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.
Hello, my question is about the transfer waitlist. Does that mean that a student lost his or her chance for the semester that he or she applied ? Or after the decison date which is june 15th for this year, he or she can still be found eligible for the semester that was applied at the begining, or it will be for the next semester. Thanks a lot…
@Abdurrahim, we are sorry that we were not able to provide you with better news. Please know how much your application impressed us. We are confident you are going to have a great rest of your college career, no matter where your transfer journey concludes. Waitlisted students, should they be admitted, are absolutely still eligible to enroll for the Fall 2018 semester. If you yourself are still interested in enrolling at William & Mary, you are welcome to follow up with Dean Whitney Pitschke at whitney@wm.edu. Please also remember to send your final transcripts to the Office of Undergraduate Admission as soon as they are available.
Thank you very much.
Hi. Will William & Mary use their wait-list this year? Thank you.
@CPH, yes, it does appear that we will be able to make some admission offers to waitlisted students this year, however it is still being determined to what extent we will be able to do so. All waitlisted students who remain interested in W&M are encouraged to contact their regional dean (https://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/contactus/meetthecommittee/index.php) in order to express their continued interest. Students are also welcome to send their regional dean any updates to their application, from latest grades to recent extracurricular accomplishments. All such updates will be included with their application file.
Thank you very much.
Have y’all been able to determine what percentage of people you’ll be able to accept off the waitlist?
@KPJ, we are still in the process of determining to what extent we will be able to make admission offers to waitlisted students. All waitlisted students who remain sincerely interested in W&M should complete the waitlist form linked in the email sent to them earlier this month. Students are also welcome to reach out to their Regional Dean directly in order to express their interest. Such demonstrated interest, as well as all other updates sent to our office, will be taken into consideration when making admission offers moving forward.
Has W&M been able to figure out how many people have opted to wait on the waitlist after the form in the second email was due?
@KJU, of the students to whom we initially extended a waitlist offer, only a portion of those students have elected to respond to our emails and remain on our waitlist. When it comes to actually making admission offers from our waitlist, in 2014, we offered 56 students admission, in 2015, we offered 187, in 2016, we offered 153 students, and in 2017, we offered 69 students. We anticipate that the number of students we will extend admission offers to this year will fall somewhere within this four year range. Should a student remain interested in W&M, we encourage them to continue responding to our emails, and to express their interest directly to their regional dean (see above response to CPH for a direct link to our meet the committee page). As we continue to determine how many admission offers we will be able to make to waitlisted students this year, such demonstrated interest will be taken into account.
Are some waitlist offers expected to come out mid-May as they have previous years?
@CJO, we have extended a select few admission offers this week (5/7-5/11). Moving forward this summer, we will continue to determine how many admission offers we are able to make on a rolling basis. As soon as we have a more definitive update, we will be sure to notify our students and their families on this blog. Thank you for your ongoing patience as we navigate this process.
Dear Admissions Committee,
When do you predict the first wave of admission offers will be done? Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions!
@AD, it is always our pleasure to assist our families in any way that we can. As of the writing of this comment, we have extended a wave of admission offers to a select few students. Moving forward, starting as early as next week, we will continue to determine how many additional admission offers we are able to make on a rolling basis. Should any more definitive updates be available, we will be sure to communicate them with our students and their families via this blog. We appreciate your ongoing patience.
How many offers of admission were sent out this week?
Were all the open spots filled by the people recieving admission from the waitlist?
@PC, while we are not able to report how many admission offers were sent out last week specifically, over the past four years, we have sent out 56, 187, 153, and 69 admission offers to waitlisted students. When we conclude this year’s waitlist process, we anticipate that this year’s number of waitlist admission offers will fall somewhere in this four year range. We will continue monitoring spaces in our freshman class over the coming weeks. Should our entering Class of 2022 become full, we will be sure to report this on this blog.
Have any offers been made this week yet? If not, when will the next round of offers be going out?
@CJk, we are not anticipating making any other admission offers this week. Moving forward, we will continue to monitor the status of our Class of 2022 to determine if and when we will be able to extend additional admission offers. We plan to send an email updating all remaining waitlisted students in the coming weeks, and will post a more definitive update to this blog as soon as we are able.
So with the way the Class of 2022 looks right now, W&M won’t be making anymore offers unless an admitted student chooses to pick another school, right?
@CJk, the number of admission offers we are able to make moving forward will in part be determined by how many currently enrolled W&M students elect to attend other institutions between now and the end of the summer.
Is there a separate waitlist for in-state applicants, and if there is, has that waitlist been activated or does it look like it will be activated in the near future?
@Tom, as a public university, a student being in-state or out-of-state is a factor that we take in to account when making admission decisions. We have made admission offers to both in-state and out-of-state waitlisted students in recent weeks. Over the coming weeks, we will continue to assess if/when we will be able to make any additional admission offers.
Has a second round of admissions been made? If not, is one being planned, or will there not be another round assuming the makeup of the students enrolled at William and Mary doesn’t change? If there is a second round coming up, when will admission offers go out?
@Teddy, at this point, our freshman class is beginning to look like it is full, however we will continue to monitor things to see if we are able to make any additional admission offers. We will provide an email update to all waitlisted students in the near future; we will also post an update to this blog. As we move towards the end of May and in to June, interested students are still welcome to reach out to our office in order to express their interest in W&M. Should we be able to make additional admission offers, all such communication efforts and up-to-date information (like most recent grades) will be taken into account.
