Overheard in Committee: Episode Four

Admit It! You didn’t think I had another movie subtitle in my back pocket but I did.  This one goes out to all you Star Wars fans.

Before this series of blogs you probably didn’t think an Admission Committee had so much to talk about.  But believe me, this is only a snippet of what goes on in our conference rooms in March.  These small conversations are simply part of the larger whole and help inform every decision we make.

Overheard in Committee today: “What can William & Mary do for this student?”

Most people likely presume, and rightly so, that we are interested in admitting students who can benefit the College: students who possess a special talent, students whose intelligence is truly profound and students whose backgrounds will enrich our community.  But our mission is dual sided.  We are also tasked with admitting students that the College can benefit.  William & Mary can provide a world-class education and social foundation to students that will shape their careers, lives and future.  When reading an application, we are oftentimes struck by those students whose upbringing would not likely lead them to the W&M applicant pool but nevertheless, here they are.  We know that by providing them access to our classrooms, our dorm rooms and our support services these students will grow and achieve in ways they likely never imagined.  Through their education they can uplift their family and their community.  Other times there are those students who need to find an environment that will nurture their intellect and scholarship.  Our faculty can provide them with access to cutting-edge facilities, opportunities for research, and independent studies that will challenge their minds in ways their high schools can’t.  The way this institution can impact a student is powerful and, by admitting students for whom the College can do so much, we can make those dreams realities.

The policies governing the admission of undergraduate students to W&M specifically state “two paramount considerations”: “the potential benefit of the College to the student and of the student to the College.”  Neither of those missions is ever far from any of our minds.

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