Overheard in Transfer Committee: Deliberations Continue
Admit It! These blogs are kind of addicting (or at least I’ll Admit It!, transfers seem to dig the overheard in transfer committee series). So it’s time for another edition. Here we go.
Overheard in transfer committee: “This would be her third school.” (Interject somewhat dejected/worried tone.)
Transferring multiple times to multiple schools tends to make the committee a tad wary. It’s in your best interest and ours to ensure that you’re making the right choice and that you’ll stay at W&M should we admit you. You should be concerned with finding a community that you can become a permanent part of, and we’re concerned with matriculating students we can retain.
There are absolutely legitimate reasons for students to transfer multiple times. Oftentimes, students need to move closer to home due to medical issues, family emergencies, change of financial circumstances, etc. Other times, say in the case of individuals who are active duty, their posts change and they need to enroll elsewhere upon moving. (If you dual enrolled in high school we don’t count that as a university attended by the way.) However, there are times when we see applicants who have already attended two or three universities prior to applying to W&M and there’s no real explanation for the school hopping as we call it. In many ways, this post ties back to our previous one; the point is that explanations are key. Whether it’s why you wish to transfer to W&M, why you’ve attended multiple colleges, why you got some less-than-stellar grades, why you were disciplined/suspended/arrested, or any other unique circumstance, explanations provide context which is what our review process is all about. Without those explanations, we’re left without any context. In those cases we tend to error on the side of caution (meaning deny) rather than take a risk on a student who hasn’t been completely forthcoming.
Deliberations continue and should conclude in the coming days. We still do not have an exact date/time when transfer decisions will be released but keep an eye out for the Decisions, Decisions: Fall 2012 Transfer Edit blog which will be coming soon to a computer screen near you.
Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed. ‘09
Senior 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.
This is my second time to transfer; after reading this post I am extremely worried that transferring multiple times would seriously harm my application to W&M. Although I didn’t explain my circumstance specifically in the application, I think I do have a strong reason why I want to go to W&M. Will that work?
@Maggie, as most of our blogs note, no one factor will make or break an application by itself. If you clearly articulated why you want to attend W&M that may very well explain your multiple transfers to us.
I just had a minor heart attack after reading that first line… It’s my situation. I really have had little control over attending two schools prior to W&M and really don’t want that to negatively affect my chances.
This is my third time applying to W&M, so I was hoping that collectively my ED application from HS and the essays from my previous and current transfer applications would help explain my “school-hopping” (first school was a really bad decision and I was miserable; second school is my local state school and I’m a commuter = not a good fit) as well as my dedication to W&M…
The reasons for multiple transfers you include in the post are fairly serious; is my being miserable at school #1 and using school #2 as a place to “get it together” in order to better my chances for transfer a legitimate reason? Or even with my explanation is that going to be held against me?
@Maggie, we responded to your comment yesterday but somehow it didn’t post. Your reasons for wanting to transfer to W&M help us understand your previous transfers. That will certainly be looked at by the committee.
@Lauren, we’ll know by your previous applications that you’ve always wanted to attend W&M and when you weren’t admitted you had to go elsewhere. We get that sometimes students don’t make the right college choice the first time around and that the fit is so off that they need to return to a local college while they decide to transfer.
The point of this blog is more about reinforicing the fact that applicants should explain extenuating circumstances are decisions that are out of the ordinary in their educational path.
I really admire the dedication and attentiveness admissions places on each application and this whole process makes me love W&M even more. Thanks for making this a truly holistic process. Go Tribe! 🙂
As the blog posts have been updating and little things that contribute to the process are mentioned, I was wondering how the admissions committee views upcoming sophomores versus upcoming juniors. Is there a usually a higher acceptance rate for one or the other? Is the applicant pool usually filled with one more than the other? Thank you!
@Margaret, there’s probably a fairly even representation in the pool from both rising sophomores and rising juniors. We don’t prefer one over the other but we do evaluate them a bit differently. Rising sophomores have only one semester of college work for us to review whereas rising juniors have three so for rising sophomores, the high school transcript comes more into play (something we discussed in a previous transfer blog).
Will committee continue over the weekend?
@Maggie, if we feel that’s necessary than yes.
OMG!!!!! I just got accepted!!! I’m so excited!!! 🙂
How do I know which program I was admitted to? My first choice was Mason School of Business.
I was just accepted!! Words cannot describe the excitement! So honored to be a part of such an incredible community of world-changers. GO TRIBE!!
@Piaoyang and D.J, congrats! Excited for you both.
@Piaoyang, there will be more information in the letter that gets mailed but all students are simply admitted to W&M. You must now apply to the Mason School of Business which is a separate process.
Dear Admit It,
When will all of the decisions be released?
I got in!!!! William and Mary has been my dream school as long as I can remember! Thank you so, so much!
@anon12, we anticipate all decisions being released by Monday. As soon as the process is concluded we’ll let people know.
Thank you! I will apply to Mason School of Business! So does being accepted to W&M means being accepted to College of Arts and Sciences? If I weren’t accepted to Mason, can I still go to W&M? How does the major work then?
@Piaoyang, everyone is admitted to W&M as you were, not a specific college or program. Those wishing to major in business or education apply to those programs as sophomores. If you don’t get into the School of Business, you’re still admitted to W&M and you can declare a major in something else merely by signing a form.
Great!Thank you for answering my question! 🙂
May I ask when we will be getting the notification from the specific program we are applying to? Can we check online?
@Piaoyang, at this point all applicants have only applied to W&M. Your admission letter will detail how to apply to the School of Business. Generally, they decide who to admit in mid-summer. That’s not an online process or anything. You’ll contact the School of Business, they’ll direct you towards some information to complete and they’ll evaluate whether or not you’ve met the pre-requisities for the program and then look at the GPAs of all those wishing to enter the School of Business and they’ll admit by GPA for as many spots as they have available (which is usually around 20 give or take). They will then notify you by email or letter as to whether or not you’re admitted but again that won’t be for a few months. All other majors save education you’ll simply sign a form for when you arrive on campus provided you have junior standing.
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. I just sent an email to the School of Business to ask about the application process. I’m still so excited! 🙂 It just made my weekend!Now I could have a stable dream. Thank you again @Admit It! I really really appreciate your prompt reply,like a superman/superwoman.:p This blog definitely makes me like W&M more!!
Accepted! I already submitted my deposit 🙂 So excited to finally be a member of the Tribe!!!!!
Thanks so much admissions!
Will decision emails be sent over the course of the weekend?
Thanks for the promptness of this blog! The admission staff at William and Mary really do make the whole process a little less underwhelming 🙂
That is a little less overwhelming 🙂
@Lauren, congrats!
@Elle, they could be. We’re working on concluding the process and all things should certainly be concluded by Monday at the latest.
Approximately how many transfer applicants were “waitlisted”?
Is there anyway to know where you rank on the waitlist?
Also, if you are transferring from a VCCS school, would enrolling and completing the rest of the GER requirements help the student’s acceptance?
just got the acceptance e-mail! so privileged to be a part of the tribe! thanks so much admissions!!
@Mike, the waitlist email actually states how many students are waitlisted (approximately 100). The waitlist isn’t ranked. If we’re able to admit additional students, we’ll evaluate all students on the waitlist and determine who is the most competitive. What might improve your specific application might be a question for Dean Van Deusen but generally those who complete an AA or AS at a VCCS institution and achieve a 3.6 or higher are fairly competitive for admission.