Resources for Your Junior
Living on Campus
Housing
Our four-year residency requirement means students are required to live in F&M-owned or -approved housing for all four years. Housing applications for returning students are available in February each year. Your junior student has several housing options. They can reside in:
- Their College House
- One of our two residence halls on campus: Thomas Hall and Schnader Hall
- Theme, special interest, and fraternity and sorority housing
- One of three F&M-affiliated apartments
Your student can also choose to apply for a House Adivser (HA) position.
Students who don't receive housing in one of these options participate in the annual room selection proccess, the Housing Lottery. Housing Lottery information sessions are held in March and April. All students participating in the lottery are encouraged to attend a session in any College House.
Students who did not select housing through the Housing Lottery will receive a housing assignment from the Housing Office in the weeks prior to the start of the fall semester.
Contact Housing
If you need to get in touch with your student’s College House, you can reach out to the assigned faculty mentor (don) and administrative facilitator (dean). If you have questions about F&M housing in general, you can explore our FAQ to learn more or reach out to our housing team at housing@fandm.edu for additional help.
Meal Plans
Junior students living on campus are required to purchase a campus meal plan unless they are commuting (though they can of course purchase a meal plan if they are!).
Junior students living in apartments may decide to reduce or opt out of their meal plans.
Meal plan pricing is automatically folded into your tuition details.
Academic Advising
Your junior will experience important changes in their third year, which provide many opportunities for academic and personal growth. For many students, this year provides increased opportunities for leadership and experiential learning. Your junior’s faculty adviser will guide and help them prepare for study-abroad experiences, faculty-student research, academic internships, and co-curricular leadership experiences.
Conversations your junior should be having with their faculty adviser:
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- What are you thinking you want to major in? Why is this subject most compelling to you? Where do you think that studying it might lead you?
- Is there more than one subject that draws your attention for a potential major? If so, how might these subjects work together as a course of study going forward?
- If you do not know what you would like to major in, think of the courses you have taken: what did you like most? Which skills did you most enjoy practicing?
- Do you want to study abroad? Is there a language you wish to learn?
- Is there a field of study you want to do special research in? A professor with whom you’d particularly like to work?
- What kinds of programs/clubs/leadership opportunities would you want to create for yourself at the College if you could?
- What are you most excited to do during your next two years?
Office of Student and Post-Graduate Development (OSPGD)
As your junior begins the “second half” of their F&M experience, their vision for life after college becomes less theoretical and more concrete. OSPGD will help them plan by mapping out more specific goals for life after graduation. They’ll help your junior develop a list of roles, companies, or schools they’re interested in pursuing; prepare for interviews and standardized tests; update and refine their resumes and cover letters; and explore summer experiences that will provide them with hands-on experiences in fields of interest.
Our signature programs for juniors include:
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- “Life After College Success,” a one-semester, cohort-based program specifically designed for juniors to prepare them for success in their lives and careers
- LinkedIn, networking, and resume workshops
- “Designing a Future” course
- “Living Beyond F&M Series” consisting of sessions on financial literacy, public speaking, the etiquette of the business meal, and more
- Job, internship, and summer experience fairs
- F&M’s True Blue Network, a career network platform exclusive to our community
Your Student’s OSPGD Adviser
Your student should have built a rapport with their OSPGD adviser. If they haven't already met, iwe recommend that your student reach out to their adviser and schedule an appointment. Your student’s primary OSPGD adviser is assigned to them based on their College House.
Off-Campus Study
Most students choose to study off campus during their junior year. If your student plans to study off campus during their senior year, encourage them to reach out to our off-campus study staff to get started. The advising and application process begins one academic year prior to their experience.
If your student is participating in off-campus study this year, we will email you directly with detailed information. Please keep in mind:
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- If your student submitted an application for off-campus study, they have met with an off-campus study adviser throughout the advising and application process. Our office provides holistic advising to help your student make decisions that will suit their interests and also challenge them to grow personally and academically. We ask that you contribute to this process by helping your student reflect upon their motivations and goals.
- We will email you our off-campus study financial policy. Please pay special attention to this so that you understand how much you will be invoiced and by whom.
- F&M partners exclusively with independent study-abroad organizations who operate high-quality programs in many locations around the world. Your student will be participating in one of these partner programs and will have access to the program’s on-site staff, offices, and support services while abroad.
- Not all programs or locations can accommodate all students' needs, so it is important that students disclose this type of information to their program after an acceptance decision is made but before a program deposit is paid. The program can advise them on what can and cannot be accommodated, as well as provide additional resources so that students are making informed decisions before paying program deposits.
- Our office will continue to communicate with and provide guidance and support to your
student throughout the off-campus study experience, from pre-departure preparation
through their return home.
Explore our parent guide to off-campus study to learn more.
Do you have any questions? We're happy to help. Feel free to reach out to us at families@fandm.edu or visit our contact page.Get in Touch With F&M