Decisions, Decisions – 2018 Regular Decision Waitlist Edition
We Admit It! We wish we could send good news to all of our wonderfully talented applicants. Unfortunately, the small class size that makes William & Mary appealing to so many also forces us to make several tough decisions among our very qualified students. As a result, we are not able to admit all of the students who are competitive for admission. While it may not feel like it, a waitlist decision is a positive one. We absolutely, 100%, genuinely wish we had more spaces in the incoming freshman class. If we did, we would have offered one of these positions to you.
It’s tough being on a waitlist, mainly because you are being asked to continue to wait. While this can be both confusing and frustrating, we hope this decision leaves the door open for you to continue considering W&M. This being said, we of course encourage you to fully explore the other universities that have offered you admission, and to submit an enrollment deposit by the May 1 deadline.
If you remain sincerely interested in W&M, you can accept your spot on our waitlist by completing the online form linked in your decision email.
What then? As stated above, we encourage you to focus your immediate attention on exploring those schools that have offered you admission. Knowing how impressive your application was, we have no doubt that you have many great options. If, after doing that, you still remain interested in W&M, you are welcome to email your regional dean with any updates, as well as a note of continued interest, starting in early-to-mid April. This note of continued interest does not have to be an extensive essay (you’ve already written enough of those for your actual applications), but should convey why you are interested in W&M and why you see yourself thriving as a member of our community.
Should we determine that we are able to admit additional students from the waitlist, we will consider any new information that you have sent us since your waitlist decision, along with your original application materials. If you are no longer interested in W&M, you can simply complete the online form linked to your decision email in order to withdraw your name from our waitlist.
There’s no way for us to predict whether or not we will go to the waitlist, and, if so, for whom and to what degree. Generally, we are able to determine whether or not we will be admitting students from the waitlist by early May. If we are able to admit additional students, we will automatically consider those students who elected to remain on the waitlist. Should we get to that point, we will provide updates via this blog. All students remaining on the waitlist will get an update from us via email by mid-June. Our Waitlist FAQ page is also a great source of information.
While we do wish that we could have sent you more positive news, please know that we think incredibly highly of you. Your many accomplishments will, without question, provide you with great options for next year. Should you remain interested in W&M, we encourage you to accept your spot on the waitlist, keep in touch, and stay tuned. Whether the conclusion of your college search lands you in Williamsburg or elsewhere, we wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
Brad Harlan
Senior Assistant Dean of Admission
Admissions, thank you for all of your hard work & kind thoughts throughout the W&M admissions process! Despite not getting the news I was hoping for, I am SO grateful for the opportunity to be considered by W&M for admission. I have some questions– how many people usually opt to remain on the waitlist for the Joint Degree Programme, and how many spots are typically offered to waitlisted students each year? My major is International Relations. Thanks! 🙂
Admissions, thank you for all of your hard work & kind thoughts throughout the W&M admissions process! Despite not getting the news I was hoping for, I am SO grateful for the opportunity to be considered by W&M for admission. I have some questions– how many people usually opt to remain on the waitlist for the Joint Degree Programme, and how many spots are typically offered to waitlisted students for the JDP each year? My major is International Relations. Thanks! 🙂
@Caitlin, thank you for your mature and measured comment. We usually have a relatively small waitlist pool for the Joint Degree Programme. This being said, the amount of admitted students who opt to participate in the Joint Degree Programme can fluctuate quite a bit from year to year, so we can’t really predict how many offers we’ll be to make from the waitlist. The best course of action would be to email your regional dean directly in order to express your interest in both William & Mary, and the Joint Degree Programme specifically. We will then document this interest should we be able to offer positions in the Joint Degree Programme to waitlisted students. Please feel free to contact our office should you have additional questions about this.
Dear Admissions Committee,
Although I did not receive the decision I was hoping for, I do plan on remaining on the waitlist and emailing my Regional Dean of Admissions to tell them more about myself. However, I am not sure which Dean that would be. I live in Prince William County in Northern Virginia. Which Dean of Admission should I contact? Thank you!
@Madison Rudd, your regional dean is Jacqueline Amaya Mendez, who can be reached at jbamayamendez@wm.edu. Please continue to let our office know if we can be of any further assistance.
Dear Admissions Committee,
Since the waitlist is not ranked, do you review each application on the waitlist again? If so, if I have any updates to send, do I send it through email or add it to my common application? Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!
@Anjeli, should we be able to make admission offers from our waitlist, all students who have submitted the waitlist response form linked in their original decision email will be considered for admission. If you have any updates that you would like to have added to your application, you are welcome to send them either to our general email address (admission@wm.edu) or directly to your Regional Dean. From there, we will make sure that any such updates are included with your file.