It is Not the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The title for this blog is only a half truth.  For some lucky applicants, this is in fact the most wonderful time of the year.  Later this afternoon, approximately 1000 decision letters will leave this office to destinations around the state, country, and globe.  Breaking the seal will bring wonderful news to some and devastating news to others.  I am speaking of the early decision applicants and the admission decision letters they will soon receive.

By tomorrow, phone calls will come pouring in from upset students, parents, and guidance counselors.  They represent the cohort for whom this is not the most wonderful time of the year.  They have just found out they are not currently admitted to their first choice college.  Such news is often heartbreaking and it is something that weighs heavily on the collective conscious of myself and my colleagues.  For many students, this will be the first time they have failed to achieve something they set out to achieve.  It will be their first feeling of failure.  For many parents, it will be the first time they have been unable to obtain something for their children that their children wanted.

For those students and families who do not receive good news I have a few, what I hope are wise, words to pass along.

1. Admission is conferred and not earned.  No one is entitled to an offer of admission.  Selective admission implies in its terminology that a selection process is involved.  As is true of other selective colleges, William & Mary unfortunately sends out more bad news than good.  This process is not formulaic.  It is objective, subjective, and collaborative.  It can be invigorating and irritating.  Our decisions may not always make sense to the individual applicant but we have a much broader prospective and the decisions make sense to us.
2. Fair is not a term that should ever be applied to college admission.
3. We set out to admit a class, not to deny admission to individuals.  I am paraphrasing a blog post from an admission officer at MIT and while not as eloquent, the point needs to be made.  If you are someone who is not admitted please remember that oftentimes the decision made is not any kind of negative reflection on you but is instead a testament to the strength of our applicant pool.  We think very highly of most of our applicants and we do not set out to exclude those not admitted.  We merely set out to build a class of students by admitting a select few.
4. Admission officers are people too.  It is not easy for us to send out bad news.  It wears on us that we are not able to admit students to their first choice school.  Sometimes it can be heartbreaking to deny certain students admission.  We are not unfeeling robots but instead thoughtful professionals who complete an assigned task.
5. There are other proverbial fish (read: colleges) in the sea.  Cliche and trite?  Surely.  Rings true?  Absolutely.  American higher education opportunities are plentiful and diverse.  Among the 4000 colleges and universities there is often no one right fit but numerous good fits.  If you are not admitted early decision remember that there is another school out there eager to admit you and chances are you will have a fantastic experience elsewhere.

Finally, for those students and families who do receive the thick envelope, I have one piece of advice for you.

1. Feel free to express your gratitude.  We almost always hear from those who were not admitted and we rarely hear from those who were.  A kind note, email, or phone call can really lift our spirits.