Resources for Your Senior
Commencement
We are counting down to this year’s Commencement ceremony celebrating the Class of 2024! The ceremony will take place Saturday, May 11 at the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center — specifically in the Schnader Field House — starting at 10 a.m.
Tickets
Graduates will be able to receive up to five (5) guest tickets. Commencement tickets are electronic, and are available to graduates through their Graduate Registration, MarchingOrder. Please note that tickets are mandatory for all guests attending the ceremony. In order to receive tickets, graduates will need to complete their online graduate registration by March 22.
Yearbooks Available for Seniors
Seniors can order yearbooks directly online. Please be sure your senior enters a permanent home address when purchasing the yearbook as yearbooks will be shipped this summer.
Important Dates for Seniors
Friday, March 11
This is the last day for graduates to order caps and gowns. Orders will be available for pick-up on April 19. The cost is $60 plus tax and additional fees. Payment is due upon pick-up.
Friday, March 22
All 2024 graduates must complete the graduate registration, including those not participating in the day-of ceremony. The Office of Student and Post-Graduate Development will be hosting a Senior Success Day.
Friday, April 19
Seniors are invited to Distler House to pick up their regalia and to celebrate Commencement at a “Caps & Apps Reception” with the F&M Bookstore and Diplomatic Cafe.
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 senior 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
Senior 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!).
Senior 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
As a fourth-year student, your senior will be balancing their senior capstones while increasing their focus on preparing for a meaningful life and productive path after graduation. Your senior’s faculty adviser will focus their advising on providing your student with individual pre-graduation goals while supporting their ambitions for life after F&M.
Conversations your senior should be having with their faculty adviser:
- How has your understanding and identity as a scholar in your major discipline shaped who you are?
- As you think about life after college, what is important to you, and how will these things inform your future decisions?
- List several career options that you would consider. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? What do you need to figure out to select from among them?
- What experiences contributed most to your growth at F&M?
Office of Student and Post-Graduate Development (OSPGD)
Your senior will graduate from F&M prepared to embark on the first of many paths they can pursue with an F&M education, and to excel at top-level graduate and professional schools. OSPGD helps your senior articulate — via their resume or CV and application materials, and online via their LinkedIn and social media brand — their abilities to think critically, communicate clearly, and lead confidently. With the help of our mentors, your senior will enter the next stage of life after F&M ready to self-advocate, embrace their unique experiences and value, and seize the opportunities that call to them.
Our signature programs for seniors include:
- “Living Beyond F&M: Negotiating & Understanding Compensation Packages” and “Living Beyond F&M: Financing Your Future” workshops
- On-campus and virtual employer visits
- Night of Networking
- “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 and internship fairs
- F&M’s True Blue Network, a career network platform exclusive to our community
Alumni Advising
Your studentwill continue to have access to OSPGD after they graduate. Whether they are months, years, or decades beyond their time on campus, your student can turn to OSPGD for free advising, professional development, networking opportunities, and programs. Your student is a Diplomat forever!
Off-Campus Study
If your student is participating in off-campus study this year, we will email you directly with detailed information. Please keep in mind:
-
- 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.
Learn more about F&M off-campus study
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