How harder is it to be admitted into the College of William Mary being an Out State Student, and how good is the financial aid for Out of State student? I saw on college board that 70% of the students are In state and found this discouraging. I also remember someone saying that financial aid for out of state students is terrible is this true?
William & Mary is a state school. State schools typically reserve most of their spaces for in-state students, charge lower tuition to in-state students, and offer better financial aid to in-state students. W&M is no different from other state schools in these respects. The following figures are from the W&M website:
Enrollment: 65% in-state, 35% out of state
Acceptance rate: 45% in-state, 31% out of state
Tuition: $16,370 in-state, $37,425 out of state
Financial Aid: “typically” 100% of demonstrated financial need for in-state, “up to” 25% of full cost of attendance for out-of-state.
As a general rule, you should expect similar disparities at any state school, especially the more popular and prestigious ones. The disparities will work to your favor at public schools within your home state, and will work against you at public schools outside of your home state.
Private schools have reputations for high tuition; however, they don’t discriminate by state residence when it comes to acceptance rates or financial aid. If you are looking at schools in Virginia, it could be less expensive to attend a well-endowed private school like the University of Richmond or Washington & Lee, as opposed to paying out-of-state tuition at a public school like W&M or UVa.
Yes it is competitive to get into William & Mary from out of state. The school enrolls approximately 2/3 of its undergraduate population from in-state because it is mandated to by the state of virginia. According to the W&M website, the in-state admissions rate is approximately 45% while the out of state one is 31%. So yes it is more difficult, but not impossible - I am an out of state student. Financial aid is very limited for out of state students, for the same reason mentioned above, which is something they are working on, but I would not expect a hefty financial aid package unless you earn one of the coveted scholarships.
Even though it is a lot harder to get in out of state, it is easier for males than females.
Please do not despair. My daughter is from “out of state” and we are thrilled that she will be attending W&M in the fall. She had some impressive stats but I will share with you that she received rejections from several private universities and we faced a number of disappointments during the college application process. W&M was one of the first universities we’d visited when we first started looking at universities, and I thought it was a perfect fit the moment the Dean of Admissions began his presentation…actually maybe even earlier than that. But we read the ‘out of state’ admission statistics, and thought the odds were against us, particularly since my daughter is a female. Happily we were wrong, and some of the other schools DD applied to, which we thought were “slam dunks” ended up sending rejections. Soooo…I guess I’m saying is don’t give up!!! TBH - I think some of it may come down to which state you’re from. If you’re from PA, MD or NJ, it will be more competitive. Since we were from the South/Southwest things were a bit easier albeit still quite competitive. The piece of advice I’d like to share, which I learned this past year during the admissions process for ALL universities, is that the process is a bit more random than you may think. One university may need a tuba player for the band while another one is looking for someone to join the rowing team, all with an eye towards diversity. You just never know, so throw plenty of darts and one (or more) will land in the perfect spot for you. Good luck! Also, if W&M is your 1st choice, be sure to apply decision. Not only will it give you an edge, but in the event you’re rejected you’ll have plenty of time to correct course and make other meaningful applications.
I agree with @longhornalum2. Don’t be deflated by the admissions rates. I was also an out of state applicant. When application time came around, I applied to many different schools. Some of the schools I was almost certain I was going to get into, I was waitlisted and William & Mary, one of the most selective and my top school on my list, I was accepted. So don’t let numbers get you down. On a side note if applying Early Decision check with your family to see if comparing offers is important to your family because if you are accepted ED, you will be expected to attend unless it is not financially feasible. There are also a number of schools out there that offer scholarships if you apply by the early deadline.
Good luck and if you have any other questions about W&M, don’t hesitate to ask.
@JT12321 As a W&M out of state student, I would advise you to not be at all worried about the percent of in state students. W&M is required by law to maintain 65% of the student body as in state, and that is precisely where they keep it because they want the out of state students to fill the rest. There are certainly a lot of people from Virginia, but I know a lot of people from out of state, and within Virginia, the type of people coming from different parts of the state are very different and maintains even some diversity amongst in state students.