Decisions, Decisions – 2019 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 sizes that make 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 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 happens next? 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.
Jack Zhang
Assistant Dean of Admission
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.
After being both deferred and waitlisted, I’m disappointed; but I understand why it had to happen. I’ll prepare to enroll at a community college and apply to transfer as soon as I can. I so hope I can be a student here someday.
As a current freshman who was admitted off the waitlist last year, don’t give up all hope!!! Email your regional dean and let them know you’re still interested. Even if it doesn’t work out I’m sure you will make the most of wherever you end up.
Is there a possibility people could start coming off the waitlist as soon as this week? I’ve read all the FAQs about the waitlist but how could of a chance do we have this year?
@Nina Hi Nina! We have begun our process of reviewing all the waitlisted applications this week and making some preliminary offers. Keep in mind that this is a rolling process at the admissions office, and is generally dependent on how many students choose to accept their offer of admission. We will likely make the majority of our offers after May 1st, and many throughout the summer. In the meantime, we recommend exploring some other options you might have and also reaching out to your regional dean if you haven’t already.
Thank you for updating us. I was wondering because 2 friends of my daughters were accepted last week. I was wondering if y’all had started early admitting off the waitlist. Keeping our fingers crossed!
Hi @Karla,
We definitely try our best to keep you as updated as possible! As we get to know what some of the incoming class is looking like, we do try and send those admissions decisions as soon as we are able so that students have the opportunity to make those college decisions with William & Mary in mind. We’re happy to be here as a resource for you all!
Hi! I was wondering when we would be hearing back from admissions (for waitlist applicants). Please let me know if you have more current information regarding it. Thank you!!
Hi Amy!
It does look like we will have the ability to admit some students from the waitlist this year. The waitlist process here at William & Mary is a rolling process, which means that me will be admitting students on an individual basis throughout this month and the month of June. We encourage you to reach out to your regional dean if you haven’t already, and send them additional updates, a letter of continued interest, and any third quarter grades as they become available.
Feel free to reach out to us with any further questions!
Any update on the status of the waitlist?
Thank you
Hi Scott! We have mostly compiled our incoming class as of June, but we will be pulling students on a rolling basis from the waitlist throughout the summer should more spots become available. Be sure to check out your emails for any additional updates and respond to the surveys if you still wish to remain on the waitlist for William & Mary.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any further questions!