By Teddy Jacobsen
LEXINGTON – Washington and Lee University hosted an in-person Admitted Students Day for the first time in two years at the beginning of April.
Families of admitted students were given the opportunity to spend the first Saturday of April exploring the campus and hearing from current W&L professors, students and faculty members alike. W&L is eager to show its new class of students what life at the school is like through events like Admitted Students Day.
Emma Swabb, a W&L class of 2016 alum and an Assistant Director of Admissions, is the coordinator of the event. She said she has been planning the event since last November. During that time, she said the admissions team organized the day’s busy schedule, invited the guests and coordinated the catering and setup.
“The cobwebs are shaking out,” Swabb said. “Now people are remembering how to host these in-person events and do so safely.”
The department elicited help from student ambassadors and admissions work-study students. Class of 2024 Student Ambassador Josh Lewis said he spent the day directing visitors from event to event.
Lewis said parents would often approach him and the other students in an attempt to get exclusive information about the school. He said the parents were always eager to hear a student’s perspective.
“Part of that was getting to see how much happier and more comfortable they were after they talked to us,” Lewis said.
Sophomore admissions work-study student Will Dantini also said he spent the day talking with kids and their parents about life as a W&L student. He said Admitted Students Day is beneficial to students who have committed as well as those who are still undecided.
“It’s just a great way for them to experience what the campus community is like,” Dantini said.
Throughout the day, admitted students and their parents had the opportunity to explore a wide variety of events and presentations. There were sessions about course registration and the first-year experience in the morning. The presentation about studying abroad was a popular presentation following these breakout sessions.
In the afternoon, the program fair outside of Leyburn Library allowed students and parents to talk with the many different people that run particular clubs and programs at the school. Professors and students set up tables with their respective organizations and welcomed any and all questions.
Students and parents could also go on tours of the school’s buildings and facilities. Afterward, they could attend mock classes conducted by current W&L professors.
All in all, the kids continuously had the opportunity to meet fellow admitted students and start connecting with their potential future classmates throughout this very busy schedule. Lewis said he noticed the visitors embrace the Washington and Lee layout and atmosphere.
“It’s just the perfect time to see what your life would be like on campus and see if you can envision your time here,” Lewis said.
The day ended with closing remarks from W&L’s president, Will Dudley, at University Chapel. In his final words, he tried to ease any worries about college and offered some advice about how to navigate the decision process.
“I would advise you to focus on the size of the schools you’re considering and the culture,” Dudley said in his speech.
This process was unique in many ways for the class of 2026. For a majority of their time in high school, COVID-19 restricted and prohibited a lot of common activities and events.
Swabb said she was pleasantly surprised at this year’s applications, especially the essays. She said she expected the applications to lack the pizzazz and accomplishments that many W&L applicants typically exhibit. This was fortunately not the case.
Swabb said many of the applicants divulged their struggles with COVID-19 in very thoughtful and expressive ways. The students also exceeded her expectations in terms of their substantial involvement in extracurriculars. She said their pursuits outside the classroom were very inspiring to her.
“We want these incoming students to continue what they’re passionate about when they get on campus, but also pick up new things too,” Swabb said.
W&L admissions recently concluded their yearly college application process. This year, Swabb said they received over 7,000 applications, which is more than usual across the past decade and is potentially a school record, pending finalized statistics about the incoming class in June.
Swabb said the acceptance rate for the class of 2026 is around 17 percent, which is slightly lower than in recent years because of the higher application numbers.
There will also be a second Admitted Students Day during the last week of April. Swabb said she is looking forward to the potential of even more engagement with current students since the event is on the first Monday of the school’s spring term.
“Spring term will give people a nice insight into how campus normally feels during that part of the year,” Swabb said.
The first Admitted Students Day was only a couple of days after regular decision notifications were sent out to students. Swabb said the admissions department expects to see many more students and their families at the next event because they have more notice and more time to schedule their visit.