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Undergraduate Admission
For School Counselors

Commonwealth Impact Program

The Commonwealth Impact Program is part of our ongoing commitment to partner with high schools to identify talented students who will thrive at William & Mary.

Through this exciting program, we invite school counselors, advisors, administrators and college access organization supporters to nominate up to 10 academically distinguished seniors for consideration to receive a William & Mary Scholars Award, which includes a full tuition and fees scholarship.

The best part? No additional student award application is needed from the student (beyond the Common App and financial aid applications).

CIP CTAs

Program Benefits
Who to Nominate
Nominate Now

What Are the Program Benefits?

Nominated students receive:

  • Application Fee Waiver

    An application fee waiver using the code “VCAW fee waiver” on the W&M portion of the Common App.

  • Full-Tuition Scholarship Consideration

    Priority consideration for the William & Mary Scholar Award, which includes a scholarship for at least the cost of in-state tuition and fees.

  • Mentoring & Advising with WMSURE

    Automatic eligibility for the W&M Scholars Undergraduate Research Experience (WMSURE), if selected for the W&M Scholar Award.

  • Personal Admission Guidance

    Direct access to admission staff to assist in the admission and financial aid application process through access@wm.edu.

Who Should Be Nominated?

Top consideration given for the following three areas. Consideration is also given for individual and school context, including adversity and challenges overcome. Award preference for in-state students, with a handful of awards available to out-of-state students.

  • Academic Ability and Potential

    Outstanding academic achievement demonstrated through a challenging, college-preparatory curriculum that often places them among or near the top decile of students in their class.

  • First-Generation or Limited-Income

    First-generation and/or limited-income students (i.e., Pell Grant eligible).

  • Interest in Diverse People & Perspectives

    Demonstrated experience and interest in bridging differences and embracing diverse people and perspectives.

Nominate A Student

If you or your students have questions about the program, please send an email to [[access]].

We look forward to continuing to support efforts around college access in the coming cycle and beyond.

Nominate Now