In a few hours, our Admission staff will pack up our work for the day and congregate to celebrate today’s date. As is the case with the vast majority of colleges and universities around the country, today is Whitman’s deposit deadline. This is old news, relatively speaking, to the many students who have contacted us already to let us know of their decision to attend Whitman.
I love the image of multiple different reply cards of a variety of colors making their way to different institutions around the country. (For many of these institutions, deposits must simply be postmarked by May 1, which means that there are many replies still out there as I type!) Though perhaps somewhat romantic (in the image in my head, these reply cards are magically flying around Harry Potter-style), this day symbolizes a meaningful end to what has been, for both admission officers and for the Whitman Class of 2017, a fairly emotional and lengthy journey.
To our new Whitties who will be joining us next year: what we’ll be celebrating later today, in effect, is not the end of our correspondences with you (those will continue for your next four years here–that’s the beauty of a small school!) but more that today concludes your college search. We are honored that you have found, after much thought and many college visits, that Whitman is where you feel most comfortable. We’re happy that you want to do free laundry here and sit in the quiet room in the library until ungodly hours of the morning. We’re excited that you want to develop our teams, musical groups, outdoor endeavors, and even start some organizations of your own. We are thrilled that you will complete research and make intellectual advancements that this college has yet to see. Finally, we look forward to watching you cultivate life-long friendships with other students whom you have yet to meet.
A final congratulations is most certainly due on this momentous occasion: to the Whitman Class of 2017, welcome!
Whitman College Admission Blog 