<p>Hi, I’ve decided to begin a list of pros and cons of each college house (or general category of college house), based on my own experience and what I’ve heard from friends over my three years at Penn. These are strictly my own opinions and impressions, so I haven’t included all the college houses, and I hope other Penn students will add to this thread to help you decide which type of college house is right for you.</p>
<p>The Quad
Pros:
beautiful, historical building
mostly freshmen
very social, party atmosphere
Cons:
small rooms
mostly doubles (potential roommate issues)
communal (hallway) bathrooms
high noise level, especially late at night when you’re trying to sleep or study (while your roommate/neighbors are busy partying). This is actually a major issue and the biggest reason why people are unhappy about living in the quad.</p>
<p>Hill
Pros:
great location, right by math/science/engineering classes
contains a dining hall
mostly freshmen
Cons:
small rooms
mostly doubles
communal (large suite) bathrooms
high noise level, partly due to the dining hall</p>
<p>High-Rises
Pros:
apartment style suite, so you get your own bathroom
kitchen and common room in each suite
elevators
good study facilities
nice practice rooms and pianos
Cons:
having to wait for the elevator
3-bedroom quad arrangement = 2 singles + 1 double
not very social, people tend to keep to their own rooms</p>
<p>Gregory (example of a Low-Rise)
Pros:
4-bedroom quad, everybody gets their own bedroom and bathroom
freshmen live together on the same floors, still very social
lots of house events with free food
great interaction with upperclass mentors and faculty/staff
high availability of pianos and music rooms
Cons:
no AC (although it’s only warm for the first couple weeks of class)
somewhat farther from classes compared to Quad and Hill</p>
<p>I’m not as familiar with Stouffer/Mayer, King’s Court/English House, and DuBois college houses, so hopefully some other students will post the pros and cons of those places soon.</p>
<p>By the way, the concept of “preferential treatment” applies no matter which college house you choose, meaning that if you choose to live in the same building as a sophomore, you get priority over incoming freshmen. Then juniors get priority over sophomores, seniors over juniors, etc. This is why many students choose to live in the high- and low-rises even as freshmen, so that they get nice rooms as upperclassmen.</p>
<p>The Quad does have a lot of singles. I'm not sure what you mean by a lot, but it definately has them. The Quad is also very luxurous compared to Hill. I don't agree with the OP saying that both have "small rooms."</p>
<p>My single bedroom (as a freshman) was 20 feet by 8 feet, which if you calculate the square footage was comparable to my friends' doubles in Ware - AND I had my own bathroom. The other low-rises also supposedly have large rooms, especially Mayer Hall.</p>
<p>More freshmen in the Quad live in doubles than in singles, although I'd agree it's generally more luxurious than Hill. I'm under the impression that singles and suites in the Quad tend to be given to upperclassmen due to priority, but there are still a good number of singles available to freshmen.</p>
<p>also important, the quad and high-rises are the only places with a/c. and it does get pretty hot here, especially during NSO and now (the end of the year)</p>
<p>Stouffer Mayer:
PROS:
Biggest rooms on campus
Private bathrooms
Private kitchens
Lounges and fitness room
Close to Commons and the High Rises
CONS:
Quite a walk down to DRL/Engineering bldgs.
People keep to themselves (due to large rooms)
Not as many freshmen</p>
<p>Stouffer College House is composed of three buildings. Stouffer/Stouffer, Stouffer/Mayer and Stouffer Annex. I live in a single here in Stouffer/Stouffer and love it. My friends and I are staying together in Stouffer/Stouffer next year. Yes, we do have A/C / Heat in the rooms. What's more is that outside of my room we have a patio complete with bar-b-ques, a hammock, and a basketball hoop. Students particularly like being right on top of Wawa and our entrance is right next to the upper quad at 37th and Spruce. The community/family atmosphere here is great especially the ever popular Wednesday night cookies in the house masters apartment. Cons ? hmm some people don't like the common bathrooms.</p>
<p>can some please give me a detailed description of the DuBois college house? Also, incase I do not get my first choice, are there any other dorms with a high minority population?</p>
<p>dubois has great community feel.
dubois hosts a lot of discussions / sessions that cater to a minority audience. they're quite good.
rooms are smaller than the high rises, and have no a/c.
there are east and west wings on each floor.
the 4th floor has the residential programs, and IMO they're a bit more isolated than the other 3 floors. if you want to live in dubois, i would suggest not living in a residential program (even though they might be nice).
has 4 floors. no elevator or anything (so move in/out will be a pain)
facilities wise - it leaves a bit to be desired.
PM me about dubois if you have more questions.</p>
<p>and there are no other houses with significant minority population (unless you count the slightly higher asian population in KC/EH than in other houses).</p>
<p>some lady with housing sent me a link to those videos last week, and i thought it gave a more personal feel to the different college houses than the video i got over the summer before i came. they were made by a student and contain interviews with residents and staff, with a little bit of humor (or attempts) mixed in. of course it doesn't really give many cons (what else would you expect from housing?) but i hope it helps.</p>
Mayer hall is in my opinion the best hall to live in. I of course am biased, but I have seen some horror stories in the quad. If you enjoy having privacy and do not have trouble making friends, then it is a great place to live. The kitchens are really nice, with large fridges and good sized ovens with ranges. there is also a lot of storage space in the dorm, which comes in handy. The biggest plus is all of the space in the room. There is plenty of room to have people over and have a good time.
The hall is close to 1920 commons, and more importantly, to WAWA.
One downside, there are very few freshmen in the hall. However, there are a few.
It is a good place to be if you like to get rowdy, but not ridiculous. It is usually quiet, and so it is easy to study. However, most people don’t mind if you do make a little noise.
Additionally, there are always events being hosted by the house, and most of the time there is free food involved…MAJOR PLUS