<p>How is housing for Upperclassmen?? Do most people stay on campus? If they do, how easy/hard is it to get a nice place in the high rises? If they don't, how are the off-campus alternatives in terms of safety, distance from campus, price, etc? Sorry for all the questions :P</p>
<p>the dorms at penn are certainly not on par with harvard's. i would say the quad is, but all the other dorms are about the same as brown's.</p>
<p>Dear Xing,
My son ended up in Kings' Court/English House, but it was perhaps his 5th choice. The only good thing about it initially was that it wasn't Hill! He hated Hill when we went on the tour [as did I], so even though he did not get the Quad like he had hoped, English House has been fine. It's actually better looking on the inside than the outside. </p>
<p>Also, his room in KC English House is huge, has one whole wall that is glass overlooking the courtyard, and it also has a sink in the room, an added bonus. Cons about the room however, include the noise that travels up from the courtyard at night, all hours, when he's trying to sleep or the maintenance people very early in the morning emptying the trash cans outside as well in the same area. The dorm itself seems very clean and people quite friendly.</p>
<p>I've just started college touring again with my middle son, and this past week went into a 'typical college dorm room' at a Massachusetts liberal arts college. It was so small it really freaked me out. Made me appreciate again how big my older son's dorm room is at Penn. We've been to dozens of colleges overall, and I can't say we've ever seen the 'dorms like palaces' that they speak of on princetonreview.com or elsewhere. Haven't really seen any freshman dorms that were very nice inside, so looking for amenities might be the next best thing, like sinks, 2 windows instead of 1, sprinklers, good temperature management or ability to open the windows if it's too hot/cold, distance to classes, lounge areas, camaraderie in the dorm, etc. </p>
<p>But in the end, if you get into the school of your choice, where you sleep seems a little less important.</p>
<p>^^ best post so far.
ive actually heard good things about KC/English.</p>
<p>does anyone know how they room the athletes? do freshman athletes get scattered about the dorms or do most get put into a single residence, and if so, which one?</p>
<p>athletes are scattered. some of them meet at camps or whatever and room together though.</p>
<p>Perhaps the only redeeming virtue of Penn's housing is the sheer variety available to you. Other schools puts you in dorms dorms dorms, but Penn has idealized Gothic-style dorms (the Quad), Dorms like Hill and King Court that have a stronger sense of community and their own dining halls (making them rather like a Yale residential college, but without the pretty fake-Oxbridge architecture), apartment-style living in the high rises (with private bathrooms, private living-rooms, private kitchens), and of course the variety of off-campus housing options that are used by 1/3 of the undergrads at Penn.</p>
<p>And who could forget DuBois, our lovely "celebrate-diversity-by-putting-it-away-in-a-separate-building" dorm!</p>
<p>great thread</p>
<p>bumping up</p>
<p>Your bump caused me to re-visit this thread, Stupefy. I laughed reading Bagels last post…too funny :)</p>
<p>Bagels rules! :)</p>
<p>iloveilovebagels</p>
<p>For the dorm assignments at Fisher 3 BR suite, are you assigned a specific number like 207 or are you given the general number of the main suite and the option to partition the rooms as you want? If not, do dormmates usually partition the dorms amongst themselves after they meet?</p>
<p>I’m asking cause I got the living room of the suite as my BR with two BRs beside me. I really really can’t stand that with my sleeping habits.</p>
<p>you partition as you wish, nothing’s enforced</p>
<p>this is how we made a mammoth two-bedroom triple into a one-bedroom triple with a massive living room</p>
<p>I am sad to say I am in Hill next year =/ I stayed in the quad last summer so I am really disappointed about it because I loved the quad so much! Can anyone give me some more detail about Hill? How is the air conditioning problem? I’m on the third floor, and I hate being hot, haha, so will it be muggy in Hill?</p>
<p>bring a fan (for the first two and last two months)</p>
<p>Try to transfer into the quad a lot of people do it cause hill sucks</p>
<p>Hill isn’t that bad. A lot of people who end up in Hill don’t actually hate it as much as they would think. Sure, the rooms are a bit cramped, and there’s no A/C, but there’s such a great community there. The dining hall there has really, really, good brunch, which is definitely worth your time. And there’s Hill-to-go, where you can swipe and get a sandwich, fruit, yogurt, in a paper bag. Really handy. No other dining hall has that.</p>
<p>Yes, you’ll need a fan, but no, don’t try to transfer to Quad. I lived in English House last year and I didn’t have A/C either, but it really wasn’t that unbearable. With a fan, it’ll be fine. I know a lot of people in Hill who wouldn’t trade their experience there for anything. They still frequently get weekly dinners with their Hill suitemates and really enjoyed their time there.</p>
<p>I’m an incoming freshmen to UPenn and I was wondering what the best dorm would be to stay in. I do want a dorm that has A/C and is close to dining facilities and classes. Are there certain residence halls that only have single rooms or only have double rooms?</p>
<p>1) You want what everybody wants. Do you honestly think you’ll get that?
