How hard is it to get into WM Business School?

I don’t want to go to a business school where I’m not guaranteed acceptance, but I really like the school and program. I plan on majoring in CS for the first 2 years. BBA in Business Analytics-Data Science is end goal. Thanks.

I would say it is not too terribly difficult. It is definitely not as hard as some other similar types of programs out there. For what it’s worth, everyone that I knew personally that applied got accepted, but that might not be reflective of the College overall. I believe the acceptance rate for the business school is a little more than half of the students that apply. They do a similar holistic admissions process to the general admissions to William & Mary, and I don’t think they are overall that selective.

Here’s what I can tell you about the experience:

  • The Business School is fantastic. Like honestly, they do so much really interesting and cool things. I was initially drawn to the business School because of the increased focus on social entrepreneurship and doing meaningful things with your degree, which I thought was different than other colleges I have seen. I think the courses on Organizational Leadership, Marketing, and Design Thinking have been some of the best courses that I have taken in college period. The professors are all incredibly caring and they do some amazing stuff. I definitely have some professor recs if you want to PM me.
  • Speaking of which, the business school has some AMAZING resources to support its students. One of them happens to be the Entrepreneurship Center, which has weekly business pitches and brings in CEOs of actual businesses that are William & Mary alumni. Some of the ones that I have been lucky enough to attend: one with Barbara Comstock (co-founders of Hulu) as well as some really interesting ones with leaders of non-profits, the tech industry, as well as businesses (ex: the Virginia Beer Company). They are really focused on building networks and will give you funding to make your ideas happen. I think there is an increasing desire to incorporate tech into that space as well, so I think you have arrived at the perfect time.
  • Another thing that I really enjoy is that they have Executive Partner Program, which allows you to have career counseling or one-on-one meetings with current or former CEOs who are there to help you. One of my friends who recently won money from one of the Entrepreneurship Startup Pitches, reached out to an executive partner which provided invaluable insight in starting his own non-profit, and was even willingto to listen to his pitches and offer guidance. I don't know many types of colleges that offer a similar program for undergraduates.
  • There is a lot of student organization support as well! This ranges from everything from Agency 1693 -- a student run marketing organization that does marketing work for real world clients (https://agency1693.com) and gets paid for it, to organizations focused on investing and the stock market, women in business, innovation and design, business fraternities, Net Impact (focused on social entrepreneurship), and more. They are all fantastic organizations -- and did I mention, all these organizations and the resources above are open to non-majors as well.
  • The school is very team-focused and collaborative, and focused on designing your own academic pathway to fit with your career goals. The whole set up of it is you work in teams frequently, and some of my friends have formed close bonds with their team members. The academic advising office of the business school is the best and significantly better than other college advising I have found at the college. They know each of the courses and the professors intimately well. They have lots of programs that you can study abroad with (for instance you can get a global business minor in one summer in Scotland) to really complimenting your degree. I say this as someone as a minor, who just got a taste of many of the things that it offers: it is incredibly supportive of its students. Here are just some examples of its students: https://mason.wm.edu/undergraduate/community/profiles/index.php
  • Lastly, I would say don't worry on the admissions to the business school thing. Seriously. Like the courses themselves are open to all students, and even students that don't get into their first choice major initially, they will usually be offered a spot as a minor -- you can start taking classes there and reapply as a major later on. Students have also done things like self-design their own major including some business school courses. And I find that they will work with you to get to where you want to go. I decided to be a minor by choice because I wanted to take all the other courses W&M offers -- and solely take the courses I wanted in the B-School. For me, that was a great decision and allowed me to really hone in my energy on the things I cared about.

So I would say that if W&M as a whole appeals to you and the business school appeals to you, then go for it. Don’t let the admissions thing hold you back. If anything, I found that taking other courses outside of business really helped me become a well-rounded person (which I think is its intention) and really gave me some unique insights to offer once I ended up in the business school.

Congratulations on your acceptance! If you have any other W&M questions, I started a thread a while back that may have some answers you seek: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-william-mary/1728194-ask-questions-about-william-and-mary-here.html#latest

I was just worried that it’s as hard as Mcintyre. Also, is it possible to get into the school solely based on a good GPA, or do they weigh in ECs and community service heavily into admissions?

Also, I trust that Raymond Mason Biz school is better than VA Tech pamplin and JMU COB right? Also, when is the last time you can apply to the business school? Is it 2nd sem of junior year?

I love Data Analytics and business, and this is why I really like WM b-school. The only thing I was worried about was the acceptance. Also, did your friends have to have dazzling ECs and grades (plus starting their own businesses) to get into Mason Biz school? Thanks a lot.

I think previously the majority of the evaluation was based on GPA, and they moved away from that a little bit, but I think it is probably still the most important factor in the holistic admissions process. The essay is just “Why do you want to go to the business school?” It’s definitely easier than getting into W&M and I think if you got in to the college, you can certainly be successful. No one that I know started their own businesses, people just did their normal thing and had your average level of extracurriculars. My one friend I think was mostly active in her one organization at the time. From my impressions, it is easier to get into than UVA’s but also I am not from Virginia so I am not as familiar with the other schools. You can basically apply anytime, as long as you can fit the courses in. I imagine second part of junior year would probably be the latest because it might be hard to otherwise fit the other courses in. From last I heard, they were trying to recruit more people to apply to the business school because their application numbers had gone down a bit.

What do u think the average acceptance rate is (a rough number)? Also, is it possible to double major in Int. Relations and Business Analytics + do a minor? Thanks.

Like I said earlier, I would probably say over 50 percent, but I have no idea of the specific number. Like I am sure if you emailed or called the undergraduate business admissions people, you would probably be able to find a specific number. I don’t think they have one published publicly at the moment. William & Mary currently allows just double majors as a maximum (or a major and a minor)

I will say that International Relations is one of the most intensive majors in terms of requirements, look it up on the majors page. Some students choose to alternatively do majors in government, global studies, public policy, or a specific area of interest because it can be very time consuming. I am certain that someone has done an IR + Business Analytics major at some point though if you can manage your schedule properly. One nice thing about the business school is that although W&M just allows you to do a double major, you can declare a concentration in something completely different subject and get it relatively easily (I believe it is 9-15 credits or something like that). So you could hypothetically do a major in IR + Business Analytics and do a concentration in like international business or something, although in all feasibility it may work better with another major other than IR.

Many IR majors are double majors with related subjects like Econ or something like an area of Global Studies (ex: Hispanic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Asian and Pacific Islander Studies, etc.) or minor with a different subject because of the aforementioned interdisciplinary nature of the major. I am sure if you wanted to, you could also design your own major or find some combination that works for you that allows you to do both of your major interests. It just requires proper planning if you are planning to do something like you mentioned.

Concentrations seem to only be available in other business areas (i.e consulting and accounting), rather than totally different subjects.

That’s correct. Concentrations are if you are a business major and you want to concentrate in another business area.

So, is my plan a good idea? CS for the first 2 years, then transferring into a Mason BBA in Business Analytics-Data Science-Sustainability with International Emphasis?

Yeah I think it seems doable! Like I said, there are some cases where you can take business classes early, so if you know what you want to do already, that could be beneficial.

Nice! Thanks a lot!