Decisions, Decisions – Early Decision 2016 Edition
We Admit It! The day is finally here. After several weeks of reading applications and committee meetings here in Williamsburg, it is time to officially release our first round of admission decisions. Early Decision notifications have been finalized and launched, and are currently on their way to your inboxes (Transfers: Spring Transfer notifications will be launched next week).
Below you will find all pertinent information about how decisions are released and what each decision means.
Decision Release:
- Decision emails were sent this evening (December 2) to the email address provided in your Common Application (only students receive a decision notification; parents do not).
- Though all emails have officially been launched, it will take some time for all emails to leave our server and reach your inbox.
- Decision emails are sent to all applicants regardless of decision (assuming you submitted a completed Early Decision application).
- Students, please check your spam/junk folders in case the email landed there instead of your inbox (this does sometimes happen).
- The sender of the email will be “College of William & Mary.” The subject will either be “Good Things!” or “William & Mary Application.”
- Those who are admitted will also receive a formal decision letter in the mail in the coming days. Those who are not admitted (either defer or deny) will only be receiving a decision email.
- Note: If you submitted a completed Early Decision application and did not receive a decision email from us this evening, please do not panic. There are a number of reasons why this could have happened. Please contact us on Monday. We will investigate what happened and report back to you. If need be, we can re-launch your decision email, as well as mail a hard copy to you.
- Second Note: As decisions are arriving to inboxes, we will be signing off until later this evening. Please review this blog in its entirety for answers to any immediate questions. We will respond to any other questions or comments later this evening and throughout the weekend.
Decisions
Admit: Admit It! You are jumping up and down, screaming at the top of your lungs and busting out a celebratory dance. Congratulations! “Good Things!” means exactly what you think it means: you are officially a member of William & Mary’s class of 2021! We are thrilled to welcome you to the Tribe. Your admission letter (signed personally by Dean Tim Wolfe) is on its way and will be arriving in the coming days. A more robust admission packet will also be sent to you in the spring once we have admitted the rest of your class through the regular decision application process.
In the meantime, keep doing that jig. Keep playing that song. Update your Facebook status, profile pic and cover photo (we’ve provided some options on the Welcome website linked in your decision email). Tweet using the #wm2021 hashtag. Join the Class of 2021 Facebook Group. Wear your favorite Tribe Gear to school on Monday. And most importantly, be proud of yourself. You have earned this, and it is an honor to now call you one of our own. The welcome website will provide you with further details about submitting your enrollment deposit (due in two weeks) and other useful information.
Start counting down the days until Move-In Day next August (266 days and counting!). We can’t wait to welcome you to campus. Best wishes for a terrific rest of your senior year. One Tribe. And now it’s yours.
*Note: If you also applied to the St Andrews William & Mary Joint Degree Programme, those decisions will not be made until the spring. We will send you another decision email specific for that programme when we send out Regular Decision notifications by early April.
Defer: We are sorry that we are not able to admit you to W&M at this time. We know how badly you wanted a “Good Things” email this evening, and that you are understandably disappointed and upset with our decision. This decision is in no way a reflection of any wrongdoing or misstep on your part. You are a bright and accomplished individual, and we wish that we could admit every great student who applies to W&M (especially those who have identified W&M as their top choice). Unfortunately, given the small size of our entering freshman class, this is not the reality of our process. This small size, coupled with the strength of this year’s Early Decision applicant pool, forced us to make several difficult decisions.
As a deferred student, your application will automatically be reviewed again, in its entirety, during our Regular Decision review process in the spring. We will send you another decision notification in the spring (if you applied to our Joint Degree Programme you will also receive a decision email specific for that programme at that time). Over the coming weeks, you are welcome to send us any new academic information (first-semester grades, updated standardized test scores) as well as any high-level awards or significant accomplishments not included in your original application. You can also send us a letter/email/statement of continued interest. If you elect to send us such a statement, this does not have to be anything overly elaborate. This should simply be a few paragraph explanation of why you feel like William & Mary is the best fit for you. Whenever we receive such materials (academic information, awards accomplishments, statements of continued interest, etc.) we make sure to file everything appropriately with your application.
As part of this process, however, we also encourage you to look closely at other schools to which you decide to apply. As our applicant pool grows during Regular Decision, so too does the competition for spots in the freshman class. Explore what other schools have to offer and get excited about their fantastic opportunities. Doing so will set you up for the best possible college outcome, regardless of what your final W&M admission decision may be. We wish you the best of luck as you continue to navigate this process, and are of course always happy to provide any assistance that we can.
