william and mary essay questions

William and Mary Supplemental Essays 2023-24

September 27, 2023

Founded in 1693, the College of William & Mary is the second oldest institution of higher learning in the entire United States. With an acceptance rate that was 32% for the Class of 2027, W&M is a very selective school. It is even more challenging to gain admission into for out-of-state students. With that in mind, it’s important to put maximum effort into every aspect of your application. Of course, this includes the William and Mary supplemental essays.

 (Want to learn more about How to Get Into W&M? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into William & Mary  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

When applying to an institution like the College of William & Mary that rejects roughly two-thirds of those who apply, you’ll need to put maximum effort into every area of the application, including the Common App and supplemental essays. Below are William and Mary’s optional essay prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle. Additionally, you find our advice for composing strong essays.

Should I answer an optional essay?

In such a  hypercompetitive college admissions environment , not filling out an essay would be a suboptimal decision for a prospective applicant. With such cutthroat competition at a highly selective school like William & Mary, it would be foolish not to avail yourself of every opportunity to make a strong case for admission. Applicants applying to a dozen or more schools may be exhausted after already plowing through countless other supplemental prompts. However, this is simply not the place to cut corners.

Unfortunately, skipping an optional essay of this nature could hurt your candidacy at William and Mary, as this institution only offers non-evaluative interviews with current W&M seniors. As such, there are limited ways to connect with an admissions officer, and the supplemental essay(s) will be one of your very best opportunities.

William and Mary Supplemental Essays – (Optional)

William and Mary gives applicants the option to choose one or two of the six available prompts. Additionally, you’ll have 300 words of space for each prompt.

1) Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful?

In W&M’s own words, “You are not a number when you apply to or attend William & Mary. You are a three dimensional person who has initiative, spirit and ideas.” Showing the admissions committee who you are at the core of your being is no easy task at this school. As such, here are some ideas of how you can most productively utilize these 300 words of space:

• Talk about your deepest passions and the various ways in which you pursue knowledge in those areas.
• Say more about your role in a particular community of which you are a member. This could be your family, your circle of friends, a religious organization, a job, a sports team, etc.
• The college admissions process can feel very heavy and serious; telling a humorous story can help forge a personal connection, even via an otherwise dry application.
• Be open about your idiosyncrasies and anything that makes you uniquely  you .
• What ideas excite you? Where do you see limitless possibilities in the world?
• Lastly, what moves your spirit? Discuss any art, movies, music, and books that you find deeply moving and personally important.

2) Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?

Keep in mind that William and Mary has already seen the President’s Volunteer Service Award and the impressive number of hours you volunteered at multiple nonprofit organizations. They know that you have been an active member of your high school/local community. The admissions committee now desires to understand precisely how you will contribute to  their  community of undergraduate students. Highlighting the link between your past efforts and future aims is critical here. For example, if you dedicated many hours to volunteering at your local animal shelter throughout high school, it will be more impactful when you now express your commitment to joining William and Mary’s Animal Rights Club.

The strongest William and Mary community essays show evidence of meaningful school-specific research. This research process will actually give you a better idea of how you would sincerely like to become engaged at each prospective school on your list. Admissions officers will appreciate a William and Mary-centric answer far more than a generic (often recycled from app to app) response.

3) How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?

Take note of the wide-open nature of this prompt. You are essentially invited to talk about any of the following topics:

• A perspective you hold
• Your upbringing
• Your cultural background
• Your religious background
• Your family background
• Your race/ethnicity
• Your sexual orientation or gender identity

William and Mary Supplemental Essay Prompts (Continued)

Although this prompt’s open floor plan may feel daunting, a good tactic is to first consider what has already been communicated within on other areas of your application. What important aspect(s) of yourself have not been shared (or sufficiently discussed)? The admissions officer reading your essay is hoping to connect with you through your written words, so—within your essay’s reflection—be open, humble, thoughtful, inquisitive, emotionally honest, mature, and/or insightful about what you learned and how you grew.

You’ll then need to discuss how family, culture, and/or background has influenced your life and perspective, and in what ways.

4) Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.

Out of everything on this Earth, what makes you tick? What keeps you up at night? What subject makes you read books and online content until your eyes bleed? Immerse the reader in your intellectual journey of choice. Share what made you interested in the topic and how you’ve pursued knowledge. Finally, be sure to address what you’ve learned about yourself and how you hope to continue pursuing this interest in the future (tip: this is a great place to incorporate William and Mary specifics).

Alternatively, if you happen to have clear-cut career goals, such as becoming a physician, attending law school, or addressing coral bleaching, you can take this opportunity to tell the admissions committee more about it. How did this career goal develop, and what have you done to pursue it so far? Moreover, how do you intend to work toward your goal at William and Mary in particular?

5) Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.

Of course, some teens have faced more challenges than others, potentially related to an illness or medical emergency, frequent moving, socioeconomic situation, natural disaster, or learning disability, to name a few. However, you don’t have to have faced a significant challenge to write a compelling essay (and even if you have faced a significant challenge, you don’t have to write about it if you’re not comfortable doing so). Writing about a common topic like getting cut from a sports team, struggling in a particular advanced course, or facing an obstacle within a group project or extracurricular activity is perfectly fine.

Any story told in an emotionally compelling, honest, and connective manner can resonate with an admissions reader. The bottom line here is that there are no trite topics, only trite answers. The important thing to keep in mind is that the challenge/story itself is  less important  than what it reveals about your character and personality.

Given the 300-word limit, your essay needs to be extremely tight and polished. In all likelihood, getting this one precisely right will involve a round or two of revision, ideally with some insight/feedback from a trusted adult or peer in the process.

6) If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?

No matter where you live, local spots of interest abound, so take this opportunity to show admissions something you genuinely love or appreciate about where you’re from. Perhaps it’s your local farm stand, a museum, a restaurant, a public art installation, the beach that you run on in the mornings…regardless of your answer, the most important part of this response will be why. Why do you want to show this particular location to an admissions officer, and what do you hope they learn about you in the process?

