My daughter got her postcard yesterday. She is still waiting for decisions but really loved WM.
@STEMGirl19 What I know so far is that VT is huge, has a great football culture, and is excellent for engineering (I plan on majoring in comp sci). I don’t know as much about WM other than it’s smaller and quieter but has really strong academics. I think I’d really enjoy the energy at VT but the sheer number of students can be overwhelming. WM is more closely knit but I heard Williamsburg is not the most exciting college town.
Just confirmed with my AO that Day for Admitted Students is April 13th, which is also the date of my prom. There will also be myWM Mondays (Re-Visit days) on 4/1, 4/8, and 4/22 so I’ll be going to one of those.
Informed delivery says my son’s postcard is coming today. Super excited! Congrats to everyone else who has heard so far!
@joshmachine W&M and VT are quite different in size and feel, so that should probably make your evaluation easier when you visit.
Hi, @Samsmom2019 ! I remember you from Parents of 2019. When you thought your son should write his essay about ice dancing and he was resistant, I was also disagreeing with my D19 on topics. She ignored my advice, and got in ED!
Post your news on the parent thread too, when you get a chance. People love good news!
@3SailAway Congratulations to your daughter, that is fabulous news! Actually it’s funny, my son DID write about ice dancing, but about how much he loathed skating until he saw Meryl Davis and Charlie White competing and it inspired him to change his attitude and embrace the ice. So it ended up working out pretty well!
@Samsmom2019 , that sounds like a great essay only your son could write!
Has anyone heard anything about 1693 Scholars yet?
@4caboose On a different website, I heard kids saying they were contacted early Feb.
@homerdog - thanks for letting me know - figured it was a longshot, but was still holding out hope. Guess we will need to buy more lottery tickets now! 
My S hasn’t received a postcard, 1500 SATs, 4.0 weighted GPA, great EC’s but oddly, he received an email from themFriday saying his application was complete. I suppose this could mean they’ve just reviewed his application??
@Jm6844 We received that email about two weeks after S19 sent his application. So, maybe it just means they’ve finally downloaded your S’s app and it’s now being reviewed?
Our daughter received one too! We are from Evanston, IL.
I promised myself I would do this for all the parents and prospective students looking at W&M for 2023, as I was a frequent flyer on this site last year. My daughter is from a small southern state, and was admitted to the class of 2022 RD. She was Student Body President of her high school, middle school, and elementary school (one private, one public, one magnet), Captain of the Girls Soccer team, which she founded her sophomore year, and she played on the Boys Soccer team as well. Her best ACT composite was 31, and her GPA (uw) was 3.98. She was on a three-time state champion Mock Trial team and Valedictorian. She was a Visual Arts major at her magnet school, but was accepted in to the Honors Physics track at W&M due to the number of AP courses she took in high school.
She was admitted to Georgetown, Brown, Pepperdine, and Rice, but waitlisted at Vanderbilt. She was asked to interview, but was rejected by Stanford, Harvard, and Yale. She received a complete full ride to Mississippi, Georgia, Auburn, Clemson, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, and Texas. We visited Brown, Colorado, Pepperdine, and W&M. So, for us parents, the question was free, a lot of money, or a combination. For her, it was analysis paralysis.
But, here is the deal and it is as true today as it was one year ago, William & Mary is a quirky school. If it is right for you (or your child) it will be overwhelmingly obvious. I don’t know what the admissions algorithm at W&M looks like, but it works! The campus is populated with extremely bright, involved, quirky kids, most who are also interested and excel in something athletic, something artistic, and something academic. It is like an entire campus of Rhodes Scholars, and I suspect that is no accident.
And if you get in, be ready because it is kicking my daughter’s butt. She said if she had to rate her academic preparation as far as raw knowledge, natural ability, and study habits, she would have said she was in the top of all three categories UNTIL her first semester at William & Mary. She came home at Christmas and noted that she was below average in all three compared to her classmates. She also pledged a sorority and plays on a Club Soccer team. Both made it harder to study at the level she needed, but provided her a “family” and emotional connection to campus. She did above average in grades, but did make the first B of her life (and was thrilled to have it).
Parents, just know that if your child goes to this school, it is the REAL deal academically. I was shocked by the level of studying that is the norm, especially considering most kids continue to pursue a well-rounded college experience. But, to have 99% of all classes taught by full-bird professors is unheard of at the undergraduate level (likely why W&M is it top 5 of ALL schools in this category). And, the kids that will be your kid’s friends are amazingly mature, quirky, fun, dynamic, and so freaking smart. I was a professor for most of my career and even at the law school level never had a class of kids so unique. So far, absolutely worth the tuition (and out-of-state rate is pretty high, especially compared to FREE).
@whatmattersmost Thanks for posting! What was her high school experience like? At our school, the top 50 kids probably have 34-36 ACT or over a 1540 SAT. In our class of 750, according to our school profile, 250 kids got a 31 or above on the ACT. Most of the top 10% took maybe 7-8 APs and got all 5s. Our high school doesn’t have any grade inflation and the top 10% GPA goes all the way down to a 3.78/4,0. I feel certain that S19 is prepared for the rigor at any college including W&M. Do you think it’s possible that your daughter felt the increased rigor because her high school didn’t quite push her enough?
Also, can you define quirky? A woman soccer player who has your D’s ECs doesn’t sound particularly quirky. She sounds pretty mainstream. Do you just mean that the kids like academics and they are curious kids?
Maybe I can put things in perspective. While on a Virginia school loop we visited both UVA and William and Mary.
We ran in to a reliable local at UVA who spoke freely of both schools with an extensive first hand understanding of both schools.
She favored UVA in one instance as she described just how “intense” William and Mary is academically. I’m a good judge of character and her expression left the impression that W & M is very serious and intense. Yes she conveyed W & M as quirky in that there is little slack.
So just saying. I don’t think one should make assumptions about any high school in its prepping students for the unknown. W & M is no walk in the park.
We then toured W & M and our guide was into neuro and physics could walk backwards athletically while having an amazing sense of humor while answering questions with depth and a real passion for the College.
My D18 was accepted EA at UVA and is awaiting a decision from W&M.
@J123D123 Hm. I think I’m just going to have our S19 ask one of the kids who are currently at W&M and went to our high school. We have yet to meet any student whose gone to any college who said college was harder than our high school. Lol. But I will have him find out.
Well then he will fit right in at W & M because I assure you he won’t be bored.
Has your son committed to W & M? What other colleges was/is he considering?
@J123D123 I’ll PM you