Kings Court vs. High Rises: Which is less BAD for a freshmen wanting social life?

<p>The question is up there</p>

<p>too bad this question came up after i sent in my housing app ...</p>

<p>I chose not to put the high rises on my application because when I went for Penn Previews, the girl whose room in Harnwell I saw said adamantly that the high rises were NOT the place to be freshmen year. She said that life in the high rises is apartment-stlye living so doors are closed, etc.</p>

<p>After my 3 quad choices I did: Hill single, Kings court double, and then Hill double. I put Hill double last simply because the room are SOOOO small.</p>

<p>Kings Court English House contains both Kings Court and English House. English House isn't so bad for social life as the doors are close together and the hallway is linear so you can see everyone. Kings Court has wide-spaced doors (yet not with bigger rooms...) that twist around many a corner, the end result being that you can never see more than a few doors of people at once.</p>

<p>Both would be better than high rises for freshmen.</p>

<p>good thing i havent submitted my apps
my top three choices were the highrises!!
and in the back of my mind i was doubting bc i hear ppl say highrise wont be very good for freshmen trying to start the new social life at penn but highrises are newer, cleaner, neater, bigger....the quads seem so small and dirty when i visited but i liked the social environment there tho.....</p>

<p>what should i do...any suggestions??</p>

<p>i would do quad...it might be dirtier, but did you visit any of the apartments in the high rises when they were dirty? it was the most disgusting thing ever. i'd rather deal with a semi-dirty dorm than a dust-in-the-corners, crusty-bathroom suite (haha sorry for the graphic description).</p>

<p>I would recommend everything but King's Court English House. They have the most annoying RAs.</p>

<p>For a freshman I would advocate Hill or the Quad.</p>

<p>You know, I think that it would really depend on the person and their needs. I have lots of friends living in the high-rises as freshmen and they love it. If you want the social life, you can definitely go out and find it in classmates, ECs, etc. Also, since I'm a pre-med bioE, I, personally, want a bit of quiet and I like the occasional privacy, so I'm going for the highrises. I'm also looking toward the future when I'm going to want the high-rises in my later years as well. The bottom line: I wouldn't choose based off of what others say. Each person has their own priorities, etc. Make a decision for yourself! In the end, if you don't get what you want, everyone ends up settling in and, to the most least extent, liking where they ended up! (Didn't you ever hear about the girl who cried for days because she HATED Hill and ended up living there? A few weeks later, she came to love the place more than anyone else!)</p>

<p>Yeah, I put down a highrise as my first choice. I want to be able to get in there later and I also liked the residential program and the fact that harnwell is considered the "artsy dorm." I made my second choice Ware cause I figured that if I'm meant to be in the Quad, then that's what I'd end up getting. I didn't put down Hill at all.</p>

<p>I actually lived in Harrison as a freshman, and I loved it. My hall was very social, ie our doors were always open, people would just come in and out to visit. For me, the added plus was that I had my own room so I still had privacy when I needed to study, etc. Personally, I don't think Kings Court or the High Rises lacks a social life; they just offer a different social life with different benefits. Really figure out what it is that you want exactly out of the room itself first (do you want your own room, own bathroom, a kitchen, etc.). </p>

<p>Another thing to consider is that in Harrison, we have the Freshman Experience program (spread across three floors in particular) which organizes social and academic events for all the freshmen in the house. In the past these have included, shopping trips to King of Prussia and Franklin Mills, cooking contests, Dim Sum trip to Chinatown, review sessions for major freshman classes. And at all these events, you have a chance to make friends with the other 100+ freshmen living in the building. So there definitely is a social life available. If it helps, I actually met some of my best friends in my hallm last year, and we still hang out every week.</p>

<p>ok so i know quad and hill are typical best choices...i think im going three quads and hill for my first 4...but...what should come next for a freshman that wouldve liked to be in that kind of very social environment...my guess would be kings court cause its the next highest percentage of freshman...are there more primarily freshman dorms to choose...any differences between the high rises...and on my app can i designate if i want english or kings court or do they list as one choice...hmmm i think thats all on my mind</p>