<p>Could someone possibly provide a short synopsis of the various houses and possibly list them in order of preference?</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>Please look at the brochure they probably sent you, or view it here: [College</a> Houses & Academic Services: University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/brochure/index.asp]College”>http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/brochure/index.asp)
It’s too much of an effort to write something already in existence.</p>
<p>Also, everyone has different preferences, especially based on where they did end up living freshman year.
My personal list would start with Harrison FreshEx (you have to apply because it’s a residential program) because it’s an awesome community plus nice amenities. However, each college house has its pros and cons, depending on you: do you want to be near the engineering quad or Huntsman (or do you not care)? Do you want a dining hall either close or IN your dorm? Do you want a quieter experience or would you prefer a really loud hall? (Some of this is luck though, even in the quad) Do you want air conditioning?</p>
<p>Every person has different preferences and we can’t really choose them for you. Besides FreshEx, my friends who have lived in Stouffer have really liked it, and KC/EH is apparently really great (and I am kind of promoting it because I’ll be an RA there next year, though I haven’t actually spent much time there personally).</p>
<p>I know that this housing question has been asked many times before, but I’d love to hear more input from current students on residential programs. There seem to be a lot of positive reviews for Harrison’s FreshEx, but what about the programs in the quad? Fisher’s Law & Society? Ware’s Entrepreneurs Program? Is Riepe largely Benjamin Franklin Scholars?</p>
<p>To the OP- I am also an incoming freshman so I can’t be as helpful as a current student, but I do have friends at Penn who have given me some advice on the housing app. You may find some of this information useful:</p>
<p>-King’s Court English is being renovated this summer. Already, the rooms in KCECH are probably the nicest on campus as far as doubles-with-communal-bathrooms go. The rooms that I’ve seen are larger than the Hill/Quad doubles, and the rooms with bay windows are even spacier. English House’s rooms also have sinks, but there is no way to apply specifically for an EH room. (KCECH is actually two different buildings connected by an open garden courtyard with tables, etc. Moving into the KC building does involve trekking through EH and across the courtyard with your things.) The freshmen I know in KCECH said that they felt somewhat isolated during the first few weeks of the school year, but grew to appreciate living there as the year progressed and the community got closer.</p>
<p>-Besides KCECH, DuBois is the most recently renovated College House.</p>
<p>-Penn has decided to renovate its dining services. McClelland Hall, which is located in Ware College House in the middle of the Quad, will be a fully operating- although small- dining hall as of September. 1920s Commons, the main dining hall for Quad-dwellers (and students with food plans who don’t live in Hill or KCECH) is also going to be renovated, but I don’t think it will be completed in time for the 2011-12 school year. If food accessibility factors into your decision to apply to the Quad, the renovations are something you might want to consider. </p>
<p>-If you are dying for a single room, you should consider applying to Stouffer or Gregory. Gregory, as far as I know, has only singles (everyone gets their own living space) and some rooms (all?) are arranged in suites with shared (but not communal!) bathrooms. Both Stouffer and Gregory, however, are college houses composed of two separate buildings each. Stouffer’s buildings are across the street from one another, so although the housing pamphlet says that there are “x” number of students living in Stouffer, they are physically separate from each other. That isn’t to say that your social life will be restricted if you live in Stouffer or Gregory, you just might have to be more outgoing than if you were to live in the Quad or Hill or KCECH or Harrison.</p>
<p>Here a two links to DP articles that you might find interesting:</p>
<p>[Penn</a> to expand dining in Quad, Commons | The Daily Pennsylvanian](<a href=“http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/article/penn-expand-dining-quad-commons]Penn”>http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/article/penn-expand-dining-quad-commons)</p>
<p>[Agustin</a> Torres | Exaggerations plague Penn’s housing brochures | The Daily Pennsylvanian](<a href=“http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/node/50878]Agustin”>http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/node/50878)</p>
<p>Best of luck with your choice!</p>