Waitlist Update — Freshman Waitlist Closed
We Admit It! The Class of 2017 is complete. Last night we in essence closed the waitlist for freshman applicants. An email was sent to all those remaining on the freshman waitlist letting them know that at this point, our incoming class is full. While we do not anticipate being able to admit additional students to the Class of 2017, we do allow students the opportunity to remain on the waitlist until August 1 by completing an online response form (linked in the email).
Should any additional spaces in the entering class become available between now and August 1, we will reactivate the waitlist and consider only those students who complete the new response form. Those who complete that form will not hear from us again unless we are able to make them an offer of admission. Please note that the chances of being able to admit any additional students are incredibly slim. If we are able to admit additional students, it would likely be only a small handful.
We recognize that this is disappointing news for many of you. We do hope however that this provides some closure and allows you to move forward confidently and enthusiastically with your plans to attend another institution. We wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors at whichever institution that is. They are lucky to have you, and we know you will have a great collegiate experience.
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.
Still hopeful to be admitted from the transfer waitlist! And eager for some good news. Congratulations to all those already admitted and congratulations to everyone as in or out its an amazing accomplishment to be considered.
Thank you to the admissions committee and to this helpful blog.
@Robyn H, we will likely begin admitting some students from the transfer waitlist next week. Good luck.
I’m currently a rising senior and I’m planning to apply to William and Mary early decision next fall. I have been following along with this blog for months and it’s very scary to think that I will be going through this whole application process so soon. I’m constantly worrying about whether I’ve done enough to look competitive.
I have two questions. How important is leadership? Because I’m a shy person, I don’t really speak out and I’m afraid I might not be able to obtain a leadership position by the time the early decision application is due.
And how important are subject SATs?
@2014 graduate, demonstrating leadership, whether in or out of class, is one way an applicant can distinguish themselves. It’s far from the only way. SAT subject tests are an optional component of our process. They’re not expected to be part of an application. If they are included we will of course see them. If they’re strong, that cannot hurt you of course.
What is the transfer waitlist? Is it the waitlist created from the new response form?
@Jenna, the transfer waitlist is for students who applied for transfer admission (as opposed to freshman admission). It’s a very similar process but made up of people who applied for a different type of admission.
Would it be better to take the Math 2 and Biology subject tests in October or retake the SAT? I am out of state with a 1320 SAT, 3.8 unweighted GPA, 11 APs (including Senior Year).
I plan on applying early decision.
@Rising Senior, given that subject tests are optional, we’d encourage students to focus their energies on the components that are required, like the SAT. Assuming you’ve only taken the SAT once you certainly could improve on your second time around and we superscore your SAT (combine your best Critical Reading with your best Math for your best combined score). Do keep in mind we cannot guarantee that we will receive an October SAT in time to be considered during Early Decision but we normally do receive those scores in time.
About how many people elected to stay on the freshman waitlist until August?
@Em, so far maybe 75-100 give or take.
How many people from the freshman waitlist were admitted? How big is the class of 2017 now?
@Jac, we don’t report final stats on an incoming class until they actually move on to campus in April. For approximate purposes, a few dozen students were admitted from the waitlist and we strive for an incoming class of 1450 entering freshmen and 20 students in the joint degree programme with St Andrews.
I read the letter that was sent to my daughter re: the freshman waitlist, and it doesn’t actually say that the waitlist is closed. So I was disappointed to see that this blog seems to indicate much less hope than the email conveys.
@jenna, the email sent does say that at this time our freshman class is full. What that means is at this point, we don’t anticipate admitting any additional students. Both the blog and waitlist do say that the possibility exists that we will be able to admit a few additional students. That possibility is small however. We apologize if you feel either message wasn’t particularly clear or inline with the other. We just want to make sure everyone is informed and understands the realistic chances from here forward.
What is the transfer waitlist?
@May in da nang, the transfer waitlist is the same thing as the freshman waitlist except it’s for those students who applied as transfers (meaning they’ve already started college somewhere else) as opposed to those applying out of high school.
I received an email on June 7th offering acceptance off the waitlist, which i found shocking since i thought the waitlist was closed. I responded back stating that i was still interested but have not received any further information. I was just curious about what the next step would be.
@Victor Carlo, as the blog says above, when we “closed the waitlist” we noted that the possibility existed that we would be able to admit more students. As some students have withdrawn their application it’s allowed us to admit a few additional students. When did you respond to the email you mentioned? Someone should get back to you quickly.