Deny: Nothing that we write here will make this decision any easier to swallow. You are likely feeling upset, sad, frustrated, confused, and perhaps a bit angry. All of these emotions are natural. You applied to William & Mary as your first choice college destination, and this decision is less than ideal. Please know that while this is a final decision for your freshman application to W&M, this is NOT a judgment on either your record of accomplishment or college potential. Many of our applicants, like you, do so many things right, and as a result we have the difficult task of making many nuanced decisions among so many terrific students. We have full confidence that another school (and likely several) will offer you admission, and that you will do great things at whichever school is lucky enough to have you as a member of their freshman class. We thoroughly enjoyed learning more about you, and wish you all the best going forward.
Thank you to all of our applicants for your patience as we have been carefully navigating our application review process. We do not take your interest in William & Mary lightly, and it has been humbling to review your many talents and accomplishments. One of the best parts of our job is getting to learn so much about so many promising young adults. Whatever the outcome of your individual application, please know how much we appreciate you applying to William & Mary, and how confident we are that each and every one of you is destined for great things. Take care, and Go Tribe.
Brad Harlan
Assistant 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.
Just got my rejection. I really want to cry.
Its ok. Plenty of other colleges to apply to. I’m in the same boat. Good Luck!
Thank U~ There are still many colleges suit for me. Have a good weekend.
@Nicole & @ Robbie, to be disappointed is understandable. We know this wasn’t the decision you were hoping for. As we mention above, though, please know how much we enjoyed reviewing your applications. This time next year, you both will be at great schools accomplishing great things. Take care. We wish you all the best.
I just got accepted! I couldn’t be happier to be #wm2021!
@Christopher DeMallie, we couldn’t be happier to have you as a member of our freshman class! We hope you take some time to celebrate this weekend with family and friends. Welcome to the Tribe!
So excited to be a member of the Tribe, I’ve dreamt of attending this college since I was eleven! Overwhelmed with pride and honor, can’t wait to meet my fellow #wm2021 classmates <3
@Ethan, you rock! It’s our pleasure to welcome you to W&M. We can’t wait to have you on campus in August! Until then, take care, and Go Tribe. Best wishes for a terrific rest of senior year!
I can’t believe I got in! W&M was my dream and reach school– I didn’t have the greatest test scores, but I had faith. I can’t wait to enter the Tribe Lands next year, prepare your book and apparel store I will be there shortly #WM21
@Michael, the Tribe Lands are calling your name, and can’t wait to have you around come August. You go, dude! Congrats on this terrific accomplishment. Go Tribe!
Is it okay for me to call on Monday and ask why I got deferred/what I need to do to be more likely accepted in the spring? Thank you.
@Brooke, first let us say how sorry we are that we were not able to admit you at this time. Trust us when we say that we very much enjoyed reviewing your application. You are of course welcome to contact our office this coming week in order to ask whatever questions you have. Our main office line is (757) 221-4223.
How do you tell the difference from a deferral and denial email?
@Fiona, the subject of a deferral email is “William & Mary Application.” The subject of a denial email is “William & Mary Admission Decision.” Additionally, a deferral email will let you know that your application will be re-evaluated in our regular decision applicant pool, while a denial email will not. Please let us know if you have any further questions about this.
I’m so excited to be a part of W&M class of 2021! Thank you so much for all of the posts to make the time go by a little faster!
@Lauren, thank you for reading this blog, and congrats on your acceptance to William & Mary! Welcome to the Tribe!!! We’re so excited to have you as one of the newest members of our W&M community.
Wow. Just… wow. My heart’s jumping up and down in my chest, and I got tears in my eyes. Thank you, W&M. Go Class of 2021! See you guys next August!
@Harrison, our hearts are full. Today is one of the best days of the year, when we get to officially congratulate the newest members of the Tribe. We look forward to welcoming you and your classmates to campus in August! Best wishes for a terrific rest of your senior year.
I am so thankful for this blog and the admissions team. You all helped ease my ridiculous nerves throughout this process. I am so excited to join the tribe!!
@Erin, we’re so thankful for all of our terrific applicants who share their incredible stories with us. Congratulations on this fantastic accomplishment, and welcome to the Tribe!
