From Submit to Complete

Admit It! Clicking submit doesn’t ease the anxiety associated with completing a college application. Hopefully this blog will put you at ease regarding your application status and assure you that your application will complete.

Application Status Updates

In order to keep you posted on the status of your William & Mary application, we will email both you and your parents twice.  The first email will let you know we have received your Common Application.  The second email will let you know we have completed your application (i.e. received all the required application components).  Please understand that we cannot track receipt of optional materials because there are so many and we will not confirm receipt of recommendations in order to protect the privacy of the recommender but you can trust that application materials are received and compiled properly.  All other email communication regarding your application will go to the applicant only.

Keep in mind that completing an application can take several weeks.  Applicants all tend to click the submit button in the days leading up to the application deadline and it takes us a little bit of time to download those materials from Common App, print them and match them with any mailed application materials.

Completing Your Application

Do not worry if for any reason something doesn’t get sent right on time.  Believe it or not, we are as interested in completing your application as you are.  We are happy to accept materials that are submitted a few days late.  If your teacher uploads or mails a recommendation letter on November 3 when the application deadline was November 1 we will be happy to accept it and review it.  If you took the October SAT and are applying early decision, we generally receive those scores in time to consider them during early decision and will consider them even if they arrive after November 1.  If your early decision agreement is missing a signature we will simply allow you to send another.  If your essay had an error you can fax or mail us a new one.  And, if for any reason, a required application component did not make it to our office we will email you and simply ask you to send another.  We are excited to review your applications and we are happy to work with you to get them completed.

So once you click submit, sit back, relax and check your email regularly for application status updates from W&M.  Your application is in good hands.

Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed ’09
Senior Assistant Dean of Admission