It (the Common App). Is. ALIVE!
We Admit It! We’re loving summer here in Williamsburg, with all of the sunshine and warm weather that comes with it. While we still have over a month until the official first day of fall, August 1 (today!) technically marks the beginning of the 2017-2018 admission cycle. Why, you ask? Because on August 1, the 2017-2018 Common Application goes live. In other words, anytime between today, August 1, and our application deadlines (detailed below), you are welcome to apply for admission to William & Mary. We hope that all of you reading this decide to apply, so that we can learn more about you.
Because William & Mary remains an exclusive user of the Common Application, the Common App is the only application that you can use in order to apply for admission to W&M. Once you create an account on the Common Application, you will complete the necessary sections of the application, and will then be able to submit this application to all colleges and universities who currently accept this application for admission (W&M included). William & Mary also has a W&M specific supplement to the Common Application, which you will need to complete in order to submit your application. You will gain access to this supplement once you add William & Mary to your list of schools on the Common App to which you are applying.
In honor of the Common Application going live, we figured we’d provide you with a few pertinent tips/reminders:
- The Common App is only “common” in the sense that it allows you to complete a single application for multiple different colleges and universities, which hopefully makes things a bit easier on your end. Despite the name “Common App,” we still absolutely view each and every one of our applicants as uncommon, or unique. As part of our holistic review process, we aim to get to know you as the tremendous individual you are.
- William & Mary operates with a few important application deadlines. Again, you are welcome to apply at any point between today and the below deadlines, depending on what admission process you elect to pursue:
For Freshman
Early Decision (binding admission) – November 1, 2017
Regular Decision – January 1, 2018
For Transfers
Spring 2018 Transfer Admission – November 1, 2017
Fall 2018 Transfer Admission – March 1, 2018
Notes
- The date on which you officially submit your application has no bearing on whether or not you will be admitted, as long as you submit your application in advance of the above listed application deadlines. This is to say that whether you apply to W&M on August 1 or December 30 for Regular Decision admission, you will be given the same consideration for admission.
- We encourage you to complete your application sooner rather than later! Senior year can always be a bit hectic, so it is in your best interest to get as much of your college application(s) done before the school year gets increasingly busy.
- You can submit your application for any application deadline at any point. For example, just because you are a freshman applicant who applies by October 15, this does not mean that you are locking yourself in to being considered as part of the Early Decision (binding) process. There is a specific form that you need to complete along with your Common Application in order to be reviewed during our Early Decision process. So if you want to apply as part of the Regular Decision process, but also want to submit your application early, you may do so at any point between now and January 1. If you are a transfer applicant and have questions about when to apply, we encourage you to reach out to Dean Whitney Pitschke directly.
- We begin processing submitted applications in the fall. In other words, if you apply to W&M sometime in August, you will likely not be hearing from us regarding the receipt of your application until the fall. Once we begin processing applications from the Common App, you will receive an email from us letting you know that we have downloaded your application. You will receive a second email once we have successfully “matched” your application with all required components – transcript, tests scores, etc. Should any required component of your application be missing, you will hear from us via email. As long as you have submitted your application using the Common App by one of our application deadlines, we will work with you to make sure it is successfully completed.
- Regarding the W&M supplement to the Common App, we strongly encourage you to complete the final “Optional Essay.” Whether you apply to W&M or other great colleges and universities, these writing components of the application provide admission committees with a better opportunity to get to know you. So, in short, when completing your college applications, we would encourage you to complete all writing components of those applications.
- Should you ever have any questions about applying to W&M, you are welcome to contact our office anytime. Similarly, should you experience technical difficulties while completing your application, you are welcome to contact the Common Application directly.
One last additional (related) update – most of our fall visit programs also “went live” today! Specifically, you are now able to register for Fall Focus Days, Tribe Shadow Days, STEM Panels, and fall information sessions and tours. Tribe Transfer Days, Class Visits, and fall Senior Interviews will go live on September 1.
We are ready for another exciting and rewarding admission season, and are very much looking forward to working with our prospective students and their families over the coming year. Go Tribe.
Brad Harlan
Assistant Dean of Admission
Elsewhere on W&M Blogs
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.
I am planning to apply to William and Mary as an Early Decision applicant because I am confident that it is my first choice. I am starting my senior year soon, and I was wondering if the admissions team would be able to review any of my grades from this year, even if the first quarter grading term for my school ends a bit after the application deadline. Can I (or my school) send that portion of my transcript after I send my application, or could I record the most updated version of my grades before sending my application? My course load will be pretty hefty, but I am dedicated to putting forth the effort to earn high grades, so I was hoping there was some way to show the admissions team that I am working hard as a senior. My counselor had implied that Early Decision might not be the best option for me if I was concerned about sending in grades from my senior year, but William and Mary is my dream school and I know that it is where I want to go, so I am conflicted.
Thank you so much!
@Jess, we are excited to hear that you are considering applying Early Decision to W&M! We look forward to reviewing your application and to learning more about you. You are welcome to submit any additional senior year grades to our office – any such academic information will be included with your application file. This can take the shape of sending us official report cards and/or academic progress reports that are provided by your teachers (even if these grades aren’t available until after the November 1 application deadline). Be aware, though, that any grades that are sent to our office at the end of November will be cutting it close. We typically will make all of our Early Decision admission decisions by Thanksgiving so that we can send out decision emails to students at the beginning of December. If you feel that your senior year grades will impact your competitiveness, you are of course able to wait until regular decision to apply. Regardless of what you decide, as mentioned above, we look forward to learning more about you in the months to come.
Hello! I am a transfer student about to arrive at Williamsburg later this month. I remember the joys and nerves of waiting to get accepted into W&M (twice). Speaking of which, I am curious to find out what this year’s acceptance rate will be among freshmen applicants. Every year, it is always 1/3 of seniors accepted to attend, including me back in 2015. Why not we lower it to 25% so we can become the most selective public university in Virginia, although we don’t have to go all the way to the top nationally? The transfer acceptance rate should not change as I feel that every life story shall be individualized, and no two high school/community college students shall have the same experiences. What’s your opinion on all of the above?
@Martha, thank you for your comment. We are thrilled to hear that you will soon be arriving to campus in order to become an official member of the W&M community, and are sure that you will accomplish great things during your time here. While we are not yet able to publish final admission statistics for the 2016-2017 admission cycle, we anticipate the acceptance rate as being around the same 33-35% that it has been over the past few admission cycles. The members of our admission committee are determined to work each and every day to assist students during the various phases of their college search. As part of this work, we are of course always excited when a prospective student decides to apply to W&M, since this means they view W&M as being a potential college home. As our applicant numbers continue to rise most every year, we look forward to learning more about each student’s story, and to selecting tremendously diverse and talented incoming classes. We remain confident that, as a result of such efforts, William & Mary will continue to rank favorably amongst the top colleges and universities across this country and around the globe. Best of luck to you as you begin your W&M journey!