<p>Does anyone have any opinions on housing options for second year students?
Thanks</p>
<p>Many move into the highrises or off campus. Sophomores become much more indepedent.</p>
<p>Do some research into off-campus housing. Most sophomores try to get into the high rises as communities, but there just isn't enough capacity and some people always end up scrambling around when they get denied housing. It's a good idea to have a back up plan if you get denied your first choice.</p>
<p>I'm living off-campus next year but I was really stressed out for weeks trying to find a house, get the house before anyone else did, and get a lease signed. If you're interested, definitely contact the landlords now. Call these first: <a href="http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/offcampusliving/rentingstep/start.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/offcampusliving/rentingstep/start.htm</a></p>
<p>how hard is it to get community living in a high-rise?</p>
<p>I don't remember the exact numbers for community living, but I saw some information the other day that said there are very few rooms out of all the eligible rooms in a high rise (quads, etc) in community living. Basically, they give out a lot of the rooms to residential programs, retained rooms, and individual room requests.</p>
<p>Purely anecdotally, I've heard that community living for girls is almost impossible, and only a few groups of guys I knew got theirs. In some houses having previous residency in the house helps, but I don't know if that's still the case. </p>
<p>To estimate your chances, see if you have any people in your community that were in the house last year. If not, you're basically a random draw and I would really recommend having back-up options.</p>
<p>The problem is that almost all sophomores want community living (recreating their freshman halls often) and that there are a limited number of suites in the high rises, and only a small number of those are eligible for communities.</p>