Finding a House at Home
Congratulations and welcome to the Tribe! We are so excited to have you!
Now that the wait is finally over, you probably have a lot of questions running through your mind, like I did. My biggest concern was housing. If I was to pick myself up and go to a brand new city, I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be living on the streets. (Spoiler alert: you won’t be.) Unfortunately, W&M did not have on-campus housing for me at first. I immediately went to the school-sponsored housing website where nearly all of the transfers congregate to find roommates and living spaces. Though I kept my name on the on-campus housing waitlist and now live on-campus, I befriended other transfers through my housing process, and I never felt that I was stranded alone scrambling to find somewhere to live.
If you do live on-campus, your dorm is a great opportunity to meet people. I know half a dozen people from another dorm I never would’ve met otherwise, simply because I visit my friends that live there, and everyone works and relaxes in the parlors. Sometimes your dorm is not your social haven, though. Sometimes it’s only where you sleep. That happens, too. Your dorm is an opportunity to be closer to campus and meet other students, but it is what you make of it. The same principle applies to off-campus housing. Off-campus housing can be exactly what you need, or you can decide to live on-campus after trying the dorms for a year.
The point is that where you live is important, but it should not be the focus of your thoughts on William & Mary. The walls of my dorm room are not what make this place home for me. Home is your favorite spot to sit on campus on a beautiful afternoon or the table where you meet your friends for dinner every day. You see your home in the meeting room of your favorite club or—brutally honestly—your preferred table in Swem Library. It’s in the football stadium or in Colonial Williamsburg. When you come to Williamsburg and begin your journey, it soon becomes clear that William & Mary—not your first dorm or off-campus house—is your new home, and this home is ready for you.
– Mary Kate Adgie
Comments are currently closed. Comments are closed on all posts older than one year, and for those in our archive.
I really appreciate this blog post! Housing is one of my biggest concerns as well. I have already applied for housing and agreed to the housing contract, but waiting for the official offer or wait-list notification is nerve-racking. Do you remember how long it took to find out how long it took to find out?
Admitted Transfer, you can contact the Office of Residence Life at living@wm.edu. Their website says “We will begin making offers for Fall housing in late May or early June and continue throughout the summer” but they should be able to give you more information.