I have a '23 and a '27. They have definitely changed room selection for Freshman. My '23 met roommate through instagram. Then they just created a “roommate group” and made their selection during the time slot that was the earliest. You can definitely pick your roommate ahead of time (many do now … meeting on social media). As far as the questionnaire, W&M admits that they now put very little stock in that. I think they used to do a better job but now it is a bit more random. You can also select with no roommate … meaning you literally are just picking a bed in a room. Like picking an airline seat. I agree that while they might be given the chance ahead of time to “rank” their preferences, during Room Selection they are simply given some choices. Monroe SHOULD be opening back up and Barrett is converting to a Freshman dorm. Welcome to the Tribe! <3
Monroe will be back this fall! However, I believe the goal is to have all and only Monroe scholars living in there this upcoming year (unless they opt out). Previously Monroe scholars were in both Willis and Monroe, and quite a few regular students also lived with them, but the new dorms is gonna have a lot of special spaces specifically for Monroe scholars.
But I think Monroe kids can still select a non-Monroe scholar roommate (as in the past). I wonder if they will change that this year and require ONLY Monroe scholars in … Monroe (dorm). My '23 lived in Taliaferro (now Willis) as a non Monroe scholar but with a Monroe scholar roommate.
They can but I think they might not be placed in Monroe in that case since there’s going to be only one Monroe Scholar dorm. Might just depend on the number of enrolled scholars and the number of rooms in the renovated dorm though
Should be interesting to see how it all plays out! I am sure the renovated dorm will be lovely.
I’m in town now, and they have started roofing Monroe. Great perk for the Monroe scholars for sure!
With all of these dorms going to freshmen, what happens to upperclassmen? Do they have to move off campus? Is there enough dorms for them?
They swap dorms around based on need. So while one goes to freshman another goes back to upper class. There is a lot of dorm renovation and new builds happening right now. All students who have requested on campus housing have gotten it over the last several years. Some upper class do choose to move off campus, too.
I think most juniors and seniors live off campus.
Yeah - I just wanted to see if they did that by choice or because they were forced to because of lack of housing.
About 25% of juniors and seniors are on campus. It’s been tighter with all of the necessary dorm construction but should ease a bit when the new dorms are open in 2025. A large apartment complex called midtown opened near campus which draws a lot of students. There are houses which students rent, too.
Mixed bag - I think there are some people who wish they could be on campus still, but most are ok with it. Probably the only big issue is a shortage of houses within close walking distance from campus, but it seems like bus service is gonna improve next year to make that less of an issue.
What have you heard about the buses?
Student Assembly has been really pushing for changes and I know the city is working with them on improvements. And the W&M transportation department is considering some improvements for the next year’s budget.
This year the busses running on or next to campus have had really high ridership and quite a bit of crowding so I think that’s helping move things along.
The lack of on-campus housing as buildings have been closed for renovations has been really difficult for a lot of students. However, it should not be a problem for the class of 2028 and beyond🤞🏼.
In fall 2021-2023, a lot of juniors and seniors who wanted to live on campus were placed on a waiting list. It is true that if they stayed on the waiting list into the summer, the college eventually found them a spot on campus. But, they could not choose their roommate, or even ask for the same building as friends. They were placed randomly.
When younger students saw this happen to their classmates, many decided not to try for on-campus housing. It was too stressful to risk getting waitlisted. They found off campus housing, but it’s not ideal, especially for those outside walking distance who don’t have cars.
Luckily for this year’s entering freshman, housing will be guaranteed for the first two years. By the time they are juniors, most of the renovations should be over and the housing crunch should be much better.
Does anyone know if DFAS is for waitlisted students as well?
Just admitted students
Are you a 100% sure about it. My daughter has a friend who was waitlisted, but is planning to do one of the spring pathways - so she thought that since she would be a guaranteed admit she would be able to attend. I told her that she should just contact the school to confirm. But to your knowledge, it really is only for admitted students?
She certainly could check since that might be a special case. But the info that is out only specifies admitted students. Students don’t sign up for spring pathway until after DFAS. From what I remember, you can only sign up for DFAS through your admissions portal and a waitlisted student wouldn’t have a link for that.
Oh I see! I will have her friend check her portal. I wonder if waitlisted students who choose the spring pathway will have their own program.