<p>i'm a senior this year, and since i'm going off to college, i wanted to know if it was a requirement to live in college dorms your freshman year, specifically in the Ivy League colleges. I know some colleges require it, but does Harvard have that requirement?</p>
<p>Yes, all freshmen are obligated to reside on campus in one of the seventeen designated freshman dormitories. After the first year, students have the option to assume residence elsewhere, but most choose to live in a residential House.</p>
<p>This document is just over a year old, I believe, but it provides the general housing guidelines for Harvard undergraduates: [Residential</a> Life](<a href=“http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter6/res_life.html]Residential”>http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter6/res_life.html)</p>
<p>Most upperclassmen choose to stay on-campus. In seven weeks or so here, I’ve only met one person who doesn’t live in Harvard housing. The houses are pretty nice, and Cambridge is expensive.</p>
<p>* The houses are pretty nice,*</p>
<p>I object.</p>
<p>^ I like my house (Kirkland) and most of my friends like their houses too.</p>
<p>lalagirl: do you have an objection to this? Most private colleges expect freshmen to live on campus to integrate them to the community as a whole. The exceptions are for married students and some other extraordinary cases. If you have reservations about being part of a college community, I can bet you that Harvard will reject you. I hope this is just a curiosity on your part. Good luck to you.</p>