What’s With the W&M Postcard?

We Admit It! As we move forward in to 2022, our undergraduate admission team is very hard at work building the Class of 2026. This is one of the busiest and most exciting times of the year for us as we get to witness our freshman class being built — one tremendous individual at a time.

As we review our many impressive applicants, we like to share just how impressed we are with you. Some colleges will send “likely letters” to their applicants to express their admiration, serving as an early notice to these particular students that they should be expecting positive news in the spring. Here at William & Mary, however, we like to have a bit more fun. Instead of a letter, we send a postcard featuring the W&M cypher on one side and a short, personalized greeting from the admission committee and your regional representative on the other. The note from your regional representative might be funny, quirky, effusive, or possibly all of the above. Whatever the note says, it is meant to convey our deep respect for all that you have accomplished, and all that you might accomplish as a member of the Tribe.

One line on the back of the card states: “So let us be direct – we anticipate sending you good news this spring.” What exactly does this mean? It means that, if you receive a postcard, we anticipate sending you good news this Spring. You’re awesome, and we want you to know it. While this postcard is not a formal admission offer (admission offers will be released by April 1), it does mean that, unless your academic or personal record DRASTICALLY changes between now and April, you can expect a bigger, and similarly positive, package in the mail from us in the spring.

What if you don’t receive a postcard? Does this mean that you will not be admitted to the Class of 2026? Not at all. Only a small percentage (roughly 25%) of our admitted students receive a postcard. This means that roughly 75% of our admitted students do not receive a postcard. So what determines who gets a postcard and who doesn’t? To be completely honest, it is primarily the luck of the draw. We do not read applications in any specific order. Because of this, some applications get read early, while others get read later on. Those who get read early and have extraordinary credentials are those who get postcards. Those who are read at the end of the process (through no fault of their own), and who present extraordinary credentials, do not.

So if you do not receive a postcard, please do not panic. As discussed above, we are still hard at work reading and completing applications, meaning that we have a whole lot of admission decisions still to make.

Later this month, we will enter our committee review process and we will stop sending postcards. That is when we will begin the final preparations to send official admission notifications by April 1. If you do not receive a postcard, DO NOT PANIC as this does not foreshadow any particular admission outcome.

As always, we’ll be sure to respond to any questions that are posted below. Stay tuned for further updates over the coming weeks!

Elise Breen
Admission Counselor