Public Affairs Living-Learning Community: FAQ Answers

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Answers: Applying to the Program

1. How do I apply to the Social Science & Public Affairs Living-Learning Community?

See the FSU Housing Office's "Ready to Apply for a Living-Learning Community? page and the Admissions page on the Community's web site.

2. Will I get higher priority by applying early?

No. All applications are evaluated at the same time, whether they were received on the first or last day of the application process. Priority for acceptance in the program is based solely on the content of the applications themselves, and is not influenced by the promptness with which they were submitted. The only way that time enters into the process involves the deadline for applications.

3. Is the application deadline important?

Yes! We get hundreds of applications that are complete and on time, many of them from bright students who are clearly qualified to join the Social Science & Public Affairs Community, and we only have a limited amount of space in the residence hall. Although late applications will be considered, priority will be given to applications received before the deadline. Please plan ahead and apply early, so that you are not at risk for forgetting until the deadline has passed.

4. Do I have to declare a certain major to apply?

No. Many participants in the program have declared majors in the social sciences, but there is no requirement or restriction on majors. The important thing is that students -- regardless of the major that they have declared -- have an interest in understanding and changing the world around them. Although most Community members are planning to major in one of the social sciences, other students are intending to major in such seemingly unrelated fields as Art, Biology, Engineering, Music, or Theater. While some of these students will probably change their intended majors before graduation, that does not concern us; the diversity of the student body benefits all of us, and this may be the only chance that some of these students will have to take courses in the social sciences before their schedules fill up with Engineering, Music, or other courses.

5. Can I get admitted as a "legacy"?

No. We do not admit students to the Social Science & Public Affairs Living-Learning Community because their parents lived in the same residence hall when they went to FSU, or because their older siblings participated in the program a few years ago. Our goal is to admit the most qualified students from each year's pool of applicants, and we do not consider past histories in making this determination. We also do not consider any political or financial connections to FSU, the College of Social Sciences, or any level of government. If you are the child of a prominent politician or a large donor, that will neither help nor hurt your case for admission; your application will be given the same chance as every other application that is received on time.

6. What criteria do you use to evaluate the applications?

First, we do not consider high school grades or standardized test scores for acceptance to the Community. FSU's first-year-student admissions are quite competitive, and we believe that any student who is accepted to FSU has the raw academic talent to succeed in the Social Science & Public Affairs Community. Because this program emphasizes public affairs and the social sciences, then, we are looking for students who genuinely care about these topics, and who genuinely want to participate in the program. The essays on our application emphasize these factors; we want to identify students who really want to be here and who can make the community a better place, and to screen out students who simply want to live in a nice dorm or who want an impressive-looking line to add to their resume to help get into law school (or grad school, business school, the foreign service, etc.) a few years later.

7. I was invited to be a part of the Social Science & Public Affairs Community as well as another living-learning community. Can I do both?

No. These are residential learning communities, and you can not live in two residence halls at the same time. Each community is built around the premise that the participants all live in the same hall and go through the same experiences, so we do not allow commuter students who live elsewhere but participate in some of the program's activities.

8. I was invited to be a part of the Social Science & Public Affairs Community as well as the Honors program. Can I do both?

Maybe. The Social Science & Public Affairs Community is a residential learning community, so it is important that all Program participants live in our residence hall during the academic year. FSU's Honors program also includes a residential option for Honors students to live in Honors dorms, which conflicts with our residential requirement (you cannot live in two residence halls at the same time). Honors students are not required to live in the Honors dorms, though, so you are allowed to participate in both the Honors program and the Social Science & Public Affairs Community as long as you live in our residence hall with the rest of the Community's members. Also, please note that our Community members (like all other FSU students) are still eligible to apply for the Honors in the Major program later in their college careers, which will allow them to write senior honors theses in their chosen field.

9. I was invited to be a part of the Social Science & Public Affairs Community but my roommate preference was not. Can we still be roommates?

No. Only those students who are invited and accept the invitation are eligible for an assignment in a learning community. If you are invited to be part of the community, you will need to decide whether it is more important to be part of the learning community or to be with your preferred roommate. Please know that the University Housing Office cannot guarantee placement with your preferred roommate.

10. I was listed as an alternate for the Social Science & Public Affairs Community. What are my chances of getting in?

It depends. Every year, several students turn down invitations to join the Community, for a variety of reasons. Some choose not to attend FSU at all, some join the Honors program or another living-learning community on campus, and some choose to live in a regular residence hall with friends who were not admitted to our community. Most of the applicants who are not accepted right away are listed as alternates, and in some years we go more than half way down this list in order to fill the Community, but some years there may be more (or fewer) students who accept their initial invitation. We also are constrained by gender, as our residence hall is composed of male-only and female-only suites and we cannot always replace a female student's spot with a male student (or vice versa). There may be some years, then, where almost every male student accepts the invitation to join the Community while we go relatively far down the female alternate list (or vice versa).

