Admission extends on-campus interviews for fall

On-campus interviews The Office of Undergraduate Admission at William and Mary is the only public university in Virginia that offers student-to-student interviews as part of its application process. High school seniors can participate in on-campus interviews now through Nov. 15. Photo by Stephen Salpukas

by Wendy Livingston, Undergraduate Admission | September 7, 2011

The Office of Undergraduate Admission at the College of William and Mary has announced it will offer high school seniors the opportunity to participate in on-campus interviews during fall 2011. Since introducing student-conducted interviews in 2004, the admission office has offered this optional component of the application process during summers only.

William & Mary is the only public university in Virginia that offers student-to-student interviews as part of its application process. The interview is designed to be both informational and evaluative.

“While an optional part of our process, interviews provide students another way to show why they are a good match for William & Mary," said Henry Broaddus, associate provost for enrollment and dean of admission. "We also believe that offering personal interviews as part of our admission process accurately reflects the degree of personal attention students who enroll at William & Mary can expect to receive here.”

Fall interviews will be offered now through Nov. 15 on both weekday afternoons and select Saturday mornings in conjunction with Fall Focus programs. A complete schedule and online registration are available from the admission office’s interview website

Any high school senior who plans to apply to William & Mary for the fall 2012 semester and who has not interviewed already, is welcome to interview. All those planning on applying to W&M Early Decision who wish to take advantage of this optional opportunity must interview by Nov. 1.

Throughout the interview program’s eight-year history, demand for on-campus interviews has exceeded supply, and the admission office conducts interviews for approximately 1700 students every summer. This year, despite increasing the number of interviewers, all slots were filled by early July, and an interview waitlist was implemented. Making interview appointments available during the fall semester will allow the admission office to conduct up to 500 additional interviews. Because on-campus interviews are not something every applicant can take part in, the interview will remain an entirely optional component of W&M’s application process.

William & Mary’s interviews are conducted by 12 rising W&M seniors as part of a fulltime summer internship. Each interviewer interviews approximately 130 prospective applicants over the course of a summer. The senior interviewers are viewed as the admission office’s foremost campus ambassadors.

For more information, contact Senior Assistant Dean Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed. ’09 at 757.221.3994 or wcbegl@wm.edu.