Overheard in Transfer Committee – The Academic Turn Around
We Admit It! It’s time to turn our attention to transfers. We know you’ve been patiently waiting, and the time has finally arrived. We will now commence with Transfer Committee. Sadly for us, the snack cart has definitely diminished in size and scale of available goodies, but we’ll make it through just the same. We are eager to learn your stories and admit great students to the Classes of 2017 and 2018.
Overheard in Transfer Committee: High school was not good, but man he’s really turned it around in college.
In the case of the student whose application we were reviewing, to say that his performance in high school was not good was a bit of an understatement. His high school transcript was littered with Cs, Ds and Fs. He didn’t challenge himself in high school, and from what we could discern, he simply wasn’t academically focused. But that happens. Some students don’t realize their potential, or choose to fulfill it until later on. Sometimes they need some time off – some distance, some perspective. In the case of this student, he actually enlisted in the military after high school and took time off from academics. From the information he provided in his essay, it was through his time in the service that he realized the value of learning, and of a college education. When he was discharged, he enrolled at a local community college and turned out great grades in great courses as if he’d been doing it his entire life.
So here we had an application with a truly awful high school record but an absolutely outstanding record from college (four full-time semesters of A-level work). And this was a student we gladly admitted. The genuine sentiment expressed in his essay, the perspective he could bring as a veteran, the time that had passed since high school and the fact that he had now proven himself academically, all moved the Committee to enthusiastically admit this student.
Many transfer students get nervous when they learn that we require a high school transcript, no matter what. Sometimes their high school record is not one they are particularly proud of. They fear that their high school performance will tank their chances of admission. We hope this blog shows that a poor performance in high school should not deter students from applying as transfers. The more time and distance you have from high school, and the more you are able to demonstrate an academic turn around, the more likely the Committee is to admit you.
As we post these blogs the next question is usually regarding a decision release. As with freshman applicants, we won’t know a specific release date until it’s upon us, but our original deadline of mid-to-late April is still on target.
Stay tuned for more on transfer applications, how we review them and the decisions we make.
Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed. ‘09
Associate 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.
Can you please comment on whether this year’s transfer applicant pool is more or less competitive than previous years?
@Transfer Hopeful, it looks to be on par with previous years. The applicant pool is similar in size and the strength of the applicants seems comparable.
Thank you so much for keeping us informed! I’ve been haunting the blog since February, and it’s definitely a comfort having some idea of what’s happening on your end.
Thank you for this post! It is nice to have an idea of when to expect a decision. In previous years, I have heard that a certain percentage of transfers hear their decisions prior to the actual release date. Will this be happening this year for transfers who may have moved through the process faster than others?
@Praying Transfer, we anticipate sending all decision notifications at the same time this year.
When did you release transfer decisions last year?
And do you anticipate releasing decisions at the same time this year?
@Kim, as we said in the post, we can’t make any predictions on a release date. All we can say is that mid-to-late April is still our goal and one we expect to meet.
Hello,
First, I really appreciate the blog. Everyday I wake up and check my inbox and then here for news! I was wondering how large is this applicant pool in comparison with previous years? Also, does the committee usually admit more rising sophomores or juniors?
Thanks!
@Nicholas, this applicant pool is comparable to previous years in terms of size. And we really have no preference between rising sophomores and rising juniors. Each applicant is different. So there’s no rule of thumb for whether or not someone is a stronger applicant as a rising sophomore or a rising junior.
@Nicholas, and so glad you like the blog!
Your speedy responses always bring a smile to my face! Thanks for the info and I’ll (try to) patiently keep fingers crossed, 4th times the charm!
Are decisions ever released on weekends? And thank you for the great attention given to this blog – it has really been the only thing keeping me sane as I wait for a decision.
Or Fridays? I would think there might be some hesitation to send decisions when the office would then be closed for two days, but I also wouldn’t want to wait any longer than need be…
@Transfer Hopeful and @Nicholas, we will release transfer decisions when they are ready and when we feel that the time is right. If that is a weekend, we will release on a weekend (although we would certainly try and avoid that). If that’s a Friday, then we will release on a Friday. There’s really no day that’s off limits so to speak. We certainly appreciate that students are eager to receive them but it’s crucial that we be able to complete the process in a thoughtful and thorough manner and that just takes time. We appreciate everyone’s continued patience.
Just out of curiosity, are there going to be more blog posts like this?
Also, why is it that this post pegs the release date as mid-late April while the emails say early May. Is this just because of the inexact science that the admissions process is?
@Nick, we will blog about transfer decisions once they’re released if that’s what you’re asking. And we tell transfer applicants that we will release decisions by May 1 (so May 1 at the latest). Our goal this term is to release the decisions mid-to-late April. So we can guarantee they will be released by May 1 but our goal is slightly ahead of that.
Thanks! Also, I meant these “overheard” posts specifically. I’ve read a couple of the older ones and they’re actually pretty helpful when trying to wrap your head around how these things(admissions processes) work.
Thanks again!
@Nick, we don’t anticipate another “overheard” post at this time. We believe our next post will be regarding the decision release. Glad you’re reviewing prior ones though and that they’re helpful.
I have a few questions, but before I ask them, I would like to express my appreciation for this wonderful and well written blog. It’s truly kind of you to take time out of the hectic admissions process to let applicants in on a bit of what is happening behind closed doors. So, thank you! My questions are the following: Will there be a wait list for this transfer applicant pool? If so, how does that work, exactly? Also, how does the College regard applicants from the same school? Will only a certain number be admitted for each college/university? Thank you again.
@Helplessly Hoping, we’re gratified to hear how much you enjoy the blog and are most appreciative of the praise. We will have a waitlist for fall transfer applicants. Those placed on the waitlist will get a link to an FAQ page in their decision email and the process will be outlined briefly in the Decisions, Decisions blog. And we have no quotas about how many students we can admit from any high school (for freshman applicants) or from colleges/universities (transfer applicants). If every student who applies from a particular college is great, we’ll take them all. If no applicants from a particular college are competitive, we won’t take any. So no need to worry if you’re applying with several other students from your current school.
Yay! Acceptance! Elated! Now I am waiting for financial package. Are accepted transfers considered to be Monroe Scholars?
@Lesie, congrats! A financial aid package should be emailed to you in about a week. Unfortunately the Monroe program is only available to freshman applicants.
Also acceptance! So happy. Still few questions. What’s the procedure of evaluating transfer credits and when and how will i know whether I should count myself as junior or sophomore?
@Jiaxi Chen, a preliminary transfer credit evaluation will be in the materials that were mailed to you so that should provide the info you need.
I am preparing to put in an application for Fall 2016 Transfer. I live in the state of Virginia. Can you tell me if that is considered as it is for Freshman admittance?
@MaryC, domicile status is indeed a factor that we will take into account while making transfer admission decisions. In general, William & Mary maintains an overall balance of 65% in-state and 35% out-of-state students in our undergraduate population.