How to Get Into William & Mary: Acceptance Rate and Strategies

August 19, 2025

The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is a mid-sized public school of 6,500 undergraduates. Founded in 1693, W&M is the second oldest institution in the United States and, today, is regularly ranked as one of the top 10 public universities in the country. A highly selective college, William and Mary’s acceptance rate has been steadily dropping over the past several years. Given the school’s high academic standards, all future applicants should be aware of:

William & Mary’s Class of 2028 acceptance rate (plus how to predict your chances with our free admissions calculator)
William & Mary’s in-state vs. out-of-state acceptance rate
W&M’s early decision acceptance rate
SAT and ACT scores, GPA, and class rank of enrolled students
Admissions trends from the Class of 2028
William & Mary’s system for rating applicants
A look at the demographics of William & Mary undergraduates
W&M’s yield rate
Tips for applying to William and Mary
W&M essay
How to assess whether applying to William & Mary is even worth the $75 application fee (for you)

Let’s begin with an examination of the most recent admissions data.

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William & Mary Acceptance Rate – Class of 2028

According to the university, 17,787 applications were received, and approximately 6,064 students were accepted. This translates to a William and Mary acceptance rate of 34%.

Historical William & Mary acceptance rates are as follows:

	Applicants	Admits	Acceptance Rate
Class of 2027	18,087	6,059	33%
Class of 2026	17,475	6,386	37%
Class of 2025	14,201	5,987	42%

William & Mary In-State vs. Out-of-State Acceptance Rate

While historically William & Mary has given an edge to Virginia residents, for the Class of 2028, both in- and out-of-state applicants were accepted at a 34% clip.

W&M’s Early Decision Acceptance Rate

The College of William and Mary is one of the rare public institutions that offers a binding early decision option. It is definitely an admissions advantage to apply ED to this school as the early decision admit rate was 47% for the Class of 2028. They received 1,586 applications and admitted 746 students.

What GPA do you need to get into William & Mary?

Enrolled freshmen in the Class of 2028 possessed an average weighted GPA of 4.4. Furthermore, 89% of enrolled students had a GPA of 4.0 or above, while only 2.6% had a GPA under 3.75.

What class rank do you need to get accepted to William & Mary?

For class rank, the Class of 2028 saw an impressive 74% of its members hailing from the top decile of their high school class. 95% placed in the top quarter.

What is the minimum SAT or ACT score for William & Mary?

Even with a test-optional admissions policy, around 60% of enrolled 2024-25 freshmen submitted test scores. The mid-50% SAT range for this cohort was 1400-1530 and the ACT range was 32-34.

Admissions Trends & Notes — Class of 2028

The school received a record number of early decision applications for the third year in a row.
1 in 5 first-year in-state students are Pell Grant recipients.
30% of admitted students applied test-optional.
Only 10% of the Class of 2028 is the first in their family to attend college.
1 in 3 enrolled domestic first-year students self indentify as students of color.
Enrolled students hailed from 40 states and 33 countries.

How William & Mary Rates Applicants

William & Mary appears to be aiming for some type of “Most Holistic Admissions” award as they presently consider 12 factors as “very important” to their candidate evaluation process. These dozen factors are: rigor of secondary school record, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores (despite being test-optional), essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability (see some samples in the next section), character/personal qualities, state residency, volunteer work, and work experience.

Straight from the William & Mary admissions office:

“Each application is read at least twice, including once by your regional dean. At the end of this process, our goal is to bring together a class of dynamic, diverse and academically engaged students.”
“Our admission review process is based on a comprehensive, holistic approach that considers multiple factors in making decisions.”

Who Actually Gets Into William & Mary?

Now, let’s take a look at the demographics for the Class of 2028.

Geographically, the Class of 2028 is from:

Virginia: 61%
Non-Virginia Residents: 39%

Competition is harshest among those hailing from states with endless streams of qualified applicants (the entire Northeast & the West Coast). If you come from a less populated state like South Dakota, Wyoming, or Idaho, your location is more likely to provide a boost to your admissions chances. Historically. the states other than Virginia with the greatest representation are:

New Jersey
Maryland
Pennsylvania
New York
North Carolina
Massachusetts
California
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Texas

Looking at ethnic identity, the breakdown for the Class of 2028 is as follows:

White: 64%
Asian: 11%
Hispanic: 9%
Black/African American: 4%
Two or more: 8%
International: 2%

The breakdown by gender is as follows:

Male: 40%
Female: 60%

Members of one recent class had the following special talents and distinctions:

a children’s book illustrator
a member of the Rhythmic Gymnastics U.S. Junior National Team
a nationally-ranked squash player
a chess player who earned the FIDE Master title at age 10
a student who has had multiple short films screened at the Virginia Film Festival
a top-10-ranked fencer in Virginia
a reporter with Sports Illustrated Kids

William & Mary’s Yield Rate

W&M’s yield rate—the percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who are admitted—is 27%. For comparison, other notable public schools sport the following yield rates: UVA (42%), UNC Chapel Hill (45%), and Virginia Tech (28%).

Tips for Applying to the College of William & Mary

If you plan on joining the 18,000+ W&M hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

The school has adopted an indefinite test-optional policy.
William & Mary offers two Early Decision rounds. The ED I deadline is November 1 and the ED II deadline is January 5.
William & Mary does offer interviews on a limited basis to current high students. The interview is with a current W&M senior.
The school does consider “demonstrated interest” so you may be judged on whether or not you made a campus visit, contacted an admissions officer, attended a virtual session, or engaged with the school on social media.
Make sure to dedicate sufficient time and effort to William & Mary’s optional (yet highly recommended) supplemental essays. The 2025-26 prompts are as follows:

Choose 2 of 6 (recommended; 300 words each):

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

2. Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.

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

4. What led to your interest in William & Mary?

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

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

For advice on how to approach these essays, visit our blog: William & Mary Essay Prompts and Tips.

Should I Apply to W&M?

With a median SAT around 1400 and an average GPA of 4.4, the College of William & Mary clearly has a high bar for prospective applicants. At the same time, a test-optional policy, a genuinely holistic review process, and a preference for in-state applicants offers alternative routes to acceptance.

William & Mary Acceptance Rate — Final Thoughts

When applying to a highly selective school like W&M, students need to develop a balanced college list consisting of multiple “safety” and “target” schools to go along with their “reach”/dream schools.

Need additional college application guidance? Consider checking out the following:

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College Admissions

Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).