<p>After visiting campus with my daughter, I'm a little concerned about the Houses at Caltech. It seems to me that it actually would be easy for a shy kid to be excluded -- being with so many upperclassmen already settled in their social/activity/interest groups. Is this a problem? Also, who prepares the dinners? How is the food?</p>
<p>I actually find that it's the opposite in my house (and probably in most houses). There are a lot of kids who are shy when they come in, and had they been in a normal dorm would have been content to sit in their rooms all day. The upperclassmen make a concerted effort to provide the frosh with social events and get them to go. In fact, many of our social events are focused around getting to know the frosh; for example, my house recently had a camping trip for just the juniors and the frosh to the middle of Joshua Tree National Park (called, originally, Junior Frosh trip). We have a lot of other events involving the frosh that I won't mention here (they are supposed to be surprises!)</p>
<p>Did you talk to any of the freshmen about the houses?</p>
<p>Not sure if your daughter can return for prefrosh weekend, but I would highly encourage it. My son has always been pretty shy and he is thriving in the house system, but also remains good friends with students in other houses that he met during prefrosh weekend. For him, I'm not sure he has ever been surrounded with so many kids that share his interests before, which is probably a natural consequence of the admissions process. If your daughter can go to prefrosh, she will have a much better idea of what is like at the houses at Caltech.</p>
<p>I would have to agree with lizzardfire. While it is possible for frosh not take part in house or any other activities, it is strongly discouraged by the upperclassmen. In my house, at least, they are always baking us cookies and setting up trips or games or movie weekends. While these are technically optional, the people who organize such things try to convince all the frosh to participate in least some activities. Also, dinner is great for making sure shy frosh don't slip through the cracks. Since everyone eats together, you can't avoid talking to the people around you for at least the length of dinner (which varies by house from under 15 minutes to over an hour).<br>
Dinner is made by Caltech dining services (except on Thursdays when the steak/burger portion is grilled by students) and the food quality varies. Some things are good and some things aren't very edible. However, there are always at least two main entrees plus you can always get pasta and salad, so there is always something you can eat.</p>
<p>I think the house system here at Caltech is even more conducive to making friends than at other schools. Here, as long as you're part of the house, you're likely to stay involved in a rotating community meeting new people every year. At other schools, you're generally in freshman-only dorms the first year, and then you and your friends get scattered to upperclassmen dorms in later year (or move somewhere off campus). Trying to make friends in an upperclassmen dorm is considerably harder, since most people leave their doors closed all of the time and hardly use the common areas compared to freshmen.</p>
<p>The house structure here is definitely one of the most unique features of the school, and definitely can help to break down the social barriers I'm sure plenty of the students here faced in middle/high school.</p>
<p>Is it a problem that she's vegetarian?</p>
<p>Absolutely not! They always have two vegan entrees, plus a vegan soup for dinner. Some of them are really good (and they are often better than the regular food).</p>
<p>Not a Caltech grad, but every time I've ever seen two Caltech grads meet, the absolute first question -- before even the year of graduation -- what house? The house system always sounded like one of the really positive aspects of Caltech, and I have the impression that since students tend to live in the houses for all four years that there is a lot more inter-year integration than you see in most college dorms.</p>
<p>"since students tend to live in the houses for all four years that there is a lot more inter-year integration than you see in most college dorms."</p>
<p>From what my friends at other schools tell me, this is definitely true. At tech it's very common to have friends from all four years, which I think is pretty cool and also very helpful when you need advice.</p>
<p>just because no one has voiced this opinion...</p>
<p>I know people who aren't happy here because of the house system. Most people get put into houses that they fit in with, but some people fall through the cracks and just don't mesh well with their house. For example, if you take things personally, I think it is easy to feel unliked and rejected (I find that people are rather critical here). Sometimes people are able to find another house that will take them in, but sometimes they are just sort of rejected by all the houses they try. Then they are left without a real social group because everyone else socializes through the house, which they aren't a part of. The house system is far from perfect, but the majority of people here are very happy with it.</p>
<p>(I personally LOVE the house system. I think that I get a lot more interaction with upperclassmen than I would normally at any other university because of it. )</p>
<p>I think the house system is great for shy kids - it is a structured social environment, where you are with the same kids for four years, and you eat dinner together. There are also many social opportunities. Compare that to a regular dorm where there is a reshuffle every year.</p>
<p>a note from another perspective - Living with the same students every year at Caltech does not always happen. DS is at Caltech and we were surprised by the housing lottery at the end of his freshman year. While he remains affiliated with his house, he's not lived in it since his freshman year(and rarely eats there except during the rotation the first week of school). He didn't realize it was important to get his name in the housing lottery as he'd assumed he'd just be in his Hovse. He ended up off campus in Caltech housing(a big craftsman house with lots of bedrooms a few blocks from campus, sharing the kitchen & living room with students affiliated with other Hovses). He's a junior this year and again did not get housing in his Hovse. This year he's the happiest he's been with housing. He's got a studio apartment all to himself right on the edge of campus. I think if he can he'll pick the studio for next year as well.</p>
<p>The house system can be good for shy people, but mjchiu2k is right, in that some people do fall through the cracks. For this reason, it is ESSENTIAL that even shy people do their very best to make an impression with the upperclassmen during rotation. Upperclassmen won't just magically know whether you are a good fit for their house unless you talk to them. If you don't, you risk ending up somewhere you don't fit because no one knew any better. If you're particularly shy, a good idea would be to find an upperclassman that's very talkative/asks a lot of questions. Then they can find out about you without you having to initiate much conversation.</p>
<p>ETA: Also, oaklandmom makes a good point. Most houses do have to kick some number of people off campus each year. How they determine who is off campus varies between houses. There is also an off-campus housing lottery, which everyone is required to sign up for even if they have a guranteed house pick.</p>
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<p>I think that this happens anywhere there are social groups. There are always going to be people that most other people don't like. This is a fact of life, not a downside of the house system. There are downsides to the house system, but this isn't one of them--the houses in fact tend to be much more inclusive than most social groups in general society. Where else could you have people who don't shower for days but are still tolerated by their social groups?</p>
<p>I know why you're posting this, but I think that blaming the house system only serves to mask the real problem.</p>
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Where else could you have people who don't shower for days but are still tolerated by their social groups?
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<p>Each school has their own little social group that's ok with this. In my undergrad, there was a group called "CS Loungers" for their tendency to spend about 90% of their days in the CS lounge. One dude on my hall freshman year broke their rule against wearing the same shirt five days in a row and was kicked out until he changed it. I remember going to quizbowl competitions and having people from CS programs at other schools ask if the CS Lounge at CMU actually exists. :(</p>
<p>I think mjchiu2k's point in that post was saying that although Caltech does do a fantastic job at finding a peer group for people that might otherwise have a difficult time finding one, it doesn't guarantee that you'll magically have the perfect college experience.</p>