# Living at Harvard

**Source**: https://dso.college.harvard.edu/living-harvard
**Parent**: https://dso.college.harvard.edu

## Living at Harvard

The residential system creates vibrant, unique, and supportive communities where you can unwind after a busy day and feel at home.

### Harvard Yard Dorms

First-year students live in residential neighborhoods called Yards, which are located at the geographic and historic center of College life. Accommodations range from eighteenth-century buildings, which housed the earliest Harvard students as well as George Washington's troops, to our newest twentieth-century accommodations in Canaday Hall.

### The Houses

The Houses serve as the foundation for the undergraduate experience at Harvard College. Ninety-eight percent of all undergraduates live in one of the twelve residential Houses.  Each House accommodates 350-500 students with its own dining hall, common rooms, and facilities for academic, recreational, and cultural activities.

### Dudley Community

The Dudley Community serves a variety of undergraduate upper-level students from across campus not residing in one of the Houses. This includes: residents of the Dudley Co-op, Visiting Undergraduate Students (VUS) from other universities, and students residing off-campus. Like the Houses, Dudley offers holistic academic advising and support and has facilities, amenities, and programming targeted toward the unique Dudley population.

## Housing Processes

### Rising Sophomore Lottery

The lottery is coming! Need to know what a blocking group is? How the process works? Follow the link below to learn more.

[Rising Sophomore Lottery](/rising-sophomore-lottery "Rising Sophomore Lottery")

### Leaving and Returning

Going on leave or returning from abroad? Learn how to cancel your housing and guarantee yourself a room upon your return.

[Leaving and Returning](/leaving-and-returning "Leaving and Returning")

### Transferring Houses

After a full year of living in your assigned house, you can apply to transfer houses. For more information, visit the transferring houses page.