Historically, how many more offers of admission are made from this point on? How many offers were made already? Has WM received a reply from all the waitlisted applicants who received offers?
@CJk, while this is not true every year, in previous years we have been able to make admission offers through the summer, which is why the most recent waitlist email sent to students mentioned that offers will be made by August 1. The number of admission offers we have been able to make to waitlisted students over the past four years ranges from 56-187. By the time this year’s waitlist process concludes, we anticipate the number of admission offers being towards the lower end of this range. We are in the process of hearing back from some remaining students who were recently offered admission, and will continue to monitor things over the coming weeks in order to determine how many additional offers we might be able to make.
Any word on the transfer waitlist? Will you guys be doing another small round soon or is it looking full?
@Annon, we are currently determining how many additional admission offers we might be able to make to waitlisted transfer students. This process should conclude by mid-June. Waitlisted transfer students who remain interested in enrolling at William & Mary are welcome to follow up with Dean Whitney Pitschke at whitney@wm.edu. Students should also remember to send their final transcripts to the Office of Undergraduate Admission as soon as they are available.
Does wm want a certain number of students in the Class of 2022, or will you accept additional students from the waitlist?
@CJk, we do indeed have a target enrollment of roughly 1,520 students for our Class of 2022. We will continue to review things between now and later this summer in order to determine if and when we will be able to make any additional admission offers.
Is it likely that wm will go over the 1520 target and when will that determination be made?
@FutureWMgrad, our total enrollment for our entering class over the past few years has hovered around 1,520 to 1,530 total students. Our Class of 2022 is not likely to exceed this size.
At this point, what is the class size?
@Anonymous, our target class size has remained the same. Should we be able to make any additional admission offers to waitlisted students, we will be sure to communicate with those students by August 1.
Hello, I am a transfer student from Richard Bland College under the guaranteed admission agreement. I got an email a month ago that said if I maintained my GPA this last semester then I would be admitted. I graduated a couple weeks ago and resubmitted my transcript to admissions. I still haven’t heard anything back and there is not a link in my decision email where I can go to. Do I continue to wait or is it plausible to email my regional dean?
@Alecia Hewett, we would recommend reaching out to our office via email and/or phone in order to further inquire about your specific situation. Our office can be reached at 757-221-4223 or admission@wm.edu. Our Director of Transfer Admission, Dean Whitney Pitschke, can be reached at wmlink@wm.edu.
Is it true you guys could be still expecting people of the waitlist as late as August 1st?
@Annon, it is true that in some instances we have been able to extend admission offers through later stages of the summer. As our latest email to waitlisted students indicated, all such admission offers will be made by August 1.
dear admission officer
please what do I do since am on the waitlist for YYAS. do I need to fill any forms or anything or do I just need to wait more. Thank you.
@Israel Daniel, we would encourage you to email our office at admission@wm.edu so that we can best assist you with your specific situation.
Can people still send letters of continued interest, or not anymore?
@FutureWMgrad, yes, you are welcome to send any additional materials, including statements of continued interest, to either our general office email (admission@wm.edu) or to your Regional Dean (https://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/contactus/meetthecommittee/index.php).
Have you guys done another round for transfers yet or should some of us be expecting an email like the freshmen class?
@Annon, we are still in the process of determining if we will be able to make any additional admission offers to waitlisted transfer students. This process should conclude by mid-to-late June, at which point we will be in touch via email with our remaining waitlisted applicants.
When will William and Mary decide if it can accept more applicants from the waitlist?
@FutureWMgrad, we will continue to monitor things over the coming weeks to determine whether or not we will be able to make any additional offers to waitlisted students. As our latest email to students indicated, all such admission offers will be made by August 1.
Hello, is it possible an admission decision can be made after August 1st? That is the last day of a summer course I’m taking and I will need to re submit my transcript including that course.
@Alecia, all offers of admission will be made by August 1. If you have specific questions about your particular situation, you are welcome to reach out to our office at admission@wm.edu or 757-221-4223.
When will W&M decide when to accept more applicants, you’ve said before that it will be later in the summer, but when exactly? Is the current class size 1520? How many people is the max W&M can accept, 1530 or more? In another comment, it was said that the class size could go up to 1530, so does that mean 10 more people could get in? What is the most important criteria when determining whether or not to accept a student from the waitlist? Is it likely more students will be accepted?
Hey futureWMgrad to answer one of your many questions (I won’t speak on the behalf of the admissions team!) I believe when they mean by accepting more applications (if they even can) they mean once they get answers back from all students who got offered off the waitlist. Once they hear back from them they’ll be able to use that information to see if they can pick more students!
@FutureWMgrad, we admit students during the waitlist process such that our entering freshman class ends up being right around 1,530 students. When doing so, we have to take in to account that while we are admitting certain students off of the waitlist, other students in our freshman class will elect to withdraw as they are admitted off of the waitlists at other institutions. As our last email to waitlisted students indicated, at this point all of the spaces in our Class of 2022 appear to be full. This being said, in years past we have been able to make a limited number of admission offers through July. We are not able to provide any definitive date on this, other than to say, as was stated in our email, that all admission offers will be made by August 1. If you remain interested in William & Mary, you are welcome to keep in touch with our office at either 757-221-4223 or admission@wm.edu. Regardless of how this process plays out for you, we wish you all the best next year and beyond.
Why hasn’t W&M posted as frequently on this blog like previous years? Just curious 🙂
@Annon, we appreciate your interest in reading our blog! You can expect to hear from us again this summer. We will then continue to post next fall.