<p>It's relatively new, and I don't quite understand.</p>
<p>The house system is an attempt by the college to build a stronger sense of community on campus. Each freshman lives in a dorm that is designated a separate house; each house has its own rules, established by students, and various social, intellectual and cultural activities are organized on a house basis (but generally open to all.) Each house has its own academic don and administrative don, who are generally available to help students. For the first two years, students live in their houses (they choose roomates or groups of roommates after the first year.) Accompanying the house system is a new policy in which upperclassmen will live on campus or in college-owned housing adjacent to campus. Previously, many upperclassmen lived off-campus in privately owned housing. I believe (from my S who is a freshman at F&M) that part of the reason for the system is to provide for more alternatives outside of the frats, which have historically played a large role on campus.</p>
<p>So is the house actually a physical place to live or is just kind of a group? And how are the houses chosen?</p>
<p>The houses are actually physical places. They are dorms. The college chooses in the summer before freshman year.</p>
<p>The residential college system is used by a number of schools (Yale, Harvard, Rice)</p>
<p>I think F&M's is modeled after Yale's. Kids there love it. It really creates a sense of belonging within the whole college.</p>