How important are the William and Mary supplemental essays?

W&M lists 12 factors as being “very important” to the admissions committee: rigor of secondary school record, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability, character/personal qualities, state residency, volunteer work, and work experience.

So, we know that the  Common App essay  and the optional supplemental essays are among the top dozen factors in what is a genuinely holistic admissions process. It is fair to say that the essays will be read carefully. Further, they can be a separating factor between two comparable “on the cusp” applicants.

Want Personalized Essay Assistance?

In conclusion, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your main Common App essay and William & Mary supplemental essays, we encourage you to get a quote  today.

• College Essay

Kelsea Conlin

Kelsea holds a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Tufts University, a graduate certificate in College Counseling from UCLA, and an MA in Teaching Writing from Johns Hopkins University. Her short fiction is forthcoming in Chautauqua .

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College Essays

The College of William and Mary in Virginia is the second oldest university in the country, and it's consistently ranked in the top colleges in the nation. Their acceptance rate reflects that: every year, only 36% of students who apply are admitted.

That means that if you're interested in applying to William and Mary, you'll want your application to shine. Simply having good grades and test scores isn't enough on its own—in fact, 75% of accepted William and Mary students were in the top 10% of their high school class .

This is where the optional William and Mary essay comes in. This is your chance to make your application stand out ! So what is this optional essay, and how optional is it ? This article will tell you everything you need to know about the William and Mary supplement essay, including:

• Explaining the William and Mary supplemental essay prompt
• Walking you through how to answer the prompt
• Going over what admissions counselors are looking for in an excellent supplemental essay

We have a lot to cover, so let's get started!

What Is the William and Mary Supplemental Essay?

The William and Mary supplemental essay is an optional essay that you can choose to submit as part of your overall admissions packet . The goal of the essay is to help admissions counselors get to know you a little better...and to showcase your writing skills one last time. Since this essay is optional, you don't have to write it in order to submit your application. (We'll talk about whether you should write it a little later, though!)

So where can you find the optional essay? Within the online application itself, there is a separate drop down box labelled "Optional W&M Essay." If you expand this box, you'll see the prompt. If you choose to submit the supplemental essay, you'll have to turn it in as part of your overall application packet. In other words, you can't go back later and submit the supplemental essay—once you turn in your application,

The text box itself allows for 650 characters, but you'll notice the prompt states that they're looking for 500 words or less . They're allowing you a little leeway so you won't get cut off in the middle of a sentence, but you should follow the instructions and try to limit yourself to under 500 words.

6 Steps to Writing the Perfect William and Mary Supplemental Essay

Now that you've been introduced to the William and Mary essay, it's time to talk about how to write one that makes admissions counselors sit up and take notice.

Here are six simple steps that will help you develop your essay into the exact thing the admission committee might be looking for.

Step 1: Read the Prompt

To help you get a handle on what the prompt is asking for, let's take a closer look at it:

"Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful? We know nobody fits neatly into 500 words or less, but you can provide us with some suggestion of the type of person you are. Anything goes! Inspire us, impress us, or just make us laugh. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy and with an attitude."

At its core, this prompt is all about you. Admissions counselors want to learn about what makes you unique and different from everyone else around you. In other words, admissions counselors are going to use this essay to get to know you better!

More importantly, this prompt specifically asks you to "show and tell," which is a sneaky way of saying that admissions counselors want you to tell them a story. Instead of providing a laundry list of your best qualities, pick one thing that makes you unique and then write a story around it. We recommend that you choose a specific event from your life that showcases your unique personality, then use that as a springboard for the rest of your essay.

Keep in mind that you're still writing an essay for a college application— just because the prompt asks you to inspire, impress, or amuse the admissions committee doesn't mean you shouldn't take the assignment seriously . More importantly, your job is to show admissions counselors that you're a great fit for William and Mary.

Step 2: Choose Your Unique Attribute

You've probably realized that 500 words is not a lot of room to write an essay. It turns out that 500 words is about one typed, single-spaced page of text. So even though there are hundreds of things about you that make you unique, if you tried to write about them all, you'd run out of room!

In order to write a great essay, you'll have to choose one or two attributes that make you unique. That way, you'll be able to tell a story that captures your readers' attention while still showcasing the special person that you are!

But how do you pick the unique quality you want to write about? We recommend that you start your writing process by brainstorming about twenty or thirty things that make you unique. Once you have that list, choose the one that you feel is both A) individual enough that you wouldn't expect someone else to choose it, and B) important enough to you that you could easily convey a lot of passion about it.

If you're having trouble picking a quality to write about, try talking to your parents, teachers, and best friends. Show them your list and ask them which traits stand out. They may even suggest some attributes of their own! Sometimes an outside perspective can help you narrow down your choices.

Keeping your focus narrow helps you write a more compelling essay.

Step 3: Narrow Your Focus and Choose a Story

Once you've chosen your most unique qualities, you'll need to figure out how to talk about them. Like we said earlier, we recommend that you use a story to help readers understand you better. A good story is specific and allows you to include unique and interesting details. If your story is too long or too broad, you'll need to summarize the events or aspects, which will make them unexciting and bland.

Here's what we mean: let's say Bryan has decided that his most unique attribute is that he's the first male soprano in his school's history. He decides he wants to tell the story of how he tried out for choir and discovered he could sing high notes. If Bryan tried to tell the story from the first moment he learned he could sing soprano, then he'd need thousands of words to write his essay! By narrowing his focus down to the actual audition, he can share more details...which will help the admissions committee get to know him even bette r.

Once you've narrowed your focus to one specific moment, it's time to craft your story. Good stories help readers feel like they're watching a movie. As you write, include sensory details , including sounds, sights, smells, etc. so that your essay is as vivid to the reader as the memory is to you!

Step 4: Remember Your Audience

Even though the William and Mary supplement essay is an informal prompt meant mostly to help the admission committee determine what type of person you are, keep in mind that it is still a college application. That means there are certain values about yourself that you want to emphasize. You want the people reading this essay to think of you as an intellectually curious, genuine, and thoughtful potential student.

