The arrival of students always brings a special energy to William & Mary. The Class of 2030 and new transfer students bring fresh ideas and experiences and a love of learning and making connections.
On Aug. 20, 1,704 first-year students and 220 transfer students moved into residence halls, beginning their journey as part of the unique W&M community. They arrived from 47 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and 22 countries across the globe.
First-Year Move-In Day was full of lively activity as current students cheered on and assisted the newest members of the W&M community in making campus their new home.
“This is my favorite day of the year. It is a celebratory occasion our office always looks forward to,” said Lisa Keegan, vice provost for enrollment strategy. “This class of William & Mary students is bright, creative, talented, curious and will begin their college career in a community of dedicated faculty and staff ready to fully engage them.”
By the numbers
The Class of 2030 is academically accomplished, with an average high school GPA of 4.34. W&M uses a holistic review, so the numbers only begin to tell the story.
This year’s incoming students include one who plays 13 instruments and portrays a teenage version of French military officer Marquis de Lafayette as an interpreter. There’s a classically trained actor, a baker with her own company, a rescue diver and worldwide sailor, and a published author who wrote a children’s book about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The class also has five sets of twins, along with two sets of twins among incoming transfer students.
Of the 17,440 students who applied to join the Class of 2030, 35% were admitted with 43% applying Early Decision. Nine percent of the incoming class are first-generation college students, and international students represent 2% of the class. Among students who submit test scores, the middle 50% range was 1390–1510 on the SAT and 32–34 on the ACT.
“It’s exciting to see such extraordinary students who will strengthen the rich intellectual community that makes William & Mary so distinctive,” said Michael Davis, associate vice provost and dean of admission. “These students are building momentum for lifelong exploration and impact. They are arriving at a moment of remarkable possibility.”
A campus built for unlimited potential
The newest members of W&M aren’t simply stepping onto a campus with new buildings. They’re arriving at a university expanding the places, experiences, resources and programs available to all students. Many students will be calling the new West Woods residence halls home with its wooded pedestrian bridge (called “Skybridge” by students) linking new campus with old campus.
The Mackesy Sports Performance Center — “the Mack” — opened in the spring, creating a new home for W&M’s 500 student-athletes, including 128 members of this year’s incoming class. Its impact extends beyond athletics, adding new spaces and resources to a campus where students can pursue excellence in competition and academics, and cultivate their personal growth and life beyond the classroom.
For students drawn to technology and science, ISC4, the newest addition to the Integrated Science Center, is now home to the School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics. New academic opportunities include an interdisciplinary studies in applied AI bachelor’s degree and new minors in AI & ethics and cybersecurity.
Students exploring the humanities can pursue new major concentrations in religious studies, including contemplative studies and Judaic studies. Across campus, new programs and facilities are creating more opportunities to connect disciplines, conduct research, build skills and explore interests that may not even have been imaginable when students first applied to W&M.
That is perhaps the most exciting part of welcoming a new class: The students are new, and so are many of the possibilities waiting for them.
Welcome to W&M
For the Class of 2030 and new transfer students, move-in is only the beginning. Their first weeks will bring new friendships, traditions, discoveries and plenty of questions — followed by years of opportunities to pursue answers.
Some comforts from home in a new home (Photo by Timothy D. Sofranko)
The first day of classes is Aug. 26, and later that day, Opening Convocation will officially kick off the new academic year. This year’s featured speaker is former Federal Communications Commission chair Michael Powell ’85, D.P.S. ’02.
The Class of 2030 has arrived with its own stories and ambitions. Now, they’ll begin writing the next chapter of their W&M story on a campus that is growing and creating more ways than ever for every student to reach their potential.