So There’s a Supplement You Say
September 23, 2010 by Admit It!
Admit It! You’re anxious to submit your application (or at least we hope you are). With the W&M Supplement live, you can now do just that. The Supplement mixes the objective with the subjective, the factual with the quirky, the generic with the creative. The required parts are entirely objective in nature (a few biographical questions and a few check boxes) but the optional part is entirely subjective. The Supplement is a place where we insert a little creativity and where we hope you, the applicant, will do the same. Our optional submission prompt and its corresponding YouTube video, both authored by Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission Henry Broaddus, are the Admission Committee’s “show and tell by proxy and with attitude”. We know that applications can feel a bit generic and prescriptive. Our optional submission prompt on the Supplement encourages individualism, creativity, originality and ingenuity. Take this opportunity to be yourself and to show a different side of yourself to the Admission Committee. We know that admission committees can seem generic and prescriptive. Our YouTube video conveys that we are anything but. So read the prompt, watch the video, and respond accordingly if you are moved to do so. If you have any questions about the Supplement, feel free to post them as comments below.
Wendy Livingston (’03, M.Ed ’09)
Senior Assistant Dean of Admission
Jake says:
On the common application supplement, the instructions appear to be geared towards individuals who are applyng to the arts majors. However, what if the individual is not applying to an arts major, rather a major such as one of the sciences and would like to send in an optional supplement (such as a binder) that can’t be submitted online. Do they follow these same instructions?
Jojo says:
The W&M supplement requires an essay but so does the common application. Will the admissions office read both essays? Thanks!
Alyx Heyer says:
The Common Application states that the supplement is an optional essay. However, on the YouTube Channel there were video supplements that were submitted. Are these supplements only for the art students? Can it replace the written supplement? And if so, how do you submit it for Early Decision?
Thanks!
Wendy Livingston says:
My apologies for the delayed responses. Our comment function wasn’t sending a notification to me to let me know comments were posted.
Jake, I think you may be confusing the art submission with the optional submission. The fine arts submission is for those who want to pursue fine arts either academically or socially at W&M and you make a submission of your work to faculty. The optional submission is viewed only be the admission readers and is the one that’s “show and tell by proxy and with attitude”.
Jojo, we do read both essays if you submit both. Absolutely!
Alyx, the optional submission can use words but it doesn’t have to so you can submit a video instead if you wish. The optional submission is open to all applicants and does not have to relate to the arts at all. If you choose to submit something that’s not written for the optional submission, you can send it by mail or if it’s a video, you can upload it to a website and provide that web address in the online version of the W&M Supplement.
Hope this is all helpful!
Rebecca Asch says:
If I make a video for the Common Application supplement, how long should the video be? Thank you!
Admit It! says:
If you make a video it should be of reasonable length. No more than a few minutes is likely sufficient.
Isabelle Duerr says:
I made a powerpoint presentation, but submitting it as a powerpoint is not an option. I tried submitting it as a pdf, but that doesn’t work either. How should I submit it? Thanks!
Admit It! says:
The only way to submit something that cannot be uploaded to the Common App is to download the PowerPoint onto a CD or DVD and mail it to the Admission Office. You can upload a document to the Supplement on the Common App that says you’re sending your optional submission by mail.
Make sure whatever you mail has your full name, high school, and birthday on it so we can match it with your other materials.
Good luck
Natalie Johnson says:
What address should I send my optional submission to? I would like to send it through the mail and electronically but I am unsure as to which address I should send it to. Thank you!
Admit It! says:
Natalie,
You can mail the PowerPoint (CD or DVD) to our mailing address:
Office of Undergraduate Admission
PO Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Unfortunately you cannot email it. By policy, we do not open attachments in case of virus but you can rest assured that anything sent by mail will be matched with the rest of your application materials.
Brandy Adkins says:
Will the supplement for applications for the 2012-2013 freshman be the same? If not, when will it be released? I have noticed it is not yet available on the Common App, but other schools have made their’s available.
Admit It! says:
Brandy, are you asking about the Supplement for 2011-2012 or 2012-2013? If you are asking about the Supplement for 2011-2012 it will be available in the coming weeks and is similar to last year’s but not identical. Supplements are unique to individual schools and they become available on the Common App at different times. The required parts of the Supplement are entirely objective in nature and will take you only a few minutes to complete. The optional components can take more time.
If you’re asking about the 2012-2013 Supplement we have not begun thinking about that yet so we cannot answer that question at this time.
Larry says:
I understand the submission can’t be longer than a piece of paper, but can it be front and back with the paper mailed in? and could the paper potentially be bigger?
Admit It! says:
Larry, we recommend that the optional submission be contained to one side of one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. While occassionally there are more unique submissions that aren’t written and take up more space, more often than not these submissions do little to help the applicant. So think critically about what you wish to submit. If it’s telling us something substantive about you that we don’t already know, that’s one thing. If it’s big and over the top merely to be shocking then it should likely be rethought.
Jenna says:
I am applying as a transfer applicant this year. I was wondering if the William and Mary Supplement is different for transfer applicants vs. freshman applicants.
Many of the things I am seing about the supplement are things I cannot find in the application. I was just wondering if this was due to me being a transfer applicant!
Thanks!
Zach Elton says:
Is a video supplement accepted for the optional submission to the 2011 Common Application as it was in the previous years?
Admit It! says:
Zach, we do accept video supplements although we don’t generally encourage them. If videos are submitted using DVD they may be misformatted in which case we cannot view or hear them properly. If uploaded to youtube they’re not always private and we treat all parts of the application as confidential. Additionally, we do not always have computers with us when reviewing applications so viewing videos can be tricky. So just keep that in mind when deciding whether or not to submit a video.
Jenna Williams says:
I have not yet submitted my application but my supplement is complete. I would like to add a video to the supplement but the Common Ap will not let me edit anything at this point.
Is there another way to get the link for the video to you?
thanks!
Admit It! says:
Jenna, you should be able to edit your Supplement if you haven’t submitted the app. However, if you’re not able to do that you can send your video via DVD in the mail (just be sure it includes identifying info like your full name, school, birthday).
We’d also encourage you to review the other comments on this post about submitting videos. We always encourage applicants to be cautious about submitting videos for all of the reasons posted above (viewability, privacy, etc.)