While you may have an entertaining story that involves illicit or illegal behavior, this isn't the place to share it. Additionally, make sure you're not using off-color, racially charged, or potentially offensive language. At the end of the day, you want to show admissions counselors that you're a good fit for William and Mary's values !

Also, remember that your audience is reading over 14,000 of these essays between January and March every year, and many of them have been doing it for several years. Don't lie in your William and Mary application essay! We guarantee that admissions counselors will be able to tell. Trust us: with a little effort, you'll be able to tell a story that is both truthful and compelling.

You're unique! Letting that shine through in your essay is a good way to catch the admission committee's attention.

Step 5: Explain Why You're a Good Fit for William and Mary

While this definitely isn't a "why this school" essay , you still want to tie your William and Mary application essay into the rest of your application.

To do this, use the last two sentences of your essay to explain how your unique qualities will help you fit into the William and Mary campus . Even better, you can tell admissions counselors how you plan to use your unique personality to help support William and Mary's mission!

Take Bryan's topic that we talked about before. He knows what it's like to feel different, and he's learned how to be comfortable in his own skin. That means he can't wait to join William and Mary's choir , where he hopes to both share his talent and support others as they share theirs, too. Ending the essay like this shows admissions counselors that Bryan is ready to become a central part of William and Mary's vibrant campus community.

Step 6: Revise, Revise, and Revise

After you've chosen your topic and have written your essay, y ou need to reread it . If you have enough time, wait a few days before starting the revision process so that you can bring a fresh perspective to your essay. You'll likely find that there are places where you can add more detail, clarity, or explanation

Once you've finished your revisions, choose one or two people whose opinions you trust to read the essay and offer their criticism . Don't choose someone who loves everything you do and already thinks you're brilliant—that's not going to help you make your essay better. Choose someone who you think will offer you honest feedback on how you might improve your essay. If you have a good relationship with your English teacher or high school counselor, you should definitely ask them to read your essay and offer feedback!

If this sounds like a lot of work...well, it is. Creating a great essay takes time and effort. That means you'll need to plan ahead . We recommend starting your essay more than a month in advance so you have plenty of time to write and revise.

What Are William and Mary Looking for When They Read These Essays?

What do William and Mary essays that worked include? Usually, you just have to guess at what the admissions committee wants. Not this time! Brad Harlan, the Assistant Dean of Admission at William and Mary, wrote a helpful blog post about what William and Mary's admissions counselors look for in a good optional essay. Harlan explains:

"How does this individual articulate themselves? What is this individual genuinely passionate about? What motivates this individual. These, and countless other questions, can be answered by your essays. They provide us with meaningful insight into your personality, and give you a chance to "speak" directly to the admission committee. We see essays that cover a wide array of topics and which employ many different tones and styles. Some are funny, some are serious, some are quirky, and all of them provide for engaging and enjoyable reads as we review our many impressive applicants…

"No matter what approach you take, just be sure that your essay covers something that excites you, and that it adds a new dimension to your application. If you write genuinely, enthusiastically and carefully, no matter what the subject, then I can pretty much guarantee that we will very much enjoy reading your work."

Note that the word "genuine" is used twice in two paragraphs. That tells you that admissions counselors are looking for you to express yourself honestly and sincerely. They're not looking for a formal answer that you think they want to hear; instead, admissions counselors want to read an essay that lets them see why you would be a good choice to add to their student body .

Another William and Mary Admissions blog post gives more tips for tackling the optional essay. Wendy Livingston, the Senior Assistant Dean of Admission, writes:

There is something about you that isn't commonplace. Find that thing and write about it. If it's something big like growing up in a foreign country, write about it. If it's something small like you always wear socks with stripes for a particular reason, write about it. If it's something in between like your life-long hobby of collecting McDonalds Happy Meal toys, write about it. The key is to find a topic that few others can write about. There are most definitely fairly generic college essay topics: death of a relative, parents' divorce, traveling abroad, a service/mission trip, a sports injury, your epic love of Harry Potter books (that one has come on strong in recent years). It's not that these experiences/interests aren't salient or important; they are. But they are also fairly commonplace for 17-year olds and the ways in which you write about them will be incredibly similar.

In other words, make sure you're writing about something that is truly unique !

If you're one of ten siblings, practice oil painting in your free time, or spend your weekends playing guitar in your family's 90s cover band...write about it! While it's certainly not bad to like popular things or share common experiences, those don't always give readers true insight into your character.

Instead, choose a topic or quality that might take the admissions committee a bit by surprise (in a good way). That will help you show readers how your unique personality makes you a great addition to William and Mary's student body.

Should You Submit the William and Mary Supplement Essay?

After reading through the steps you'll need to take to create a killer supplement essay, you're probably wondering whether you really need to write it. Couldn't you skip it and save yourself a bunch of time and effort?

If you're serious about getting into William and Mary, then you absolutely need to write the William and Mary supplement essay. Put yourself in the admission committee's place. Imagine a scenario in which you have room for one more student and you're choosing between two candidates. They each have similar GPAs and test scores. However, one of them has a remarkable optional essay and the other didn't even fill in the box. Which student you choose to admit? Probably the one who went the extra mile!

Here's a different scenario. Imagine a candidate who has a pretty average GPA and an unexciting SAT score, but that candidate has a breathtaking optional essay that allows the admissions committee to see that the mediocre grades and SAT scores aren't a fair reflection of the candidate's potential. If you were in the admissions committee's place, wouldn't you be tempted to give the candidate a chance to show what they can do as a student?

As you can see, the essay may be labeled "optional," but it's actually a key piece of your application packet if you really want to get in. The William and Mary application essay is an opportunity to differentiate yourself from thousands of other applicants and make yourself more attractive to the admissions committee.

Granted, if you wrote a very poor essay it may harm your chances a little, but have no fear—after reading this article, you will have the tools you need to write an excellent William and Mary essay!

