<p>Congratulations everyone, and welcome to the tribe! It’s honestly great to see so many people care about a school as much as you do. Following this thread for the past few weeks has been almost as nervewracking as being admitted myself. Know that you are in an awesome place now and feel free to relax, celebrate, and go out and get as much green and gold as your heart desires. I’ve already met a bunch of you, but feel free to contact me and use me as a resource as a current student.</p>
<p>To those who may not have gotten in ED, don’t despair! I know it’s an awful feeling not being able to get into your first choice school, and I can empathize. Before receiving my acceptance letter from W&M, I was deferred or waitlisted from almost half my schools. It can be scary. But you will find an awesome place, I promise. Choosing a college can sometimes be like a relationship, sometimes love happens in the most unexpected of places. By applying ED, you showed that you have a connection to a lot of what W&M represents: passionate, fun-loving, hardworking, intelligent, honorable, imaginative, compassionate, and all-around-awesome human beings. So while you may not be a part of the Tribe here at this moment, you will always be in spirit. And that spirit will take you far, no matter where you go.</p>
<p>And don’t forget, your journey is not over yet. If you were deferred, treat this as another shot because you got another chance at all your schools including W&M. And even if you were denied, you’ve ways to go as well and if later on you decide to transfer, W&M accepts plenty of transfer students. But more likely than not, find a place that resonates with you. You will find a home, you will have friends that you do incredibly silly things with, and you will look back thinking “I couldn’t have imagined going anywhere else.”</p>
<p>Congratulations again to the Class of 2019!</p>
<p><em>end inspirational speech here</em></p>