The new classes - undergraduate and graduate - arriving now are some of the most competitive the College has ever seen, both talented and diverse.
The College , the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, the School of Marine Science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Mason School of Business all had increased in recieved applications from last year. The College and Law School both received record numbers of applicants - 11,600 for the 2012 class of 1,380 and 4,600 for the Law School’s 2012 class of 220.
The College also welcomes its most diverse class yet. Of incoming freshmen, 24.9 percent are students of color, up 2.4 percent from the class of 2011. Not only that, but the incoming class has 160 first-generation college students.
Virginia students make up 65 percent of undergrads in the class of 2012. There are 44 international students, roughly 3 percent of the class. The middle 50th percentile on the class' SAT is 1260-1430, and of the students who provided high-school rank, 79 percent were in the top 10 percent of their class.
The School of Education, VIMS and the Mason School of Business show an entering class from a wide range of backgrounds. The incoming VIMS graduate students come from 28 states and six countries. New Mason School of Business students hail from a dozen countries.
"The extraordinary new members of our community could have chosen to study at many other engaging places. They chose William and Mary. This is good," said Interim President W. Taylor Reveley, III in a press release. "Of the countless factors that go into making a school great, the most crucial is the caliber of its people."
From all indicators, the incoming undergraduate class is equally excited to be at the College.
Michael Larrick (’12) of Powhatan, Virginia, says he’s “pretty psyched about Chinese,” and also excited to “just be in a new environment” at the College.
Caitlin Floyd (’12) explained that what she’s “most looking forward to is meeting [her] new peers.”
“I chose William and Mary mainly because of the wonderful people,” Caitlin explained. “When I visited the campus, everyone I met was incredibly nice and welcoming, and had absolutely nothing bad to say about the school."
"Of course, there are many other wonderful aspects about William and Mary, but the people are what made it stand out from other schools,” Floyd said.
Greg Marinelli (’12) explained how visiting the College during the admissions process was what excited him about the school.
“My choice came down to what campus I felt most comfortable on, or where I could see myself living for the next four or more years of my life,” Marinelli said.
“Once I returned to the William and Mary campus, the decision was easy. William and Mary fits my educational needs and my personality," he added. "I love the feeling of William and Mary more than I could have imagined a year ago.”