Analyzing an essay that helped a real student get admitted to William and Mary can help you figure out how to make your supplemental essay even more compelling. ( Ken Lund /Flickr)

Analysis of a Real William and Mary Supplement Essay Sample

Reading other people's successful William and Mary essays can help you write your own. He's an actual William and Mary supplement essay posted to an online forum :

"I've read this prompt seventy-six times. The number is actually much higher, but I only started counting recently. My backspace key is almost worn out from my attempts to conquer this essay. I've tried everything from Poe quotes to inspirational sport tales, but none of them seem to fit. Why is that? I think it's because for the first time, I am not writing to fit some sort of outline. From 7th grade through 9th grade I had the same English teacher. While comical, she did not teach me how to write very well. To her, good writing involved two things: MLA format and the hated five paragraph essay. As a middle schooler, the five paragraph essay seemed like God's gift to sub-par English students. Was I naive or what? Fast forward to 11th grade, and my AP History teacher is having a breakdown from reading so many of these manufactured abominations. She put me on the right track. Unfortunately, now instead of five paragraph papers, I write class response essays, that must contain three examples and a thesis statement. You see the pattern?

Paper after paper, and none of them written under the pretense that I can run wild with it. I no longer associate free expression with writing. They all fit some format and come with a set of rules that would make the creators of Monopoly jealous. Which is why, this essay means more than just acceptance to college. It took me enough attempts to realize it, but for the first time, the rule book has been thrown. I can write about whatever I want in whatever way I want. I don't have to turn this in for a grade. Long words no longer carry points or increased chances at success. I could talk about soccer, Stop Hunger Now or even my acting stint (in the role of Tupac). There are no longer cords that are holding me back from showing who I am. This must be what revolutionaries feel like. As I said before, I've tried quotes and anecdotes. However, all of them were intentionally generic. For once, I want to use one that is not restrained and, to be completely honest, really cool. It's from the book Fight Club:

"One minute was enough," Tyler said. "A person had to work hard for it, but a minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection."

After almost fourteen years of writing, I have yet to write one thing that I would consider close to perfect. This paper is different. Whether it's perfect or not, this essay is my moment, and all I needed was for the rule book to be thrown out to reach it."

Let's break this down and see why this supplemental essay helped the writer get into William and Mary.

What Makes This a Strong Example Essay?

The student who wrote this was accepted into William and Mary , so we can consider this a successful essay. The choice of topic is a bit unusual: the student writes about their experience writing the William and Mary supplemental essay.

The topic is fairly narrow, but it doesn't exactly recount an episode from the author's life. Rather, the author places the audience in the experience of writing the essay in real time. They give vivid descriptions, like wearing out their backspace key, which makes readers feel like they're writing the essay, too.

The strength of this essay is its voice , meaning the way the choice of words and the pace of the events helps to develop the character who is speaking. It helps readers experience the writer's frustrations and triumphs, and it also tells readers a lot about the person writing the essay. We learn this writer is a creative person who wants to push boundaries. They're also dedicated—it takes a lot of time to read the prompt over sixty times! Finally, it's clear this person is persistent. Setbacks and frustrations aren't enough to keep them from reaching their goals.

This essay uses a very unique approach to address the prompt, and it succeeds in helping the admissions committee get to know the writer better. Mission accomplished...and student admitted!

3 Key Tips for Writing the William and Mary Supplemental Essay

Now that you know what admissions committees expect from your William and Mary essay, here are our top tips to help you succeed.

Tip 1: Write Passionately

It's easier to write passionately when you're writing about a topic that you care about. Luckily, this William and Mary supplement essay prompt asks you to do just that! Find the topic that most excites you , and use language that conveys your passion to your audience. Allow your excitement about your topic to come out, and readers will be blown away!

Tip 2: Be Yourself

The point of the William and Mary essay is to show the admissions committee that you're a strong, well-rounded candidate. That can be intimidating to lots of students. But don't worry: you're unique and special just because you're you . Don't try to exaggerate to make yourself seem like the type of person the admissions committee is looking for. Remember: the admissions committee is trained to sniff out falsified essay. Just be genuine and authentic, and you'll set yourself up for success.

Tip 3: Have Fun!

The William and Mary essay is unique because it's open ended. You have free reign to express yourself however you see fit! Take the opportunity to stretch yourself and to grow as a writer. (Just make sure you're not being vulgar or offensive!)

Ultimately, the admissions committee wants to see your potential and your personality . If you use this prompt as a way of allowing your creativity to flow, the selection committee will see your willingness to challenge yourself. If you're having fun, then there's a good chance that will come across in your essay. And guess what? Fun essays stand out from the crowd, too!

What's Next?

Like we mentioned earlier, William and Mary is a selective college . Make sure you get all the details about the school, its admissions criteria, and application information before you start writing your supplemental essay.

Most students who are admitted into William and Mary graduate in the top 10% of their high school class. Make sure you understand the class ranking system so that you can set yourself up for success. Heck, you may even decide you want to be your class valedictorian or salutatorian !

Finally, you'll need to knock your test scores out of the park if you want a shot at getting into William and Mary. Learn what it takes to get a 1600 on your SAT or a 36 on your ACT so you can study smarter and harder.

Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar.

Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges.

Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now :

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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How to Respond to the 2023/2024 College of William and Mary Supplemental Essay Prompts

Varonika Ware is a content writer at Scholarships360. Varonika earned her undergraduate degree in Mass Communications at Louisiana State University. During her time at LSU, she worked with the Center of Academic Success to create the weekly Success Sunday newsletter. Varonika also interned at the Louisiana Department of Insurance in the Public Affairs office with some of her graphics appearing in local news articles.

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The College of William and Mary is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in the US. The graduation rate is 92% , so attending means you’re on a fast-track to success! Use this guide to figure out how to make your William and Mary supplemental essays stand out!

About the College of William and Mary

While responding to the College of William and Mary supplemental essay prompts is optional, your application would benefit from telling the admissions office who you are as an applicant. William and Mary is known as a “ public Ivy ” and is especially competitive for out-of-state students with a 31% acceptance rate . So, let’s get started on your essay! 

