Virginia · 32.0% acceptance · public · Tier 3
ED rate (52.0%) is materially higher than RD (31.0%). If William & Mary is your top choice and you can commit financially, this is the highest-leverage round.
William & Mary weights demonstrated interest and intellectual curiosity about their specific identity heavily—they're selective for applicants who understand they're a public liberal arts college, not a large research university, and who genuinely want that model. The school favors students with clear intellectual engagement (strong in humanities/social sciences particularly, given their government and IR strength) and those who show meaningful community connection or leadership in their actual communities rather than resume-padding; admissions here tends to reward depth over breadth. They're notably stricter on essays and demonstrated interest than peer public schools, and looser on test scores relative to other T30 publics—a 1370 is very competitive even with less stellar grades.
Use the "Why William & Mary" prompt to show you understand the specific architecture of their education—mention the small upper-level seminars, the residential college system, or their alumni network in government/diplomacy if that aligns with your goals. Avoid generic "great professors" language; instead, reference a specific program (like their Robert Robb seminar, their location-enabled government internship pipeline, or their interdisciplinary major structure) and connect it concretely to what you want to do, not just why you want to do it somewhere prestigious.
If you only have time for one thing this month, do this: