<p>The only time I ever see zoogies outside of avery is in moore :( I bled all over my board today. Also, my RAM crashes. 52 sucks.</p>
<p>"Although my daughter couldn't attend prefrosh, she knew a few kids who went. They did not think she would like the regular houses, and one suggested that she probably would be more comfortable in Avery."</p>
<p>Sounds pretty thin to me! For one thing, Prefrosh Weekend is far too short a time to get to know all seven of the houses. You <em>might</em> get to know the house you're actually placed in reasonably well, but all seven? Forget it. And that's if she had actually visited for an entire long weekend herself. Second-hand information on what someone else's preferences "would be" should be taken with a whole handful of salt.</p>
<p>I agree, either visit or reserve judgment until Rotation. Ideally both.</p>
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The only time I ever see zoogies outside of avery is in moore I bled all over my board today. Also, my RAM crashes. 52 sucks.
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<p>Hehe, that's cause I never visit Lloyd :P Agree about 52.</p>
<p>Hi! Iâm a novelist and I was asked by readers to write some background stories for a main character. After a very careful consideration, I decided that the only place for her is Caltech. I always make sure that my stories are thoroughly researched and sound realistic, so Iâm looking for a bit of advice. Iâm curious in which House she would fit best given her personality. I understand that a public board is not the best place for this, so let me know if any of you Techers are willing to lend me a hand with the Sorting hat or would like to have Caltech pranks/experience commemorated in a story. 
</p>
<p>Thank you in advance - let me know if PM is fine with you!</p>
<p>The house personalities do change over time, though some of them have stronger reputations for jockness, partying, studiousness, computer gaming, constructing elaborate pranks, or liberalism, or whatever. These traits or personalities are not to be discussed on open forums, as you have said, so as not to taint the impressions of incoming Pre-Frosh. It is preferred to allow the Pre-Frosh to form their own impressions to see where they think theyâd fit in best. If anyone is considering discussing this via PM, PLEASE be sure the poster is truly doing this for background info for a novel, rather than a student or parent trying to get inside info that is best not dispersed outside of Rotation!</p>
<p>@poppingpopcorn</p>
<p>how long does the rotation last?</p>
<p>The one thing that seem unique is that based on what you experience and learn during the rotation one will be in a house for the next couple of years.</p>
<p>Rotation has been in the past the first two weeks of first term, though last year they trimmed it down to one week. The students all get a chance to eat a couple of meals with each house, and hang with each house to see what they offer. House placement is a complicated arrangement of the studentâs preferences and the housesâ perception of how that Prefrosh would fit in. Everyone generally gets in to one of their top choices. If someone doesnât like their house, however, they can make a change after the first year, and sometimes sooner if rooms open up during the term. They can also become âsocial membersâ of other houses, which many Techers do, and hang with any house they wish, though live in another. The campus is small enough that that is quite manageable.</p>
<p>True, most students end up staying with their initial house for all four years, but that is their choice. The houses really do become families, and support systems for each other. Their is no fretting about âwho will I find to eat withâ or âhow can I find a study groupâ, or such things that all freshman worry about, as the House system really encourages collaboration academically and socially.</p>
<p>As a parent, I noticed that the house rituals and peculiarities seemed to help freshman feel part of the group and as though they had a place and a family on campus, rather than being in some gigantic bland dorm on some huge campus, eating in a generic cafeteria.</p>
<p>@UndulyLlamarific i know your message was posted in 2007 and is bit historic but some information might be forthcoming here. You mention about the nightly tour during the prefrosh week (with a wide grin). My friendâs son stayed during the prefrosh week and now he does not want to join Caltech. I sincerely hope that it is not due to such ânightly tourâ and the intent may not be to scare the kids from joining the institute itself. The situation is extremely disturbing as he is not saying much beyond how much he hates that particular house and simply does not want to join the institute.</p>
<p>Hi, TJParent: itâs extremely unlikely that youâll be able to get details on the ânightly tourâ due to recent changes in administrative policy (something that is currently a huge point of contention between students/alums and one of the undergraduate deans) but no activity during PreFrosh Weekend is designed to scare away potential students. Treatment of prefrosh (and undergraduates in general) is taken extremely seriously and houses face severe repercussions for violating certain rules. Hazing in any way, shape, or form is a no-no. If your friendâs son has any specific concerns he can report them here:</p>
<p>[IHC</a> - Report](<a href=âhttp://ihc.caltech.edu/report/]IHCâ>http://ihc.caltech.edu/report/)</p>
<p>To be honest, though, considering how tame the PFW activities are Iâm guessing that your friendâs son might just not have been a good social fit for Caltech. This isnât uncommon; Caltech has a distinctive atmosphere and many students prefer the more ânormalâ social environments of MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc. Another explanation could be that he didnât visit [enough of] the other houses. Theyâre quite different in character, and itâs possible during PFW to be assigned to one that you donât like while one or more houses youâd really enjoy are a few hundred feet away.</p>
<p>As an addendum, I hope that his hatred of one particular house isnât the primary factor in his not wanting to come to Caltech. Iâm going to sound like a broken record but I would like to reiterate that living in each house is an incredibly different experience. For any future prefrosh that may read this: if you attend PFW and youâre placed in a house that you donât like, please, please go visit the other houses. Seriously. There are eight of them. Please do yourself a favor and make sure you have enough information to make a good decision on how to spend what could be the four best years of your life.</p>
Hi all,
I arrived as a frosh at Caltech in 1980, and rather enjoyed rotating through the houses during that first week. The personalities of the houses were very clearly different, and I clicked best with the one that seemed like they quietly got things done. And boy, did we ever 
(although graduating in four years wasnât one of them, I added a major and took a few monthsâ leave to recharge my finances).
Easiest way to explain it is itâs like the houses in the Harry Potter series, except that thereâs no sorting hat⊠but the interior monologue of the hat isnât that different from what goes through your head as youâre picking the three houses youâd like to join. It is in no way bland.
My impression is that the personalities of the seven (well, now eight) houses has been fairly stable over the decades - only one house really changed that I know of (from a genteel vibe up to the 60âs, to a grateful vibe in the 70s and on, as it were).