Before you start your essay

If you do choose to complete a supplemental essay, the College of William and Mary allows for you to respond to up to two of the following prompts. They are hoping to get to know you and your story through your supplemental essay, so don’t hold back.Two essays should give you ample opportunity to paint a picture of who you are and why you’re a good fit for their school.

Make your excitement about your topic palpable for your audience. Before you start writing, think about what gets you out of bed in the morning! William and Mary is eagerly awaiting your answer to their unique prompt! 

“Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful?” 

In this prompt, William and Mary is asking for their applicants to put their character on full display. Remember, when you were young, “show and tell” was your opportunity to present something cool about yourself to your peers. Approach writing this essay in the same way!

The admissions office isn’t looking for you to tell them what they want to hear; they’re looking for someone who will redefine what it means to apply to William and Mary. Try to incorporate your personality and spunk into the essay as much as possible as well as your passion for what you decide to write about. 

Questions to consider:

• Why are you so interested in a particular activity?
• What makes you an ideal William and Mary applicant?
• How did you become the person you are today?

Also see: How to write an essay about yourself

“Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?” 

William and Mary knows that it takes a village, so they want to give you an opportunity to tell them about yours. We’re all part of one, whether that be a team, your family or an ethnic group. 

We all seek a place of belonging and that connection can mean a lot. While you’re explaining the impact of your particular community, find a way to incorporate what it would mean for you to be a part of the William and Mary community. 

• What is an important community that you’re part of?
• How has this community shaped your identity? 
• What role do you play within this community?

“How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?” 

You’re constantly surrounded by your culture and family, which means they play a big part in who you are and how you think. They can even be your driving force for going to college and getting a degree. Therefore, William and Mary is using this prompt to find out what the building blocks to your personality are. 

• What are some experiences that you share with your family or cultural group? What are some that you don’t?
• Are you a first generation college student?
• What is your personal lived experience? How is it unique?

“Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.” 

For this prompt, you should talk about your dreams for your future or your ambitions. Paint a picture of what you’ll study or what your ideal career will look like. Tell a story that won’t be forgotten. 

Be sure to include William and Mary into your essay by telling the admissions committee the impact going to their school will have on that particular interest or goal. Are there notable alumni in your desired career field? Does William and Mary offer a stellar curriculum for your major?

By doing this, it’ll be clear that you did your research and you’re invested in attending this school. Colleges like hearing that they’re your number one choice!

• What role will this interest play in your future?
• When you achieve this goal, what will happen?
• How did you discover this interest?

“Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.” 

Challenges have a way of making us stronger, even in ways we might not expect. Unique obstacles that you’ve overcome demonstrate your tenacity and determination, which are qualities colleges look for. 

Translating this personal issue to a real world situation that you might face in the future can even show that you learn things from each problem you have and apply it moving forward. Talk about how those skills could be used on William and Mary’s campus and possibly improve it. 

• How do you deal with hardships?
• Who or what taught you how to solve problems?
• What did you learn from this challenge?

“If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?” 

Each state has its own special thing, and who would know better than the locals? That’s exactly why William and Mary poses this question. They want to know where you come from because they might just know where you’re going, if you’re accepted, of course.

How you derive meaning from where you come from is up to you, but be sure to go beyond just describing your hometown. Mention the things that left their mark on you and why they’re significant.

• What’s special about where you live?
• What similarities and/or differences are there between your state and William and Mary’s campus? 
• Are you especially proud of your hometown? Why or why not?

Next steps after applying to William and Mary

Congratulations on starting your application to college! We hope this guide has helped you through the William and Mary supplemental essays. Before you go, there are a couple more things you can do to prepare for this next step in your academic journey.

Get a taste of what college is like with a campus tour . William and Mary offer both in-person and virtual tours of the university and are eager to welcome you. These tours give you a chance to immerse yourself in campus culture and take a peek at places you might go to as a student. They also give you a chance to connect with other applicants.

Last but not least, keep doing what you’re doing! You’ve made it this far, and it’s important to keep up the good work. Don’t let senioritis overcome you, and be sure to maintain focus on your grades and continue to shine in your extracurricular activities. You’re almost at the finish line!

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How to Write the College of William & Mary Essay 2020-2021

The College of William & Mary, located in the eastern-most part of Virginia, is the second oldest institution of higher education in the country, after Harvard. As such, the school has educated some of the earliest and most influential names in American history, including Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Henry Clay, and George Washington. It has since been designated a Public Ivy, one of only eight U.S. institutions to receive this title. 

Last year, the College of William & Mary saw over 14,500 applicants, ultimately admitting just 38%.

If you’re set on taking part in a chapter of William & Mary’s long history, the first step is going to be perfecting your essays. We’re here to help you break down the prompts and make your responses be the best they can. Want to know your chances at Willaiam & Mary? Calculate your chances for free right now.

For All Applicants

Optional: Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful? We know nobody fits neatly into 500 words or less, but you can provide us with some suggestion of the type of person you are. Anything goes! Inspire us, impress us, or just make us laugh. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy and with an attitude (650 words).

* The prompt mentions a 500-word maximum, but the box on the Common App for this essay allows up to 650 words* 

Let’s shorten this wordy prompt to just the bones: “What makes you unique? Inspire us, impress us, or make us laugh.” The great thing about this prompt is: anything goes. There are hardly any restrictions. The tough thing about this prompt is…anything goes. It can be hard to focus in on an appropriate response. 

While this essay is optional, we highly recommend completing any “optional” essays, as this further demonstrates your interest in the school. Another thing to remember is to choose a topic that hasn’t been covered in other parts of your application. If you already wrote about your love of magic tricks in another essay, try to cover something else in this one!

Before you even start writing, brainstorm as many ideas as possible. Think of the qualities, or experiences, that make you different from everyone else and write these down. It can be a unique story, hobby, project, passion, or whatever else you can think of, with the caveat being that you want to tie it into a bigger picture about yourself. Let’s dive into some example essay subjects to give you a sense of how to do this:

• After learning origami, you decided to fold 1000 paper cranes in a year. One thing you can do here is actually talk about how your life changed over the course of this undertaking, which is a great opportunity to introduce a personal story. Maybe you started the process in your childhood town and halfway through, your family moved to a new town—you can talk about this experience and how it impacted you, using the cranes as the anchor to your story. The bigger picture here is possessing the tenacity to reach 1000 cranes, but in the process, the reader will learn about you and your life.
• Perhaps you turned a wall of your bedroom into a chalkboard and have everyone who visits your house write or draw something on the wall, never erasing any of it. Talk about your motivations for wanting everyone to leave their mark there. The bigger picture here might be your passion for art. Or it might be your interest in preserving and sharing people’s voices. This example could go a lot of different ways, depending on the motivation of the writer.

Obviously, these examples aren’t going to apply to you. This is simply meant to give you an idea of potential topics. Something as simple as a chalkboard can be turned into an essay if you feel it speaks to who you are as a person. The goal is to let the reader learn more about what makes you who you are, using a specific story or example as a vessel to do so. 

Most importantly, have fun with this prompt. Get creative, get quirky, and don’t limit yourself.

For applicants to St. Andrews Joint Degree Program

As an applicant to the Joint Degree Programme, you are required to submit an essay outlining your interest in the particular academic area to which you are applying — Classical Studies, Economics, English, Film Studies, History or International Relations; and what particularly interests you about the JDP in your chosen major. Be as specific as you can. Demonstrating that you are familiar with the JDP website—its policies and curriculum—will be helpful to your application, as will examples of your ability to take on a particularly challenging, as well as rewarding, educational experience that demands adaptability, flexibility, and an appreciation for other cultures and institutional practices (1500 – 2000 words).

This prompt is asking a few different things. First, it wants to know why you’re interested in the particular subject you’re applying to. Second, why the Joint Degree Program? And third, what experiences have you undertaken that prove you want to learn more about other cultures and institutions?

You can begin the essay by talking about your interest in, and experience with, the major you are applying to. If it’s film studies, for example, open with the story of when you first fell in love with film. Maybe watching Birdman, uniquely filmed in a never-ending shot, made you want to learn more about camera angles and the science of cinematography. This is a good way to lead into how you have pursued this interest (i.e. your experience in film studies). Prove that you have lasting passion for the academic area, rather than choosing it on a whim. 

Next, you need to demonstrate that the Joint Degree Program is the best way for you to study this topic. That’s going to require specificity, and in order to get there, you need to extensively research the program at both W & M, as well as St. Andrews. As you research, take notes on what makes both institutions unique in this area of study. 

Continuing with the example of film studies, here’s an example of some things to note at both schools:

At William & Mary:

• WMTV is a student-run television show at W & M
• Students can submit their films or volunteer at the W & M Global Film Festival

At St. Andrews:

• Film studies boardroom has unique virtual reality facilities
• Byre conference room has 3D projection
• St. Andrews’ library has one of the best cinema collections in the world, with over 9300 AV materials

You’ll want to note specific characteristics at each school, but you have to make it clear that simply attending one of the institution’s programs is not sufficient to help you reach your goals. For help with this, be sure to check out the corresponding page on the subject’s Joint Degree Program. 

As an example, the film studies JDP has students work on an independent research project. Perhaps you are fascinated by the influence of national identity on mainstream media and hope to research this by using W & M and St. Andrews as contrasting case studies. Whatever your story may be, make it clear why the JDP program is a fit for your interests and goals and show that you have done research on the program.

Finally, the third part of the prompt asks you to validate your interest in learning about other cultures and institutions. Perhaps, in the case of film studies, you created a short film in which you interviewed first-generation immigrants in order to study global perspectives and the impact it has on living and working in America. Show your interest in acquiring a global perspective. 

If you haven’t had the opportunity to explore this interest concretely, discuss a way in which you hope to study it in the future. Conclude your essay by tying this back to your aspirations for the future and to how the JDP will help you achieve them.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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Mastering the William and Mary Supplemental Essays 2023-2024

When crafting your supplemental essays for the College of William and Mary, remember that they offer a valuable opportunity to provide a richer picture of who you are, beyond your grades and SAT scores. For the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, William and Mary have provided a couple of unique prompts that require thought, self-reflection, and a dash of creativity.

The first prompt asks you to explore a topic, idea, or concept that makes you lose track of time. How do you learn more about this thing that engages you so deeply? In essence, it wants to delve into your intellectual curiosity. As an institution known for its strong commitment to student-faculty interaction, William and Mary wants to see applicants who are passionate and curious.

When tackling this prompt, start by identifying a subject that you genuinely love. Discuss how you've explored this interest - it could be through books, projects, internships, or even heated discussions during dinner. Most importantly, demonstrate how this passion shapes your perspective and future ambitions.

Prompt 1: Explore a topic, idea, or concept that makes you lose track of time. How do you learn more about this thing that engages you so deeply? (500 words)

Ever since I first read "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" by Jules Verne, the mysteries of the ocean depths have captivated me. Time disappears when I delve into the latest marine biology research, watch documentaries on underwater exploration, or explore tide pools during family trips to the coast.

My fascination extends beyond casual interest. I've sought out every opportunity to learn more. I've spent countless hours at the local aquarium volunteering and learning about marine life from experts. I enrolled in advanced biology classes in school, transforming my room into a study center strewn with textbooks, articles, and documentaries about ocean life.

This passion has shaped my worldview, making me an advocate for ocean conservation and climate change awareness. It has also charted my future path. I dream of studying Marine Biology in college, and my ultimate goal is to contribute to the scientific understanding of our oceans, perhaps discovering unknown species or innovating ways to protect our marine ecosystems.

The second prompt requires you to illustrate a community to which you belong. This prompt aims to understand your social context and your place within it. Here, William and Mary are looking for your ability to contribute positively to their diverse campus community.

While approaching this prompt, remember that "community" does not only refer to a geographic location or cultural group. It could also mean a group of people united by a shared interest or goal, like a sports team, a book club, or a volunteer group. Discuss your role within this community and the impact you've had on it.

Prompt 2: Describe a community to which you belong. How did you come to belong to this community? (500 words)

I belong to a unique community: a high school debate team called "Debaters for Change." Our mission extends beyond winning tournaments; we aim to raise awareness on social issues through informed discourse.

Joining was intimidating at first. I had no prior experience, and the team was filled with seasoned debaters. However, with their encouragement and mentorship, I slowly found my voice. I learned to craft logical arguments, challenge opposing views respectfully, and most importantly, listen.

Through the team, I've not only developed my public speaking and critical thinking skills but also found a group of passionate, driven individuals who share a commitment to make a difference. Our heated discussions often extend beyond practice, turning lunch hours into impromptu debates about everything from climate policy to educational reforms.

Being a part of this community has shaped me as an individual. It taught me the power of informed discourse and has ignited a desire to be part of solution-making processes on a larger scale. I hope to continue this journey in college, contributing to the vibrant intellectual community at William and Mary.

Additionally, there is an optional prompt which encourages you to discuss a time when you’ve built bridges between cultures. As an international university with students from diverse backgrounds, William and Mary values individuals who can foster an inclusive environment. If you choose this essay, highlight experiences that demonstrate your empathy, understanding, and ability to connect people from diverse backgrounds.

Optional Prompt: Describe a time when you’ve built bridges between cultures. (500 words)

During a summer exchange program in Spain, I lived with a host family whose customs, language, and daily life were very different from my own. Initially, the cultural differences were overwhelming, and communication was challenging due to my limited Spanish. However, I saw this as an opportunity to bridge the cultural gap.

I taught my host family how to prepare some classic American dishes, while they showed me how to make traditional Spanish cuisine. We exchanged stories about our home countries, breaking stereotypes and gaining a deeper understanding of each other's cultures.

When the annual 'Fiesta de la Ciudad' occurred, my host family encouraged me to participate. I donned a traditional Spanish dress and danced the flamenco with locals, feeling a deep sense of connection and acceptance.

This experience taught me the power of empathy and mutual respect in building bridges between cultures. It was a small-scale example of what I hope to do throughout my life, fostering understanding and acceptance among diverse groups of people. As a student at William and Mary, I hope to continue these cross-cultural interactions, enriching the campus with my experiences and learning from others.

Finally, remember to keep your writing concise and personal. Authenticity beats grandiosity every time. Ensure that your essays capture your unique voice and highlight experiences that have shaped you.

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School of Education

Personal essay, educational policy, planing & leadership and school psychology & counselor education programs.

The application requires an essay describing your career aspirations and why you have decided to seek admission to the William & Mary School of Education.

Your essay should describe your past experiences, both academic and volunteer or work-related, that are relevant to graduate study as well as the professionalism and perspectives that you will bring to your program.

In support of your candidacy, please provide additional information concerning such areas as leadership potential, collaborative skills, and propensity to engage in reflective practice.

You will upload your essay to the online application and submit electronically. Essay should be in PDF (preferable) or Microsoft Word format.

Essays are typically 2-3 pages.

Teacher Education Programs

The teacher education programs require two essays.  In the first, you will describe what you see as the key roles and responsibilities of a professional educator, challenges educators face, and what inspires you to navigate and take on these challenges.  In the second essay, you will describe what it means to meet the needs of a diverse population of learners, and how that relates to your commitment to public education.  You can draw on your own life experiences to explain your vision.

You will upload your essays to the online application and submit electronically. Essay should be in PDF (preferable) or Microsoft Word format.

Each essay is typically typically 500 words or less.

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College of William & Mary 2019-20 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision: 

College of William & Mary 2019-20 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 1 essay of 500 words or less

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Topic of your choice

Why hello, you lucky devils. William & Mary only has one supplemental essay! And it’s optional! Actually, the second part is kind of a lie. William & Mary may refer to this essay as an “optional opportunity,” but take a closer look. The prompt is all about the things that make you stand out — and there is no way a bare minimum application is going to stand out to admissions. So, buckle up. You’ve got one more 500-worder to go.

Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful? We know nobody fits neatly into 500 words or less, but you can provide us with some suggestion of the type of person you are. Anything goes! Inspire us, impress us, or just make us laugh. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy and with an attitude.

In short, this prompt is asking you to do what we would have told you to do anyway: reveal something that doesn’t appear anywhere else on your application. Although it may seem totally open-ended, this prompt includes a few keywords that should help guide your thinking. The College of William & Mary doesn’t want to know just any random fact about you. They have specifically asked about what makes you different, and they have invited you to have fun. So, get personal! What are your favorite funny stories about your life? You can talk about chess games with your grandma, lake trips with your friends, or the time you thought you could time travel. Pick a fun story or anecdote that says something concrete about your spirit, strengths, resilience, or character.

If something hasn’t already sprung to mind, you should set aside about an hour for a solid brainstorm sesh. Use whichever technique feels most natural to you and see where it leads. You’d be surprised by the gems you can uncover when you take some of the pressure off and give your mind a little space to play.

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© Virginia Athletics

Biggest Roster Questions Facing Virginia Basketball This Offseason

• Author: Matt Newton

In this story:

Another critical offseason has arrived for the Virginia men's basketball program and another offseason during which the Cavaliers have several key questions to answer regarding the makeup of their roster for the 2024-2025 season. Let's take a look at the biggest roster questions facing Virginia this offseason:

Who will be Virginia's starting point guard next season?

The point guard is arguably the most important player on the floor for any basketball team. And for the last decade, it's been a reliable position of strength for Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers, who have gone seamlessly from London Perrantes to Ty Jerome to Kihei Clark to Reece Beekman. Well, Beekman is almost assuredly off to the NBA now and UVA's point guard succession plan isn't quite as firm as planned.

