Campus Life
Your Home Away from Home
When you enroll at Washington and Lee, you join a vibrant, welcoming community. You and your peers will arrive with life experiences from many different places, and together, you will make W&L your own. Our campus is at the center of a small, lively, two-college town that offers students abundant opportunities to become involved in the community and travel around the world. Students can take part in one of more than 150 clubs and organizations, and have access to abundant resources to support their personal development and wellbeing throughout their time on campus.
Campus Dining Venues
6
Six on-campus dining venues offer grab-and-go snacks, fast casual, and all-you-care-to-eat buffet options, featuring food grown in our own campus garden.
Living on Campus
74%
Students are required to live on campus for three years. Many seniors choose to live in downtown Lexington or the surrounding countryside.
Loveable Lexington, Va.
7000+
With a population of just over 7000, Lexington is a vibrant college town filled with local shops and restaurants, as well as live music venues and a drive-in movie theater.
Your First Year
Community is at the heart of W&L. The friends you’ll make and the experiences you’ll have during your first year set the tone for the rest of your college experience.
Getting to Know Each Other
The First-Year Experience
First-year programming at W&L encourages students to bond before they ever step into the classroom. Memorable activities introduce them to new friends, faculty mentors, student organizations and educational resources that make them a part of the community from day one.
Where You’ll Live
All W&L students are required to live on campus for at least their first three years. Housing options range from traditional residence halls to fraternity and sorority houses, theme houses, apartments and townhouses. Seniors often choose to live in historic downtown Lexington or in houses in the surrounding countryside.
First-Year Housing
All first-year students at Washington and Lee are required to live in on-campus housing in one of two first-year residence halls. Floors are divided into sections of 12 to 20 students, each supervised by a Resident Adviser who is a trained, upper-division student capable of giving sympathetic and informed guidance to new students. Single, double, and triple rooms are available, and both halls are equipped with kitchens, elevators and air conditioning.
Where You’ll Eat
We take food seriously on campus. Our Dining Services team takes pride in serving meals that are hand-crafted from the highest quality ingredients and sourcing significant portions of our food from local farmers, growers, and artisans, including produce from W&L’s own campus garden.
Elrod Commons
The Marketplace
Located in the lower level of the John W. Elrod Commons, the Marketplace is an all-you-care-to-eat dining hall, and where first-year students take the majority of their meals. From comfort food favorites to authentic international selections, it offers fresh and nutritious meals that will satisfy any palate.
What You’ll Do
Outside the classroom, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to find your home on campus. W&L offers a wide variety of clubs and student organizations, leadership development programs, recreation leagues and outdoor adventures, not to mention fraternities and sororities and religious and spiritual organizations.
Student Activities and Programs
With 150+ student organizations, not to mention speakers, concerts, galas, and other events throughout the year, life on campus is never dull. Student Activities and Programs provides support for student clubs and organizations and annual events, and encourages students to get involved and take on leadership roles.
Your Well-Being
Learning to manage your physical and mental health and well-being is an important part of college life. At W&L, we provide the tools and resources to do just that.
Taking Care in Daily Life
Health and Wellness
W&L offers extensive resources to support students’ physical and mental health. The new Lindley Center for Student Wellness is home to the medical and counseling services that help students manage their academic work and overall sense of well-being.
Our Hometown
There’s just something about Lexington. The charm and beauty of being a small town in the mountains. The buzz of activity from two colleges. The safety and slower pace of life. It’s a place that sticks with you long after you graduate.
A Welcoming Town
Lexington, Virginia
Our vibrant town and idyllic setting are two things our students come to love best about W&L. Affectionately dubbed “Lex Vegas” by students and locals, Lexington is frequently listed among the mid-Atlantic’s best small towns.
Engaged Community
Washington and Lee is a place like no other — a welcoming and supportive community built on trust, respect and connection.