11. I was not invited to be part of the Social Science & Public Affairs Living-Learning Community. Can I still reside in the residence hall?

DeGraff Hall has over 700 beds, and only 38 of these are reserved for Social Science & Public Affairs Living-Learning Community residents. If you list DeGraff as your preferred residence hall on your housing application there's a decent chance that you will get to live there even if you are not accepted into the living-learning community. Be aware, though, that as one of the newer residence halls on campus, DeGraff is a popular first-choice for many incoming and continuint students.

12. I wrote a really good essay, and my grades are really good -- why didn't I get invited to join the Social Science & Public Affairs Community?

The most important reason is that we receive so many applications from qualified students. We usually have many more students who are qualified for acceptance to the program than we have spots available, so not being accepted should not be taken as a sign that you will not do well at FSU or in life. We wish you all well, whether we are able to accept you into the Community or whether you take other opportunities at FSU.

Answers: The Social Science & Public Affairs Living-Learning Community

1. Do I need to register for the Public Affairs colloquium?

Yes, all Community members are required to take the Public Affairs colloquium in both the fall and spring semesters. This course is one of the most important pieces of the program, both for the discussion of major topics and for the bonding with other students in the program, and all students must register for it. If you do not take it during both semesters, your Housing contract will be canceled, and you will be forced to leave the residence hall because you are no longer meeting your commitments to the Community.

2. Do I need to register for an in-house courses in the Social Science & Public Affairs Community?

Yes, each Community member must take one of these courses during the fall semester of his/her year in the Community. Each fall semester, professors from two of the social science departments teach some of their regular courses as part of the Community, giving participants in this program a chance to take these courses in a small classroom setting with familiar classmates from the Community. More information is available on the Courses page on this web site.

3. Do I need to attend the Broad and Anderson-Ashby Lectures at FSU?

No, these lectures are optional. Program participants are urged to attend as many of the lectures as possible, but we recognize that students' interests are varied, and that their schedules can also be quite busy at various times during the semester. Nonetheless, these lectures provide you with important opportunities to see nationally recognized scholars who are visiting FSU from other universities. Attendance at these lectures will count toward the public event attendance component of the Public Affairs colloquium, so if you do not attend these lectures you will need to attend other lectures in their place.

4. Do I need to attend all of the Community's events and activities?

No, you do not need to attend every single one, but you are required to attend some of them, as part of the requirements for the Public Affairs colloquium (and program participants are urged to attend as many of these events and activities as possible). We recognize that students' interests are varied, and that their schedules can also be quite busy at various times during the semester.

5. Do I need to declare a certain major to stay in the Social Science & Public Affairs Community?

No. Many participants in the program will go on to declare majors in the social sciences, but there is no requirement or restriction on majors. The important thing is that students -- regardless of the major that they will eventually declare -- have an interest in public affairs and the social sciences. (See also the answer to a related earlier question.)

Answers: Academics at FSU

1. Do I need an FSU e-mail account?

All students need to have an FSU e-mail account in order to register for classes and to receive important news or information from FSU or from professors in some of their courses. For students who wish to keep using existing e-mail accounts as their primary address, the FSU account can be forwarded to the existing e-mail account. If you forward e-mail from your FSU account, it is your responsibility to make sure that forwarded e-mails are not blocked by a spam filter. To learn more and to sign up for your Garnet account, visit the University Computing Services web site.

2. What are my options for majors and minors in the social sciences?

The College of Social Sciences offers a list of majors and concentrations in the social sciences at FSU, including links to the appropriate departments' web sites wherever possible, as well as a list of social science minors and certificates for FSU undergraduates.

3. What are my career options with a social science degree?

There are many different options for any social science degree. These degrees rarely offer direct training for a specific job in the same way that, say, engineering degrees do, but they give students skills that are useful in almost any type of career. The College of Social Sciences offers a web page listing some of the more common career options with each social science degree, but this list should not be taken as a definitive list of everything that you can do with one of these degrees.

4. What is the best pre-law major?

Like most universities, FSU does not offer a specific Pre-Law major. Political Science is one popular major for students planning to go to law school after graduation, because the Political Science department offers courses on the judicial system and Supreme Court decisions as well as on the American political system. However, law schools do not require any one major. They look for strong undergraduate GPAs and LSAT scores, rather than for specific majors or minors. Law schools also expect good reading, writing, critical analysis, and oral communication skills -- which are skills that are developed in most social science coursework. More information on pre-law options is available on the Pre-Law Advising web site.

5. Where can I get academic advising?

The College of Social Sciences has a web site listing full-time advisors for undergraduate students in the social sciences. The College also provides a Peer Advising Center in the Bellamy Building, which can offer face-to-face advice as well as answering some questions via email.

Social Science & Public Affairs Living-Learning Community College of Social Sciences Florida State University