<p>I haven't visited Smith yet, and I'm worried of choosing the wrong house and not fitting in. I looked at the LJ housing info, but there was so much information that it all looked the same to me. =s</p>
<p>I don't know what to do now. I'm so lost...</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend houses where students aren't too studious yet not party animals either but extremely outgoing? Okay, that was a bit vague. Basically, I want to get into a house with artsy people, as in piano players, poets, painters, anime junkies, etc? People with individual styles is a plus since I dress pretty weird compared to others. Suggestions?</p>
<p>Honestly, for studious, not party animals yet outgoing you'd probably find a fit in any of the Center Campus/Upper Elm/Lower Elm houses (Green Street is stereotyped as "studying all the time" and the Quad is stereotyped for "having lots of parties." Neither is completely true). For "artsy" people, you can't limit yourself to just one house, as the students who meet those descriptions don't live in just one area. People with individual styles are found all over campus as well. Smith doesn't have housing by major or interest (other than the French house and the co-ops, which are by interest, but you also can't live there as a first-year).</p>
<p>Are there houses in one area you like the descriptions of, and think, "I might want to live in A, B, or C, and I wouldn't mind living in D or E either?" If so, choose that area of campus first on the housing form.</p>
<p>Green Street does house a lot of the musicians and performers since those facilities are right across the street. That doesn't mean that those types don't live elsewhere, however. </p>
<p>As Borgin points out, you'll find your "type" in just about any houses -- and if you don't, you can always change.</p>
<p>Honestly, there's no way to really tell for sure what the population of your house will be like until you arrive anyway. House dynamics can change drastically from one year to the next as new people move in and seniors move out. It's very difficult to predict what the population and culture of a house will be like from year to year, and even campus areas are difficult to pin down. We can generalize and say Quad = crazy, Green Street = Nerdy, etc, but that isn't really a good indicator of what your experience will be like. </p>
<p>Instead of worrying about something fluid like what the people in your house will be like, try considering more solid factors. Where are your classes likely to be (Seelye, Science Quad, art building, mendenhall, etc)? Is it important to be near the gym? How close do you want to be to town? How much separation do you want between where you study and where you live (right on campus, a little more removed?). </p>
<p>Ultimately, it is people's personalities that will decide how you fit into the house, but you can't know those ahead of time, and you can't really plan for them either (you can try, but it likely won't be as you expected). All you can do is try to be open and remember that what house you go into is largely an arbitrary choice that is out of your hands. For that reason, it may not work out right the first time, and in that case, you'll just have to try again. don't sweat it, everything will be fine.</p>