How You Know William & Mary Has Received Your Application

We Admit It! The applications are rolling in and we are in full-on processing mode (soon to be accompanied by full-on reading mode).  So you’ve done your part, you’ve clicked submit.  As your application makes its way through cyberspace, here’s what you need to know about how it’s handled once it gets to us.  Note that we are just beginning to process freshman applications and will soon begin to process transfer applications.  The communication processes outlined below will be fully operational in the days to come.

Correspondence Sent to Applicant – applicants will receive two emails from us prior to receiving a decision email

  • You will receive an initial email from us when we’ve downloaded your application from the Common Application. Generally this email will be sent 24-48 hours after you submit your Common Application (during the busiest time for submissions there may be an additional delay).  We do not begin a file for an applicant until we receive the Common Application materials.  If any materials (such as a transcript or test scores) are received prior to the submission of the Common Application, those materials will be held until the application is received.  As long as we receive your application, we will work with you to ensure it gets completed and reviewed.
  • You will receive a second email from us when we’ve matched your application to all required components (transcript, test scores, application fee) letting you know your application is complete. It can take up to one month after receiving the initial email to receive this second email.  We appreciate your patience as we process literally tens of thousands of individual application components.
  • If we do not receive any required component, we will follow up with a second email letting you know what we are missing and how to submit it. No penalty is assessed at this point as we understand that these things just happen through no fault of any particular individual.  We just ask that you submit the missing item(s) as soon as you receive our communication.

Correspondence Sent to Parent – parents of freshman applicants will receive two emails from us provided their email addresses were included in the Common Application

  • Parents will receive an initial email from us when we’ve downloaded your student’s application from the Common Application. This is the most critical step.  As long as we receive an application from your student, we will work with him/her to ensure it gets completed and reviewed.
  • Parents will receive a second email from us when we’ve matched your student’s application with all of the required components (transcript, test scores, application fee) letting you know your student’s application is complete. It can take up to a month between the receipt of the initial email and the receipt of this second email.  We appreciate your patience as we process all application submissions.
  • Parents will not receive any other emails from us (including the decision email which is sent only to the applicant).

Note that we do not confirm receipt of optional materials such as the writing supplement, a fine art submission or teacher recommendations. You can rest assured however that any materials submitted to our office will be matched with your application.

So as the applications come in faster and more furiously, the mail crates get heavier, the scanner hums louder—it’s all music to our ears. It’s the sound of the Class of 2019 (and the additions to the classes of 2017 and 2018) being built.

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

Categories: Admission, Faculty & Staff Blogs Tags: , ,
46 Comments
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  7. Kathleen Webber
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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.