Yippee! It’s Time for Committee!
Admit It! The time between submitting your application and receiving an admission decision is nerve-racking. You’ve spent years accomplishing tremendous things both in and outside the classroom, and days putting together your actual application, only to wait weeks before hearing back from us. It’s only natural to feel at least a little anxious right now. But rest assured. We are giving every application that we’ve received (including yours) full and thorough consideration for admission. Here’s what we mean…
As of today, each application has been read at least twice, from cover to cover, by two different members of our admission committee (one of these reads has been done by your regional dean). While reading, we have been taking each and every part of your application (transcript, standardized testing, extracurricular involvement, essay(s), letters of recommendation and any submitted optional components) into account, and assessing their strength in relation to our overall applicant pool.
Throughout this reading process, there is no “magic formula” that we are looking for.
_____ GPA + ____ test score + ______ involvements ≠ Admit (or Deny or Defer)
Such a linear approach couldn’t possibly create our student body full of innovators, athletes, club presidents, historians, scientists, writers, activists and countless other fantastic individuals. The only way to accomplish this is to look deeper, to understand your interests, passions, talents, and background, and to get a sense for how you might contribute to our campus. We pride ourselves on this thoughtful, thorough, genuine and human approach to application review.
After being read twice, many applications do not yet have a final decision. These applications are reviewed again during our Early Decision Committee (picture this, not this), when all of our admission deans gather to discuss the merits of each remaining applicant. In these meetings (which will start taking place later this week!), applications are discussed one at a time, allowing each of our deans to provide their own unique insight and perspective about each student. Decisions made as a result of this process are neither right nor wrong, but are carefully made, and are the best decisions we can make based on both this year’s applicant pool and what we know about William & Mary.
It has been our pleasure to read your impressive applications, and it will be a privilege to review them again during our Early Decision Committee. It’s always a thrill to build the Class of 2020 one student at a time (and to enjoy snacks throughout the day in order to keep our energy up…). Be on the lookout for Committee and Decisions blogs in the coming weeks, both of which will keep you updated on how things are going here in Williamsburg.
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.
Just last year, I was glued to this blog…crossing my fingers for my son. His ED acceptance email was the happiest moment ever. He is a Freshman at W and M right now and couldn’t be enjoying his experience more…..good luck to all of you eager applicants!! My younger son will be in your shoes next year! Already knows he’s applying ED. Happy Thanksgiving!!
@Kim Tobin, thank you for your kind and thoughtful note. We are so happy to hear that your son is enjoying his William & Mary experience, and we look forward to reviewing your other son’s application next year! Take care, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
How exciting! I applied early decision this year, and I am excited to know the decision in (I think) about two weeks! I love these blog posts, also-it makes me feel as if I am knowing what is happening every step of the way. Happy Thanksgiving!
@Melissa W, we’re happy to hear that you find these blog posts helpful! You will be hearing from us regarding your admission decision by early December. A very Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
So excited! I’m an early applicant this year and I can’t wait to find out! Absolutely LOVE this blog 🙂
@Sophie Kidd thank you for your kind note! We absolutely LOVE reviewing and discussing our Early Decision applicants. You will be hearing from us regarding your admission decision by early December. Have a terrific Thanksgiving holiday!
I’m so excited! This blog has been so helpful. Will you be doing Overheard In Committee this year? That was so helpful for me while filling out my application. Good luck to everyone!
@Juliana M we are happy to hear that you are finding our blog posts helpful as you navigate the college application process. We will indeed be doing Overheard in Committee this year! These will start getting posted early next week. Have a great weekend, and a Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi there! I’m applying to William and Mary regular decision as a freshman applicant, and I’m trying to decide if I want to submit an art portfolio. I love art and want to share it in my application, but I don’t want to give the idea that I want to major in art- I’m simply interested in taking a few classes in it during college. What do you think I should do?
@Emma, great question. You are absolutely welcome to submit an art supplement, even if you do not plan to major in performing or visual arts at W&M. The art submission program is meant to provide you, the applicant, with an opportunity to highlight your artistic talent. Submitting pieces of artwork in no way “locks” you in to a particular major, but rather provides our admission committee with additional insight into your artistic and creative ability. We hope this helps! Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
Hi! First off, LOVE THIS BLOG. I am addicted, and it’s incredibly helpful, too. I applied ED this year (fingers crossed :), and I was wondering: do you consider the SAT on a 2400 scale (to any extent at all), or only on a 1600 scale? Thanks so much!!!
Ahh, one last thing! I understand last year you released ED letters on December 5th. Do you think it is reasonable to assume that this year’s decisions will also be released around that date? Thanks again! 🙂
@Izzy, thank you for the positive feedback! We are happy to hear that you find our blog posts useful. We will see your scores for all three sections of the SAT when reviewing your application. This being said, we pay the most attention to your scores on the math and critical reading sections. This is why we report our middle 50% SAT range on a 1600 scale (which, by the way, is 1260-1460). As for admission decisions, we are still aiming to announce these by early December, much like last year. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance. Happy Thanksgiving!
Do the rejection and waitlist emails come at the same time as the acceptance emails?
@Grace, yes, all admission decision emails (admit, defer and deny) will go out at the same time. As of today, we are still planning to email decisions by early December.
I just wanted to say thank you for all of the time and effort that all of the admissions staff puts into this blog. It is a great blog to help me keep up with the admissions process. I appreciate all of the effort and am very excited (and honestly a little nervous!) to see my decision e-mail soon. Once again, thank you for taking the time to write this blog and thoroughly review each application.
@Zach, thank you for your kind note! We are happy to hear that you find our posts useful, and hope that you had a nice, relaxing and fun Thanksgiving break.
Its officially early December now!! I can finally start justifying my obsessive email checking 🙂 My mother gave me the talk last night– “Whatever happens, happens. Its OK.” But that just made me more nervous!! Thank you so much for updating us with this blog, its so much more reassuring to be in the loop. Hope to find out soon
@Hemu, thank you for your kind note! You will be hearing from us by the end of the week. Hang in there!