<p>It's complicated politics, but Avery has a slightly different philosophy about what a house should be (more laid back, less "communal") and that creates some cultural tension. I think that it's a perfectly good place, as are the other houses, and that very intelligent people spending their time on arguments about such things is kind of extravagantly wasteful.</p>
<p>how do you get assigned rooms at caltech?</p>
<p>There is a process called rotation at the beginning of the year where you and the houses (living groups) meet each other and decide whether you like each other, and rank each other. Then you get put into a house based on your rankings and then the room picks are done internally, usually based on a part random draw, part seniority system.</p>