Hey guys! Any insight into which UPenn houses are best?
Ware
Riepe
Fisher-Hassenfeld
Gregory
Hill
Kings Court English
Stouffer
Rodin
W.E.B DuBois
Harrison (Freshman EX)
Themed residential houses
If you haven’t already seen this, look at the brochure here: http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/sites/www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/files/College_House_Brochure_2015-2016.pdf
For recommendations, it really depends. Many incoming freshman put the quad houses (Riepe, Fisher, and Ware) as their top 3 choices, but the quad is not for everyone.
If you’re looking to live in the quad, just put the 3 houses as your top 3 choices with your room type preference and hope you get into one of them. I wouldn’t put too much thought into ordering them. They’re all pretty similar in terms of rooms and the experience of living in the quad is basically the same for all 3.
If you are looking for a non-quad single, then Stouffer is a good option. It’s a quieter atmosphere than the quad, but it also has the advantage of being the closest dorm to the quad (it’s right next to it), so if you ever want to hang out with friends in the quad, it’s convenient. On the other hand, dorms like Kings Court, Gregory, and Hill are much further away from the quad. Stouffer itself is also mostly freshman, so you will also have the chance to make many friends around your hall.
If you want a non-quad double, then applying to Freshman Experience in Harrison can be a good option. You would get to live in an apartment-style suite with a kitchen, private bath, and common room. If you’re looking for a non-quad double that isn’t in a high rise, then you can choose from Hill, Kings Court, and Stouffer. Out of the three, Stouffer has the most convenient location for a freshman, but there are only a few doubles in Stouffer.
If you want a non-quad triple, I’d recommend Mayer Hall. Mayer is probably the nicest dorm on campus, and the rooms are the largest on campus (definitely bigger than the high rises). Even with three people living in one room, you’d all have plenty of space, plus your own common room, bathroom and kitchen. Also, Mayer is organized such that all the freshman live on the 5th and 6th floors, so you won’t be isolated from other freshman in any way.
There are also some other room types that I haven’t mentioned (see page 57 for a full outline of all room possibilities).
Hope this helps. Also consider residential programs in different houses (I mentioned Freshman Experience, but there are many others).
Thanks WhartonPenn2017!
For engineers, is Hill a good option, given its location? Since it’s going to be renovated in a year, does that mean it is in poor condition now?
@green678 For an engineer, the location of Hill is definitely a perk. It’s not in poor condition in the sense that it’s physically/architecturally unsafe or anything like that. It’s just one of the only (might be the only, I’m drawing a blank on DuBois and Gregory) college houses to not have air conditioned rooms, and the rooms are relatively small compared to the rooms in other college houses. That said, those are two things that many people say keeps them out of their rooms and instead go to lounges or study spaces where they get to know the other people on their floor. Also, the dining hall in the building is also a perk for a freshman when you’ll be on the meal plan. All I’ve heard about the renovation to Hill is that they’re adding A/C to the rooms, but I’m sure there are other things being done, too.
Thanks WhartonPenn2017. That’s very helpful.
Kings Court English does not have air conditioned dorm rooms even though it was just remodelled a few years ago. DD was miserable there the first few months because of the heat.
@lslmom : my son is assigned to Kings Court, can you provide any advice for it? It seems AC is not allowed, can they bring fans? Or is it provided? Anything else that you would recommend? Thank you
It’s been forever since I lived in Kings Court but my advice for incoming freshman would be Quad, followed by the Quad, and, just in case they weren’t paying attention the first two times, the Quad. It’s the archetypal freshman experience at Penn and, years later, I still feel vaguely cheated.
One thing that’s annoying about Kings Court is the doubles are (were?) inconsistently sized. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a corner room. If you’re not, you’ll get the room next to it. It also felt “out of the way” in some way that even Hill House didn’t.
@simom2two Yes, you can bring fans. They are not provided. DD brought a room fan and a mini fan. Her roommate brought a fan too. The temperature was fine in the spring, hot in the fall. The room was a good size and seemed bright and sunny. There were 4 stackable wood drawers (8 total) which fit nicely under the beds. DD brought storage crates and cubes, none of which were necessary because the room had plenty of storage space. The bookstore is about a block away and they sell most anything your son will need for the dorm if he forgets anything – including fans, bedding, storage bins, etc. The Sheraton is across the street from King’s Court so it was very convenient the few times we visited.
@lslmom : thank you!