So thrilled for my daughter, Eve. She was on the sports bus heading to a swim meet when she got the email of her acceptance. She is thrilled, as are we!
@Anna, we’re thrilled to be welcoming your family to the W&M family. We hope you take some time to celebrate this weekend. Go Tribe! And best of luck to Eve at her swim meet.
I was on my way to swimming too!! Congrats!!!
Congratulations Devon!
When I saw my phone, I saw a gmail notification – my heart skipped a beat, just as it has been whenever my phone buzzed these past two days. I looked for who sent it and saw “College of William and Mary”, needless to say my heart took off like a racehorse. I anxiously looked at the subject, saw “Good Things!”, and lost all my composure. I’m so excited to be part of the class of 2021! I love William and Mary and cannot wait to be moving in this summer! GO TRIBE!!
@John, congratulations! We cannot wait to welcome you and your classmates to campus next August. We’re thrilled to have you as one of the newest members of the W&M community. Go Tribe!
Ah, I’m so excited! Thank you so much WM Admissions for making this process as smooth as possible. I can’t wait to step foot on campus next fall! Just curious, will there be some kind of ‘admitted students day’ for students who got in ED in the winter or spring? Thank You again!!
@Nick, congratulations, and welcome to the Tribe! Day for Admitted Students will be on April 8, 2017. More information about this day will become available in the spring. We hope to see you in Williamsburg for this campus-wide celebration!
So exited! #wm2021
Go Tribe!
*excited!!!!!!
@Cecilia, we knew what you meant 🙂 We’re excited too! Congratulations, and welcome to the W&M family.
Thank you SO MUCH for these posts!!!
So excited to start next fall!
GO TRIBE !
@Devon Borden, Go Tribe! We can’t wait to have you and your classmates on campus next August. Until then, best wishes for a great rest of your senior year, and CONGRATULATIONS on this terrific accomplishment.
What percent of people get deferred?
@Cait, we are not able to provide specific Early Decision admission statistics at this time, though you are welcome to review last year’s general admission statistics here (http://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/facts-figures/admission-stats/index.php). If you are a deferred applicant, we genuinely look forward to reviewing your application again in the spring, and are sorry that we were not able to offer you admission at this time. Best wishes for a very happy holiday season.
After 3.5 years, my dream has finally come true! So excited to be apart of the Tribe! #wm2021
@Alondra, welcome to the W&M family. We’re ecstatic to have you as a member of the Class of 2021. Go Tribe!
I am so happy to be apart of William and Mary’s Class of 2021!!! I have been waiting for this day for the longest time, and it came so soon!! I can’t wait to move in next year!! #GoTribe #WM2021
@Chance, Go Tribe! Congrats on your acceptance to W&M – welcome to the family. We hope you’re taking some time to celebrate this weekend!
We are so beyond excited and so proud for my son Nick! We were driving home when he checked his email and yelled in utter excitement as I did as well. This was his dream school and it is now a reality. We are so happy to be part of the Tribe family. Thank you!
@Marisol Mack, it was our pleasure to review your son’s application. We’re thrilled to be welcoming your family to the W&M family, and are already counting down the days until move-in day next August. Go Tribe!
What is the early decision deposit amount?
$350
@Patrick & @Alondra, $350 is correct!
If I applied early decision and didn’t get my email, do I need to contact the admissions office on Monday?
@Collin, if you have questions about not receiving your admission decision, you are absolutely welcome to contact our office. Our main office number if 757-221-4223, and our main office email address is admission@wm.edu.
Can you elaborate on the chances of acceptance after being deferred? Does the general admission committee know that I was an early decision applicant who got deferred, or am I a new, normal applicant?
@Anxious – Again! as a deferred applicant your application will be reviewed again during our regular decision review process. During the regular decision process, we will know that you are a deferred early decision applicant. Should you wish to provide our office with any most up-to-date grades, test scores, awards, honors, accomplishments, or with a statement of continued interest, you are welcome to do so. All such materials will be taken into consideration while reading your application. As mentioned above, however, we also encourage deferred applicants to get excited about other college options. While there are deferred applicants who get accepted to William & Mary during regular decision, the majority do not, simply due to the size and competitiveness of our regular decision applicant pool. Should you have any further questions about this, you are welcome to contact our office anytime. We wish you all the best during the rest of your college search. Whether you end up at W&M or elsewhere, we are confident you will have a tremendous college career.
