Picture yourself…

I admit, making the choice about which college I was going to spend the next four years attending was a little bit daunting. It seemed like it would be a huge task to choose only one school from all the colleges that I had read about or visited. By the end of my junior year, I had decided on the three aspects of a college that were most important to me: size, academics, and location. I knew that I wanted a medium size school. Not too small where you see the same people everywhere, and not too big where you feel like a number. In terms of academics, I wanted a school that would challenge me to perform at my highest academic level. As for location- I knew I wanted a cozy nice community- somewhere warm.

While William & Mary meets those standards in all respects, I admit that I wasn’t necessarily convinced that it would be the school for me. Then came the next step in the universally known college search process…campus tours.  Like everyone says, you never really get a feel for the atmosphere of a college until you visit. So, like lots of other high school juniors, I made my trek across most of the east coast during spring break of my junior year. Seeing all the schools individually really helped me put the college process into perspective and made my choice a whole lot easier. When I visited William & Mary, it definitely stood out for me- in a good way.  Everyone seemed very comfortable there, the tour guides and the college students walking to class or playing frisbee in the Sunken Garden. And being a nervous high school student- well, being on campus really put me at ease. I could picture myself here. And that’s what sold me. It wasn’t the impressive statistics, or the history, or the college ranking decided by some random college book. It was actually being on campus, taking everything in, and feeling at ease.

When I received my acceptance letter, I was confident with my decision to choose William & Mary. The college application process is a stressful one, and knowing that it was almost over definitely brought me a sigh of relief. However, receiving your admission offer letter isn’t the end. Many students think, “So I got my letter, now what do I do?”  If I could give one piece of advice about the real end of the college application process, it would be to maintain your level of academics and finish the school year strong. Colleges want to make sure that the students they accept are committed and hard working. By keeping up with your school work, you can prove the point that William & Mary made the right decision by accepting you. Also, remember to celebrate a little! After all, you are on your way to becoming a college student, and a member of the Tribe.

– David Mendler ’11