At the University of King’s College, only a small number of students do not enrol in the Foundation Year Program (FYP). 

The program lasts the entire academic year, with students attending three to four lectures and tutorials together per week. Given this schedule, FYP students share a built-in experience during their first year.

This leaves first-year students who are not in the program with a different academic and social experience than most of their peers. While he did not provide exact numbers, interim dean of students Jeff Wilson estimates there could be fewer than 10 first-year students at King’s not enrolled in FYP.

“I think, historically, the narrative about King’s is that you are only here to take the Foundation Year Program, and that’s obviously not true for everyone,” Wilson said.

Graham Hunt, a third-year student at King’s, explained why he chose not to take the program.

“I wanted to have full control over my university experience,” Hunt said. “I didn’t want to be told what I had to do, what I had to take.”

Reflecting on his social life, he said, “Being in residence, it was a little strange. I’d go to the meal hall, everyone would be talking about FYP, and I was just the odd man out.”

Hunt described feeling lonely at times but does not regret his decision.

“Overhearing what people were talking about in the meal hall, it just sounded like so much,” he said. “They were constantly swamped by one thing after the other.”

Regarding King’s culture, he says he was never keen to participate. Hunt’s advice for first-years not in the program is to “try to be social in other settings.”

“You have to have a more proactive approach to socializing, because you don’t have that common connection,” he said.

Brianna Lukow, a non-FYP first-year student, said she has not had trouble socializing at King’s. For her, the social immersion in King’s culture sometimes clashes with academic differences.

“Mondays, [FYP students] get, you know, a nice little party. When you’re in a different program, it doesn’t always align,” she said.

FYP Monday gatherings typically occur every other week after FYP students submit their essays.

For other non-FYP students, she advised, “Don’t just go hang out because your friends turned in their essay. I learned that the hard way last semester. Just be mindful of your own schedule.”

Chloe Parker was in the program for the first half of the school year as a science student. This winter semester, she decided to join the King’s minority.

“The social dynamic was part of the reason why I had switched out … I found it a little bit elitist, a little bit pretentious,” Parker said. 

“I find it a little more approachable to meet people at Dal than I did at King’s. But I think maybe that’s just because they’re all doing the same major as me.”

Her advice? Stay immersed in the King’s culture, at least a little bit. 

Wilson reminds students that after first year, everybody moved beyond the FYP bubble. 

“At some point,” he said, “the students themselves will have to take that small step forward to get themselves hooked up to whatever it is they find themselves reflected in at King’s.”

Please note that this article was originally published in the print issue of The Watch on Feb. 26, 2025. The print issue did not include a byline due to a printing error. The Watch‘s team distributed with a printed correction placed inside each magazine.