<p>This goes to students who have overcome adversity. All students are considered upon applying. How can a decision be based from the application materials alone? I guess if the student wrote an essay on adversity as it applies to them but how is information gathered to make this decision?</p>
<p>I think this is largely based on your ethnicity…</p>
<p>Kind of too bad because overcoming adversity is so much more than ethnicity alone.</p>
<p>I wrote an essay about overcoming a disability…might that be considered?</p>
<p>And when does this award go out? And how many people receive it?</p>
<p>Applicants are notified when they receive their admission. I received my admission letter on march 6 and the letter also said that i was designated as a William and Mary Scholar. I think there are no more than 40 per year.</p>
<p>is it basically just for urms?</p>
<p>I would assume so based on the description of the scholarship on the school’s website.</p>
<p>The W&M Scholarship is awarded to students who either lend significant diversity to our campus or who overcome significant adversity. The Committee gathers this information from essays, recommendations, and other application materials. Adversity takes many forms but generally refers to those who grew up in an environment which lacked traditional support for academic success.</p>
<p>I got the William and mary scholar award today
my essay was about how i thrived through conflicts with my parents involvingthe police and how i moved many times and was momentarily homless for a while (also an algerian)</p>
<p>Congrats yoceyo! Welcome to the Tribe. We hope you plan to join the Class of 2015 and we’re thrilled we can recognize your accomplishments with the W&M Scholar Award.</p>
<p>Many of your fellow scholarship recipients are busy chatting on this thread</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-william-mary/1100446-just-got-large-envelope-out-mail-3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-william-mary/1100446-just-got-large-envelope-out-mail-3.html</a></p>
<p>Congratulations yoceyo! I’m a W&M scholar as well. I have to say, I was *very *surprised. The essays (common app and optional) I wrote were more humorous and pretty light-hearted. I don’t remember alluding to any personal hardships in my application. Perhaps I was accepted based on the diversity component considering I’m an African-American girl… who knows? I won’t question their generosity though :)</p>
<p>W&M Admission: Have the students that were accepted Early Decision been notified of any scholarships or is this information included in the packet that is expected some time this month?</p>
<p>congrats jlg533. The W&M Scholar Award is awarded to students who lend diversity to our campus and students who have overcome significant adversity. You do not have to meet both criteria, just one or the other to receive the award. The adversity component is usually the type of adversity that would preclude a student from being successful and competitive for admission so we’re generally speaking of not physical illness but truly adverse environments.</p>
<p>bsmom93, any ED admit who received a scholarship would be notified by mail and those notifications left our office on Wednesday.</p>
<p>It seems that students who chose not to write about adversity missed out on this opportunity. The situation mentioned above about conflicts between parents involving the police describes a similar situation in my life that also included CPS being called, but I chose a more lighthearted topic for my essay. This also involves a family that is unwilling to finance my education, so I was hoping to apply for scholarships and work my way through college. Is it now too late to mention such a situation to the admissions committee?</p>
<p>WM2015ED, while adversity can be garnered from an essay we also oftentimes find it in recommendations so it’s not entirely on applicants to alert us of the situation. However, in the end, we cannot consider any circumstances that aren’t told to us.</p>
<p>At this point, it is too late to be considered for the W&M Scholarship. We have awarded all of the monies we have for that particular scholarship. It was an incredibly competitive process for that scholarship this year and we ended up not awarding the money to many deserving candidates.</p>
<p>Of course financial aid has not yet been awarded (need-based assistance) and you can certainly make Financial Aid aware of any circumstances they should consider although if you’re claimed as a dependent on your parents’ taxes there may not be much they can do.</p>
<p>Banging! im a w&m scholar as well! out of curiosity how many students were granted this scholarship? and are there any other benefits that come with the honor as well?(besides awesome free money). </p>
<p>TRIBE PRIDE IS BIGGER IN TEXAS</p>
<p>Congrats!</p>
<p>Usually about 50 incoming students enroll as W&M Scholars (the award is sent to about 150 applicants but not all of them will choose W&M). In addition to receiving the funds, students become part of fthe W&M SURE program which includes workshops and faculty support for research experiences that help you prepare for post-bach programs.</p>