folders?
At this time is there still a possibility of getting off of the waitlist?
@Tyler, we hope to have another waitlist update for freshmen and transfers either late this week or early next week so stay tuned. We are currently assessing where our class stands so we can answer your very question.
Hi Admit It! I’m just wondering, now that Dean Livingston is gone, will the blog this year still provide waitlist updates such as this one? As a waitlisted applicant I’d love to know when the initial wave of waitlist offers begins, if it does at all. Thanks!
@2016 Applicant, terrific question. Dean Brad Harlan (bjharlan@wm.edu) has taken over the reins of the Admit It! blog since Dean Livingston moved on to a new position this past summer. He will indeed be posting updates about our waitlist process as soon as they are available.