<p>Hey Guys, Just wondering If any of you know which dorms have the best view? I saw this picture where this room was in a high rise and had a wall that was completely glass. I basically fell in love with that room. I think that the picture said Harnwell but it was kinda disorted. Or if noone knows, which is the best dorm to live in overall?</p>
<p>all the highrises (harnwell, harrison, rodin) have rooms with big wall-height windows</p>
<p>you should read the college house brochure to understand the pros and cons of each dorm (there’s no single best location, nor will you necessarily want to stay in the same place year after year)</p>
<p>[College</a> Houses and Academic Services](<a href=“http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/brochure/]College”>http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/brochure/)</p>
<p>gotcha appreciate it.</p>
<p>i went to visit a friend who lived in hill college, and it was cool because the food was right there but it was SO ugly.</p>
<p>As frosh, definitely try for the quad. The rooms are, more or less, great - though some get unlucky and wind up in tiny rooms. Still, the architecture is beautiful. As one of the unlucky few placed into Hill, which is a visual abomination, it is honestly painful when I visit friends in the quad on a beautiful day. From what I have seen in pictures, it is gorgeous during the winter, too. </p>
<p>Hill has its ups and downs (yes, we have our own dining hall, but the food is god awful after you have hamburger variants - hamburger, cheeseburger, brie burger - three nights in a row for dinner, or sometimes for lunch and then again for dinner), and while you will probably learn to suck it up and enjoy yourself, you will probably have a lingering feeling of loss over not getting the quad your first year - knowing that you will probably never wind up in the quad because the three houses are primarily filled with freshman doesn’t help.</p>
<p>The high rises are nice (though I am told you have to reserve at least ten minutes in your morning routine for waiting on the elevator if you are on a higher floor), but it has its drawbacks. For one, you deal with the wind tunnel. Plus, you could wind up in a small room. And there is no guarantee that you will get a room set up so that everyone in the suite gets his or her own room, so there is a negative there as well. Also keep in mind that mostly older students live in the high rises, and they supposedly not particularly social houses.</p>
<p>Basically, try for quad, and if you like the high rises that much, toss that on to your request list as well.</p>
<p>If you want a high rise, go for the Freshman Experience program in Harrison; the house puts a fair amount of money into the program, and there are a number of activities throughout the year meant to introduce freshmen to each other, Penn, and Philly.</p>
<p>The elevators are a bit of a pain sometimes, but you can always take the stairs down (Rodin’s elevators seem pretty good, and Harnwell’s currently renovating their elevators, so by next fall they’ll have all new ones) 
The rooms are all a decent size, at least all the ones I’ve seen; as a freshman most likely you’ll end up in a 3bdrm quad with a kitchen/living room/bathroom.</p>
<p>hey what do you know about riepe and rodin? which house would you say is the best and worst house in terms of architecture/renovations? are there any houses that are really new and others that seem to be falling apart?</p>
<p>thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Rodin is going to finish renovations this summer (I think last summer they renovated all the rooms from floors 14 and up, and this summer they’ll renovate the rest of the rooms)</p>
<p>In terms of architecture, the Quad as a whole is beautiful. The rooms vary; some are very spacious whereas others are practically closets. (Riepe is one of the houses that makes up the Quad)</p>
<p>riepe is the absolute BOMB. it’s in the quad, but we are called the “baby quad”. great location, social, but also small enough that you can still study and make a close group of friends. </p>
<p>the dean is AMAZING and makes great food!</p>
<p>my building has brand new hardwood floors that everyone in the quad is jealous of
and no concrete/plastic floors like those in ware. disgusting. </p>
<p>join a residential program! FYI the mentors program is the best res program at penn…aka we’re the only program that actually does something. if community outreach is something you like you might as well apply and love the ppl you live with!</p>
<p>hey after you guys got accepted, when did you decide to visit? i got accepted early and im trying to decide whats the best time. im not sure if i should wait until april or drop by earlier…i live on the west coast, but i’d be willing to make a trip. =)</p>
<p>Maybe wait until Penn Previews; not only will they have lots of activities to aquaint you with Penn, you’ll also have a chance to meet future classmates and potential roommates.</p>
<p>What about King’s Court dorms? How are they?</p>