It’s Not Easy Being Green – Admission Committee Season
In other words, we’ve been reading. A lot.
Prior to this year, our team read applications using a combination of electronic and paper records. This year, for the first time ever, our office is reading applications entirely online. This means that while our hands now hurt a bit less from not having to write as much, these same hands are just as busy typing away on our computers as we learn more about our many impressive applicants.
Though the medium in which we review applications has changed, the process by which we review them is exactly the same. We still take great care in reviewing your story, and still use a thorough and holistic review process in order to get a full and complete picture of all the talents that you bring to the table. We are honored that so many students elect to apply to William & Mary each year, and want to give each individual applicant every consideration possible for admission to our university.
As I’m posting this, all of our applications have been read by at least two members of our admission committee. Your application is first read by a dean other than your regional dean. This individual is taking diligent notes on everything from your transcript, to your extracurricular involvements, to your essays, to the letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf, as well as all other pertinent information included in your file. Your regional dean then completes a second read of your application, which entails completing another thorough review of your application, and combining their own impressions of your application with the first reader’s notes to make an informed admission decision.
The next step in our review process is where we find ourselves for the next couple of weeks: committee. Committee is when our entire dean staff gets together to formally discuss each applicant and to build our Class of 2021 one individual at a time. Each committee focuses on a specific part of the country with your regional dean presenting your application, so that we can be sure to discuss your application in a regional and school-specific context. During these meetings, we’ll re-examine the various parts of your application, be moved by your essays and accomplishments, and be impressed by the ways your mentors describe you. Committee lasts all day each day for the majority of March, but to be honest, these days fly by. Our conversations are that passionate, and despite the long hours, committee is one of most rewarding aspects of being a college admission counselor.
So, as Kermit would say, it’s not easy being green, and at this time of the year it’s not easy being a member of the William & Mary admission committee. But we wouldn’t have it any other way. We embrace the grind, and genuinely love what we do. It’s a privilege to get to build the next exciting chapter in William & Mary’s history.
As is tradition, over the next 2 weeks we will be posting Overheard in Committee blog posts in order to give you updates on our conversations here in Williamsburg. Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes looks into our committee process. Go Tribe.
Brad Harlan
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.
Any word on when we should hear whether we got in or not? I know the default answer is either late March or by April 1 but I’m sure we would all love to hear something a tad more specific.
@Tribe Hopeful, we realize that it is not fun to wait for an admission decision. All we are able to say is that you will be hearing from us by April 1, and that we are hard at work to release admission notifications as soon as they are prepared. Hang in there! April 1 is just a few weeks away.
Keep this blog going!!! We love to hear from you
@Kim Tobin, we are glad to hear that you enjoy our posts! Thank you for being one of our loyal readers.
Are deferred student applications re-read by the same committee that reviewed it during the early decision process?
@Barbara Furson, great question. Yes, students who were deferred during the Early Decision application process are re-reviewed by the members of our dean staff/admission committee. While doing so, we will thoroughly examine the student’s application, including all information that has been forwarded to our office that was not included in the student’s original application.
My son was accepted ED and I know you will be sending out more acceptance information later. Have ED applicants who will be named Monroe Scholars already been notified, and what form would the notification take? We felt he had very strong credentials and maybe had a chance to be named a Monroe Scholar.
@Robert’s Mom, congratulations to your entire family on your son’s acceptance to William & Mary! We are absolutely ecstatic to have him as a member of our Class of 2021. If your son is selected as a Monroe Scholar, he will be notified via email by April 1, when we release our Regular Decision admission notifications.