Georgetown transfer Dante Harris has lots of experience, but his limitations are obvious - not a good three-point shooter, undersized, and (so far in a small sample size) not quite as refined in the playmaking department as the Cavaliers were hoping. Christian Bliss has a high ceiling, but probably won't be ready for a huge role in his first real college action after redshirting this season. Sophomore combo guard Elijah Gertrude is ready for a lot of minutes, but he isn't a natural point guard. So what will Virginia do at the most important position on the floor? Most likely back to the transfer portal.

Related: Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker

Will Ryan Dunn leave for the NBA Draft?

Despite averaging less than 13 minutes played per game in his freshman season, Ryan Dunn entered his sophomore campaign as a highly-coveted NBA Draft prospect based mainly on his size, athleticism, and defensive prowess. It therefore seemed to be a sure thing that Dunn would declare for the draft after this season, especially as most draft experts had him projected as a near lottery pick and definite first rounder for most of the season. But as Dunn's limitations on the offensive end became more and more apparent in the back end of the season, it seems his draft stock has taken something of a plunge, with many of the latest mock drafts now having him going in the late first round or early second round.

Coming back to school for another year might allow Dunn to reestablish himself as a no-doubt first rounder, but there's a chance Dunn might consider the possibility that Virginia doesn't offer the best opportunity for that to happen, given the program's slow pace of play and resistance to getting out in transition, which limits his ability to display his most valuable traits. So, it might not just come down to whether Dunn goes to the NBA Draft or comes back to Virginia, as there could be the particularly wounding (for UVA) outcome of Dunn transferring elsewhere. That's undoubtedly the worst case scenario for the Cavaliers. At the very least, expect Dunn to strongly consider declaring for the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility to keep open the option of returning to school for another season.

Any other unexpected departures?

It's become rare for most college basketball programs to go an offseason without any transfer departures. Virginia has so far avoided it through the first 10 days since the season ended, but that could change at any moment. The top two candidates for a potential transfer are Leon Bond III and Elijah Gertrude. Bond has played just 296 total minutes over two years at Virginia, redshirting his first season and appearing sparingly off the bench this season, playing an average of 12.3 minutes across 24 appearances. Similarly, Gertrude was slated to redshirt this season, but then burned his redshirt to give Virginia some key minutes at guard while Dante Harris was injured. Like Bond, Gertrude's minutes were restricted to largely garbage time appearances for the majority of ACC play. Both Leon Bond III and Elijah Gertrude should see significant increases in playing time next season if they stay, but they might decide to explore other opportunities elsewhere rather than waiting to find out.

It's sometimes risky to read too much into social media posts, but it seems Virginia got some good news on the Gertrude front on Thursday as it appears he has inked some kind of NIL deal with Jonathan Cotten's Good Feet Store in Charlottesville, with Cotten posting a picture of Gertrude in front of the store and saying "Getting ready for next year!" It would appear Gertrude is here to stay.

Getting ready for next year! Had a great time with ⁦ @elijah_gertrude ⁩ today. Welcome to Team Good Feet! This will be fun. ⁦ @Good_Feet_Group ⁩ ⁦ @UVAMensHoops ⁩ pic.twitter.com/dIiRdaV0iJ — Jonathan Cotten (@JonEasystep) March 29, 2024

What does Virginia's scholarship picture look like?

Of course, the answer to this question will be heavily impacted by the previous questions, in particular the one about unexpected transfer departures. But assuming only Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn leave, but every other scholarship player stays, that leaves Virginia with 11 scholarship players for next season - including the two incoming freshmen Jacob Cofie and Ishan Sharma.

Here's a breakdown of Virginia's scholarship chart for the 2024-2024 season (assuming the departures of Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn): PG: Dante Harris, Christian Bliss SG: Isaac McKneely, Elijah Gertrude SF: Taine Murray, Andrew Rohde, Ishan Sharma PF: Leon Bond III, Jacob Cofie C: Blake Buchanan, Anthony Robinson Barring any other departures, that would leave the Cavaliers with two open scholarship spots to play with this offseason, which leads us to our final question...

What are Virginia's priorities in the transfer portal?

Given their current expected roster construction, the Cavaliers have two big priorities in the transfer portal this offseason: add a capable and experienced guard (ideally a point guard) and another forward or center to reinforce their front court depth.

We've already discussed Virginia's point guard situation, and while we're not ruling out the possibility that the collective of Dante Harris, Elijah Gertrude, Andrew Rohde, and Christian Bliss could provide enough playmaking by committee to run UVA's offense effectively, it definitely wouldn't hurt to add another scorer and playmaker (and preferably a good three-point shooter) at the position to compete for those coveted guard minutes and to provide insurance in case things aren't going well at the point guard spot in the post-Reece Beekman era.

The Virginia coaching staff certainly aligns with that view. Of the roughly 20 players Virginia has reportedly been in contact with in the transfer portal so far, at least 13 of them are guards. The others are power forwards or centers, confirming that, with Jordan Minor leaving, Virginia will again be on the prowl for some additional size in the front court. Blake Buchanan got lots of valuable experience as a true freshman and has a good chance to earn a spot in the starting five next year, especially after a full offseason with UVA strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis. But the Cavaliers would do well to find another big, preferably in the form of a true post player and rim protector with experience, in order to guarantee production from the center position next season.

See an updated running list of all the players Virginia has reportedly been in contact with in the transfer portal here: Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, william and mary - any supplemental essays.

Hi everyone! I'm considering applying to William and Mary and am trying to get organized. Do they have any supplemental essays that I'll need to prepare for? Thanks for the help!

Hi there! Yes, William and Mary does usually have supplemental essays as part of their application process. While the prompts may vary from year to year, you can check out the ones for the current applications cycle, as well as breakdowns of how to write successful responses to each one, on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-college-of-william-and-mary-essays.

On August 1st before your senior year, the William and Mary prompts for that application cycle will officially be released, so you can check William and Mary's website then, or the Common App, to know for sure what you'll need to respond to. Good luck with your application!

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