Why is it exactly that the majority of ED deferred students don’t get in during the general admission process? Is that the case with the students that send in additional scores and info??
@Maya, any additional information that a deferred applicant sends to our office will be taken into consideration before making a final admission decision. Such information, when combined with a student’s original application, can create a compelling case for admission. Our small freshman class size, however, forces us to make several difficult admission decisions. Statistically speaking, our overall admission rate is typically around 33-35%. This means that while we genuinely love learning about all of our prospective students, we are only able to admit roughly one-third of our total applicants. When making these admission decisions, all applicants, deferred students included, will receive a thoughtful, careful, and thorough review by the members of our admission committee.
I received what was no doubt a very heartbreaking and unexpected rejection. I grew up in Williamsburg and W&M was always my dream school, as I was connected to many William and Mary programs in the community, went to hundreds of Tribe sporting events, and knew many students from the college from a very young age. In addition, it came to my attention that there may have been information in my application that was false, or may have the capability to be misinterpreted or misrepresent the totality of my application. Is there any process by which I could appeal the school’s decision to reject me? I could not find specific details on the subject on the school’s website, but Section XII Subsection E of the Student Handbook reads “Respondents may appeal the outcome of their case on the bases and according to the procedures established in this section. All appeals of honor cases will automatically be referred to the Appeals Committee. If the Committee finds merit in the appeal, it will be referred to the Provost for review. The Provost’s decision is final and may not be appealed further.” However, the email I received was from a man named Tim Wolfe who claimed to be the “Associate Provost for Enrollment,” and not THE Provost. Misrepresentation of authority and/or personnel might also be warrant for another review of my application. Also, I am not sure if this section refers to appeals only from current students or from applicants as well. If this blog is unable to provide such information, I would appreciate being redirected to the proper personnel.
@Dean Barker, we realize that this admission decision is very disappointing. Please know that we do not take your passion for William & Mary lightly, and that your application received thorough and thoughtful consideration by multiple members of our admission committee. To re-evaluate your application now would not be fair to the many others to whom we similarly could not offer admission. If you would like to speak with someone about your admission decision, you are welcome to call our office at 757-221-4223. We wish you all the best during the rest of your college search.
If I was deferred, can I send in and add a creative art portfolio to my application in between now and when general admission applications are being reviewed?
@Maya, yes you can. If you would like to submit a creative art portfolio to be considered with your application, please follow the directions at this link: https://wmadmission.slideroom.com/#/Login. Should you have any questions about your art portfolio, you are welcome to contact Dean Kate Perry at kate@wm.edu.
Hi. For prospective transfer students, how do they register for classes,especially as most classes are already full by the time they can register? Are transfer students given priorities for professor overrides through the transfer admission office, if they are have difficulties registering for classes?
@Asan, transfer students register for classes during new student orientation. During orientation, students have the opportunity to meet with a member of our academic advising staff, who will walk them through the course registration process. We make sure to surround transfer students with the proper people and resources necessary so that they can schedule an academically rigorous and satisfying course schedule.
According to this site, the Spring 2017 Transfer notifications was supposed to be launched this week. Is there a specific date for that?
Thank you.
@Asan, we are on schedule to release decisions by Friday of this week. You will be hearing from us soon. Hang in there!
Thank you all so much for your incredible posts during this application process! I am so thrilled to be a member of the Class of 2021, as I’m already counting down to move in day! ROLL TRIBE!
@Louisa, Go Tribe! Congratulations on your acceptance, and best wishes for a terrific rest of your senior year. We can’t wait to welcome you and your classmates to campus in August!
Will the letter we receive in the next few days contain our financial aid information so that we can go ahead and officially commit to William and Mary? If not, when will that information come?
@Madeline Brown, if you have the FAFSA and CSS Profile submitted by December 12th, then you will hear something from our Financial Aid Office by Friday, December 23rd. It’s also important to remember that applying Early Decision to William & Mary is a binding commitment. This means that if you are admitted to W&M through the Early Decision process, you are committed to attending William & Mary as a member of the Class of 2021. If you have any questions about this, or about financial aid, you are welcome to contact us (757-221-4223, admission@wm.edu) anytime.
Dear Admissions Committee,
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration as you reviewed the applications of the many intelligent and exceptional young men and women who applied to William & Mary. Whether accepted, deferred, or rejected, we can all agree that this group of high school seniors is truly special.
@Teacher/Mom, you are absolutely right about that. It’s an absolute pleasure to learn about such talented young men and women from across the country and around the globe. No matter what college our prospective students end up attending, we are confident that they will accomplish tremendous things.
We are so excited that our son will be attending his first choice school: W&M! He needs some W&M swag asap….. any special inside deals or coupons we should know about before we order t-shirts etc.? Thank you! – ps, approx when might we expect the larger package?
@Liz, we are so excited to welcome your son to the Class of 2021! There are no special coupons that we are able to offer you at this time. This being said, should you be in Williamsburg over the coming months, you are welcome to stop by the Admission Office in order to pick up some clothing coupons. Your son’s acceptance letter will be arriving in the mail in the very near future. A larger admission packet will be sent to your son in the spring once we have finished our regular decision review process. Please let us know if you have any further questions. Go Tribe!
I realized that I had chosen the wrong essay topic in my common application for the personal essay. would that have affected my decision? I just noticed this and I am greatly destressed on maybe that’s why I was denied.
@Opps… Did I Throw Away My Shot?, this would not have had a negative effect on your application. We are primarily focused on the essay itself when reviewing an application. We ask ourselves, what does this essay tell us about the applicant? We are less concerned with whether or not the essay answers the specific Common Application prompt selected. We are sorry that we were not able to offer you better news. You have much to be proud of, and all of us are confident that you will have a great college career. Take care, and Happy Holidays.
First off, I just wanted to say thank you so much for accepting me so I can be a member of the TRIBE!!! I am so excited to be a part of this amazing community of scholars and educators. I am so thankful that you (admissions) are giving me to opportunity to do so! Secondly, were admissions letters mailed on Friday or Monday? My parents don’t want me to put down my deposit until we receive the letter in the mail, so I was just wondering when they were mailed. Thanks so much!! GO TRIBE!!!
@(No Longer) Patiently Anxious, congratulations on your acceptance to W&M! We share your excitement, and can’t wait to officially welcome you and your classmates to campus next August. Acceptance letters were mailed at the beginning of this week. Your letter should be arriving in the very near future.
Would sending an additional letter of recommendation have a positive effect for a deferred student?
@Deferred Student, you are welcome to send our office an additional letter of recommendation if you feel that this individual can tell us more about you. Please just be sure that the individual writing this letter includes your full legal name and, if possible, your WM ID number (930 number) and/or your Common App ID. We will then be sure to file this letter appropriately with your application.
Who do I contact if I have not received my decision yet?
@Joshua Mortensen if you are an Early Decision applicant and have still not received your admission decision, please contact our office (757-221-4223, admission@wm.edu) at your earliest convenience.
So excited for my daughter! She joined the W&M 2021 group on FB, but is there a group for W&M parents? I know several other VA universities have them, but I couldn’t find one for you … I mean, US. We have lots of questions, too (it’s been a long time since college for some of us)! 🙂
@Julie congratulations to your daughter! We are ecstatic to be welcoming your family to the William & Mary family. Unfortunately, we do not currently have a Facebook group for parents/families. This being said, we of course want to answer your questions. You are welcome to contact us (757-221-4223, admission@wm.edu) anytime and we would be more than happy to assist you.
@Julie, as a follow-up to our previous response, you may find the following two sites helpful. One (http://www.wm.edu/parents) is a Parent and Family Programs webpage. The other (http://www.facebook.com/wmfamilies) is a Parent and Family Programs Facebook page. We know this isn’t exactly what you were looking for, but hope that you are able to find some helpful information on both of these sites. Again, should you have any additional questions moving forward, you are welcome to contact our office anytime. Happy holidays to you and your family.
May I submit my housing application and deposit now?
@Robyn, if you are an admitted ED student, you can absolutely submit your deposit. Simply follow the instructions on the “Activate and Deposit” webpage (http://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/discover/activate-and-deposit/index.php). Please let our office know if you have any questions about this process. Housing applications will be handled this spring/summer – you do not need to worry about this at this time. You can keep tabs on the various action items due over the next few months by browsing the “Your Timeline” page on the Welcome Website (http://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/discover/timeline/index.php).
Yes I am! My parents sent in the deposit of 350 but I also want to secure my housing as well. Thank you!