2) Close to classes? Do you even know what you’re going to be taking?</p>
<p>That said, the two houses that are the closest possible to dining halls don’t have A/C. “what the best dorm would be to stay in” differs for everyone. I suggest you look at the housing brochures.</p>
<p>Du Bois- This is where I live currently and I love it. A lot of students steer away from it because it is dedicated to African-American culture but the rooms are really nice. They offer singles w/ bathroom, double w/a bathroom, triple, with bathroom kitchenette common room, and quads with the same features as triples. It’s easy for freshman to get in b/c not many appy for it. All freshamn get triples. Unless you’re in a residential program freshman are housed on the west wing of the fourth floor so you’ll be around your peers. It’s the smallest dorm on campus both in size (4 floors) and residents (~160), so there’s a sense of community. There are no elevators and no A/C so the first couple weeks at school are pretty bad. It’ closest to frat row and all the parties, FRoGro, CVS, and the movie theater Rave. It’s furthest away from classes though (10-15 minute walk). The closest dining hall is 1920s Commons food is okay my favorite is downstairs (Starbucks, Burger Stop, Grocery store and Subway) They all take dining dollars.</p>
<p>Hill- I nicknamed it Hell but it really isn’t that bad lol. If you’re an engineer or just hate walking definitely live here. It is the closest dorm to about 90% of the classes you will take. There is no A/C either so first few weeks are pretty bad. They offer singles and doubles but both are pretty small. Roommates can literally lie on their beds, stretch out their arms and touch each other. I do, however, like the layout. The rooms surround a main common room and kitchen and are divided by colors and streets. They are arguably the closest dorm on campus and if you’re a freshman and worried about making friends it’d be a qood choice to live here or the Quad. In my opinion, Hill dining hall has the best food on campus so it;s nice to have it at your fingertips. It’s also close to Houston Hall and shops on Walnut like CVS. It’s the furthest dorm from all the parties, unless you’re going to Drexel.</p>
<p>Quad- ahh the infamous quad. There is no way I would live here (hate shared bathrooms and bedrooms) but it is quite beautiful and nicer than Hill. It’s made up of Ware, Fisher Hassenfield, and Riepe and they’re all pretty much the same. There are singles, doubles, and triples with one bedroom and a common room. All rooms have A/C but the layout is really luck of the draw. Some rooms are bigger than other (5th floor Ware is ridiculous) and shaped differently, it depends. It’s mostly freshman which again is great for meeting people and the fact that it’s closed in makes it one of the safer dorms on campus. The location is nice as well. It’s closer to classes then campus proper (High Rises, Du Bois) but closer to parties than Hill. It’s also near Wawa if you need a late niqht coffee run. Most athletes (well BBall, Football) are housed here and the majority of them have singles next to at least one teammate.</p>
<p>Kings Court/ English- In my opinion the hidden gem at Penn. One of my friends got stuck here but she likes it now. It’s two houses- Kings Court and English but they are joined together with a nice courtyard in the middle. One of the safer ones as well. English is the better of the two but most freshman live in Kings Court. It’s basic doubles but they’re a lot spacier than the Quad (my friend has a walk-in closet!) I don’t know that much about English house. The dining hall is arguably the best on campus but closed on weekends. The location is kind of weird, it’s tucked away past the bookstore. It’s close to Cosi and Urban Outfitters though and in the middle of the extreme directions like the Quad.</p>
<p>High Rises- If you are a freshman who wants apartment-style living but don’t want to give up the freshman experience APPLY TO FRESHEX (freshman experience). It’s housed in Harrison and all my friends LOVE it. They get really close and I always see them out together. It’s I think 5 floors of freshman residents with a RA. There are triples and quads with a bathroom, kitchen, and common room. All of the high rises are like this with singles and doubles as well (all have the accommodations mentioned earlier). Even if you dont do FreshEx, if you’re a freshman and apply to a High Rise you won’t be isolated. Harnwell doesn’t have a program but all freshman who get in are housed on the same floor. Rodin doesn’t accept freshman. The location is same as Du Bois close to all the parties and Commons but far from classes. Also, after freshman year all your friends will be scrambling to get rooms in the high rises and you’ll have the upper hand, being a former resident you get points the longer you stay there. This means you get preference over everyone else. </p>
<p>Gregory- Correction: This is the furthest dorm from classes, it’s at the very end of campus. A couple of my friends live here and they have nice rooms. Triple with a bathroom an common room I believe. Besides that I dont know too much more. Pretty anti-social I’ve heard. </p>
<p>Stouffer/ Mayer- These are the only dorms I’ve never been inside. Unlike KC/English though they are two SEPARATE dorms, Stouffer is next to the Quad closer to the High Rises/ Du Bois side. Mayer is across the street and down a little bit. Pretty far from classes but closer to parties.</p>
<p>Correction to the Harrison summary (from a former Fresh-Exer and current Harrisonian):</p>
<p>Fresh Ex is housed on three consecutive floor, each with either an RA or a GA. The types of rooms that are available to Freshman are: 3 bedroom quad (4 people, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchenette, 1 living area), 2 bedroom double (2 people, 1 bathroom), and 1 bedroom double (2 people, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchenette, 1 living area). No triples. </p>
<p>Also, Stouffer is a really nice place (freshman go to Stouffer-Stouffer, then can move up to the awesome rooms in Stouffer-Mayer their sophomore year). </p>
<p>Agreed on Kings Court being a gem. Great place, best dining hall on campus in my opinion, and comfortable rooms.</p>