<p>I admittedly don't know that much about harvard and i was wondering how important are the houses at harvard? are they comparable to the colleges at yale? or are they more just places where people live for four years?</p>
<p>anyone? anyone?</p>
<p>Very important and very comparable to houses at Yale. You'll eat at least most of your breakfasts and dinners in the houses. Each house has a variety of ammenities you can take advantage of. For example Dunster House had (and I think still has) a pottery studio, seven squash courts, a dark room, a grill, practice rooms, a library, ping pong, fussball etc. Often a House will put on theatricals, host movies and parties. In addition the Masters of the House will host various mixer type events. Sometimes sections of large classes will meet at one of the houses.</p>
<p>Along with graduation year, it's a primary identifier. Some of the athletic rosters even include house along with number, height, and weight.</p>
<p>what is the rationale behind the house system? is it supposed to give a feel of a smaller liberal arts institution or is it just tradition?</p>
<p>It's all about house spirit- there are house events, sports teams, etc. Kirkland house has a cheer (I'm betting others do too). If I meet someone at Harvard, one of the first things I'll use to introduce myself, or ask about them, will be their house. It's definitely a lot more than just a place where you live.</p>
<p>I suppose you could relate it to the feel of a smaller liberal arts college, in the sense that you really tend to know a lot of people in your house. If you move around every year it's harder to build that community.</p>
<p>I guess tradition plays a role too- the house system dates back to the early 20th century, with many built or inaugurated around 1930.</p>
<p>The houses at Harvard and Yale do break the larger institution down into more personal units, but they also replicate the British model of universities composed of colleges. Note the structure of Cambridge University from an article about its colleges:</p>
<p>"All students and many of the academics are attached to colleges, where they live, eat and socialise. It is also the place where students receive small group teaching sessions, known as supervisions. Each college appoints its own teaching staff and fellows in each subject; decides which students to admit, in accordance with University regulations; provides small group teaching sessions, for undergraduates (though lectures are arranged and degrees are awarded by the university); and is responsible for the domestic arrangements and welfare of its own undergraduates, graduates, post-doctoral researchers, and staff in general."</p>
<p>The British colleges are more all-encompassing than the houses at H and Y, which do not choose which students to admit, but the houses' impact on the structure of campus life is comparable.</p>
<p>One difference between the Yale and Harvard housing systems, as I understand them, is that at Yale you're in a residential college for all four years, whereas at Harvard the freshmen are all in dorms, then move on to houses after that.</p>
<p>alright thanks everyone!</p>
<p>My daughter wears T-shirts with her House name on it as much or more than she wears Harvard gear. One of the chief thrills of her entire Harvard experience was the year her House won the Straus Cup (intramural sports championship).</p>