Student Life

The Office of Student Services provides support to both our onsite students as well as our online students in areas such as student life, heath and wellness, and technology services. Student support services are distributed throughout the University: the library, offices of Financial Aid and the Registrar, Disability Support Services and Student Success.

Academic Advisors

Students are supported throughout their DMU journey on several levels beginning with enrollment advisors, financial aid advisors, onboarding advisor and faculty advisors. During the first course in their respective programs, students are assigned a faculty advisor. Faculty Advisors serve as a point-of-contact for students that will mentor, coach, and provide ongoing support for professional growth and development. faculty
advisors:

  • assist students with the program by providing support and at the same time challenging students to stretch and learn, and provide oversight of students’ ability to work with peers and cohorts both within and external to the program.
  • serve as mentors. They will encourage and assist in the development of students’ professional identity and while promoting student-centric professional career goals and professional development.
  • track students’ progress through the program and provide guidance to students as they navigate graduate school.
  • communicate with advisees regarding opportunities for participation in professional organization conferences and counselor-related research projects.

Writing Center

Students in our academic programs have access to several writing services.

  • Tutor.com provides writing and statistical tutoring as well as APA style assistance. It is available through the Canvas navigation menu in each enrolled course.
  • Academic Writer offers a variety of tutorials, resources, and sample references to assign students in their writing projects. It is accessed through the DMU library page.
  • Originality by Turnitin provides an automatic check for plagiarism errors in student writing.

Online Housing Search Resources for Onsite Students

Students are encouraged to utilize resources such as Facebook groups to be able to successfully find housing. There are a variety of online resources for students to find housing near the Divine Mercy University campus

  • Apartmentguide – Clear and simple guide to apartment living through content-rich apartment listings in a user-friendly format with Internet, mobile, and social media solutions.
  • Apartments.com – Offering renters access to information on more than 1,000,000 available units for rent.
  • ForRent.com – Empowers renters to find a place to call home—whether it be an apartment, loft, house, townhome, or condo. ForRent.com features extensive listings presented in a clear, easy-to-read format for the ultimate user-friendly searching experience.
  • Homes.com – Search apartments, condos, townhomes, and homes for rent. Hotpads – Rental search platform designed with the urban renter in mind. PadMapper – Making apartment hunting less awful, almost fun. PadMapper plots apartments on a big map and lets you filter for exactly what you want.
  • RadPad – Find apartments and houses for rent for free! Use Pay with RadPad to pay rent online with Apple Pay or major credit card.
  • Realtor.com – A trusted rental resource with a wide range of filters that help you curate what you are looking for in terms of pricing, neighborhoods, and amenities, and its listing page gives you scores of information about different neighborhoods, such as schools data and price comparisons.
  • Rent.com – Students have different needs than retirees or growing families. Rent.com pledges to help you find living for study and play RentCafe – Detailed property information, such as photos, floorplans, amenities, and schools in the area, without logging in to the site or submitting personal information. You may contact the property, schedule a tour, and apply online on RENTCafé.
  • Rent Jungle – Online search engine for rental housing developed in response to a gap in the market by helping apartment hunters navigate through the online “jungle” of rental housing and finally get connected easily, pain-free way of finding all rental housing listings in one spot.
  • Rentable – Renter-friendly way to find an apartment, by through a modern, user-friendly interface to make apartments incredibly easy to find.
  • Rentals.com – find single-family houses, apartments, condos, and townhouses for rent.
  • Trulia – Goes beyond the typical listings, by sourcing insights straight from locals and offering over 34 neighborhood map overlays, to give people a deeper understanding of what living in a home and neighborhood is really like. Committed to helping you discover a place where you will love to live and where they will feel more connected to the community and to each other.
  • Zillow – Real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration, and knowledge around the place to call home, and connecting you with the best local professionals who can help.
  • Zumper – Modern renting with a mission to make renting a seamless and stress-free experience for everyone. One landlord, listing, and renter at a time.

Factors to Consider
When considering LOCATION:

  • How accessible is it?
    • Use Google Maps to see how far away the place is from the Divine Mercy
      University campus.
    • DMU is located in Sterling, VA. Ashburn, Dulles, Herndon are within 10 miles of the DMU campus.
  • Is it a safe neighborhood? 
  • Is it near a grocery store, gym, library, etc.?

When considering PRICE:

  • Many students experience that it is worth it to pay an extra $50 or $100 per month in order to live closer, making adjustment to the area significantly easier.

When considering ROOMMATES:

DISCLAIMER: Inclusion of any listing on this page does not constitute, and shall not be construed or reported as (1) an endorsement or approval by Divine Mercy University, of the landlord, its properties, or its business practices, or (2) a warranty or representation by the University as to the quality, safety or other features of such property and/or its owners or management agent(s). DMU expressly disclaims any and all responsibility for any problems that may arise with regard to such property or rental units or with regard to disputes between landlords and tenants concerning such property or rental units. All prospective tenants are encouraged to exercise their own good judgment when evaluating a prospective rental unit or landlord.

Career Services

DMU is dedicated to assisting students completing academic programs with finding and securing positions in clinical psychology, counseling and related human service fields. Career placement is individualized for each student and is facilitated by faculty academic advisors. Each student is encouraged to take advantage of all resources and work through their faculty academic advisor for any job or graduate placement assistance needed.

Career placement services are also provided through the alumni association to help students build resumes and develop job interviewing skills. Current job openings, employment opportunities and other specialized opportunities in the field of clinical psychology, counseling and related human services.

Alumni Association

The Alumni Association provides support through alumni programs and services, facilitates communication with alumni, and seeks to strengthen alumni bonds of fellowship, professional association and university affiliation. The Alumni Association leverages the resources, talents, and initiatives of alumni and friends to advise, guide, advocate for and support the association and the University in achieving their respective missions and goals.

The Alumni Association coordinates activities for advancing the university’s academic, administrative, and outreach programs to include fundraising. Services include:

  • alumni website “Where our Alumni Serve”, providing opportunities and referrals for graduates staying connected.
  • the official alumni newsletter, “The Mercy Minute” is published monthly and features graduate stories, events, career opportunities and upcoming events.
  • the Alumni Association encourages advocates for the University to provide mentorship where needed and support the mission of DMU for the continued growth of the university.

The coordinator of the alumni association can be reached at alumni@divinemercy.edu